After wrapping up a successful career at Utah Valley University, Qualicum Beach’s Brayden Eriksen is going all in, making the jump into the world of professional golf.
Eriksen, who recently competed in both the B.C. amateur and Canadian amateur tournaments, posted respectable scores and finished in the top 15 in both tournaments.
At the B.C. amateur, he finished tied for 14th and then went on to finish tied for 11th at the Canadian amateur tournament.
“I thought those tournaments went well,” Eriksen said. “Being able to make the cut in both of those tournaments and then go on to finish where I did, that really sort of showed me that this is definitely something I want to be doing.”
“I’ve been thinking about going pro for a few years now and having played the way I did in university the last two years sort of confirmed that, then these tournaments really made me realize it’s the right thing to do.”
Spending four years at Utah Valley University and earning his bachelor’s degree in business, Eriksen’s last two seasons saw his score on the course drop drastically, cutting four strokes off his game.
He finished his senior year with a 72.8 average score per round, including a season best 67. He had six top-10 finishes in his senior year, with four coming in the top five.
“It was a lot of fun,” Eriksen said. “I never won a tournament but being right there in all of those tournaments, being within one or two shots felt good.
Hopefully at the next level I’ll be able to close it out and win some tournaments. I played in a lot of great tournaments at Utah Valley and it really helped me get to where I am right now.”
With plenty of professional tours out there, Eriksen and his management team will be looking into which route would be the best to take.
While some tournaments have the big purses for top finishers, there are other tournaments out there that could lead to an opportunity to earn a tour card for other tournaments.
“We’re looking at a lot of options,” Eriksen said. “There’s so many tournaments out there but we want to find one that’s not going to give you a huge purse if you win, because those ones usually just have the money for the top four or five guys.”
“We’re looking at tournaments that are more spread out in terms of the earnings, as well as tournaments to give you a shot at earning a tour card or moving up to the next level to get on a tour.”
Pheasant Glen Golf Club will be hosting a fundraiser/sponsorship tournament for Eriksen on Saturday, September 19.
Entry fees are $150 per player or $500 for a team of four. Cost includes a cart, 18 holes of golf, dinner and prizes.
Anyone looking for more information or to sign up for the tournament can contact Gord Melissa at Pheasant Glen at 250-752-8786, or to get in touch with Brayden about potential sponsorships, e-mail him at brayden_07@hotmail.com.
