Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Verplank was a leading member of the W.T. White High School golf team and a regular at Brookhaven Country Club in Dallas. He graduated from high school in 1982 and attended Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. At OSU, he was a member of the 1983 NCAA Championship team, finishing T3 alongside teammates Tommy Moore, Willie Wood, Andy Dillard, and Philip Walton. He went on later to win the 1984 U.S. Amateur at the Oak Tree Golf Club, and in 1986, win the NCAA individual title.
Prior to his senior year at Oklahoma State, Veplank won the Western Open outside Chicago in August 1985; it was the first victory by an amateur on the PGA Tour in 29 years (Doug Sanders, 1956 Canadian Open). He defeated Jim Thorpe on the second extra hole of a playoff for the win at Butler National Golf Club in Oak Brook, Illinois. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Verplank)
