He earned All-America honors two years at Virginia Tech in the mid-1960s and went on to play professionally on the PGA Tour.

[3][5] He capped his career by finishing tied for fifth in the 1967 event, three strokes back of Hale Irwin (known then as a Colorado football star).

[1] After leaving the Army in December 1971, he resumed his golfing pursuits as an assistant club pro in Greenville, South Carolina.

Encouraged by his success at Pebble Beach, he decided to take a shot at earning his Tournament Players Division "card" in the fall of 1972, going through Qualifying school.

[12] In September, he was one of 30 from the Eastern Division tournament held in Rockville, Maryland to make it to the national event at the Silverado Country Club, in Napa, California.

[13] In total, 81 golfers took the written qualifying exam and played 108 holes to narrow the field down to 25.

[12] Larry Stubblefield and John Adams were the top finishers,[12] and Collins was on the cut line and received his card for the following season.