Robert Gautney: Bryan Hogan working towar career as pro golfer
| Thursday, Oct 06 2011 04:36 PM
Last Updated Thursday, Oct 06 2011 04:37 PM
Bryan Hogan has progressed through the stages of his golf career rather nicely so far. His resume sports the likes of a junior golf winner, a high school star (he also played four years of hoops, too) and a college player with a pretty fair record. Along the way, Hogan has played in his share of big national, state and regional amateur events and locally he became the youngest winner of the Men's Kern County Amateur when he hoisted the trophy as a 15-year-old in 2003.
Now he's ready for the next and final stage of his future, professional golf.
Hogan, who will turn 24 in December, completed his four years of eligibility at Fresno State University in May. He pondered turning pro immediately, but decided to participate in the California State Amateur and the Bakersfield City Amateur.
Hogan qualified for match-play in the state amateur in June (he lost a tough first round match) and finished fourth in the City Amateur in July and then turned pro.
He played the month of August on the Pepsi Tour (California circuit), winning one tournament, finishing second in another with an additional top-5 finish in four events.
"I played every Wednesday for a month on the Pepsi Tour," says Hogan who prepped at Stockdale High. "It was a great experience. I won a little bit of money, but at the same time it also reaffirmed that playing the mini tours is not what I want to be doing down the road."
Hogan turned in his application for PGA Tour Qualifying School and says that he is going to give himself two chances at Q-School (this year and in 2012) and if he doesn't make it, then he can live with the fact that he gave it a shot.
"I want to be a professional golfer and make a living at it," says Hogan. "I know that a lot of guys play the mini-tours for years before they make it and some never do, but I don't want to be one of those guys playing and trying year after year. I know that it is rare for first year players to make it, but there are always a few who do. This is my shot. "
So far, so good. Hogan recently made it through the pre-qualifying for the PGA Tour when he posted rounds of 74-67-69 at Southern Dunes in Maricopa, Ariz., to finish tied for 19th. The top 35 and ties advanced at 2-under, so at 6-under Hogan was well placed, but according to Hogan it should have been much better.
"I actually played real well," said Hogan. "The first round I had a couple of weird things happen that prevented a solid score and then the final two days I played great from tee to green. Obviously I made some putts, but I also missed some too and I had a couple three putts that prevented me from going real low both days. But that's what you have to do out there is make putts when you get the chance."
Hogan advanced into the first stage of qualifying and will play at San Juan Oaks Country Club in Hollister Oct. 25-28. He says that if he plays like he did in the pre-qualifying tournament that he should advance into the Second Stage which would be in San Diego at Bear Creek GC in November. After that, it's the grueling six round Q-School finals in Palm Springs in December where players earn PGA Tour and Nationwide Tour playing rights.
"Making it to the second stage will open some doors on a professional basis," says Hogan. "I'm known locally and from college, but if you can make it to the second stage, your options start to open up."
But before that, Hogan will play in the Monterey Open at Old Del Monte Oct. 17-19 as a tune up for the Q-School event and continue to work on his game.
"Right now, my game is as solid as it has ever been," says Hogan. "My mental approach has improved and I'm seeing the shot and executing it. But to play with the big boys, your game has to be solid all around and you can't make mistakes that give away shots."
Hogan says that if he doesn't make it to the finals of Q-School, that he visions himself playing the satellite tours like the Hooter's Tour or the Carolina's Tour next year as he prepares for his last run at Q-School.
"You can go out there and play for like four straight weeks on those tours, then come home and give yourself a break and work on your game," says Hogan.
That would also give him time to spend with his long-time girlfriend Sarah Cotton and their son Kaden who will turn three in January.
"Yeah, that's another reason why I'm not going to be out there year after year playing mini tours and trying for my card," says Hogan of his responsibilities and priorities. "That wouldn't be fair to Sarah and Kaden."
Hogan doesn't have a teacher per se and says that he is mostly a feel player that relies on athletic ability. When he seeks advice, he usually turns to his father, Dan, one of the most accomplished amateur players in Kern County.
"It's great to have someone like my dad that can offer solid advice whom you can trust," says Hogan.
While it's an advantage to have someone whom you can trust for golf swing analysis, Hogan will ultimately have to trust his own game to live out his dream. After all, he has been successful at every other stage of his golf career. The only thing left now is to reach the top of the mountain. Here's hoping he climbs it.
Hale advances through PGA pre-qualifying
Former Garces High and Cal Berkeley star Stephen Hale, who turned pro after his graduation in May, made it through the PGA Tour pre-qualifying just as Bryan Hogan did.
Hale shot 76-73-69 on the Greg Norman Course at PGA West in La Quinta in September to finish tied for 33rd. It is not known at which location Hale will compete in the First Stage Qualifying.
Men's Kern County Amateur
Entries for the 61st Men's Kern County Amateur will continue to be accepted thru Oct. 15. The entry is $100 which includes two rounds of golf, range balls both days and prizes.
The tournament will be Oct. 22-23 at Haggerty-North Kern and Foss-Kern River. The event is a scratch only tournament.
Last year John Balfanz won his record-tying fourth KC Am title when he fired rounds of 69 at Kern River and 68 at BV for a 5-under 137 total. He was three shots clear of the field, but there will be no repeat this year as the 46-year-old Balfanz has turned pro as he pursues a run towards the Senior PGA Tour in a few years.
The tournament is also the last of the Michelob Ultra/Sports Authority Player of the Year Series events in which players can earn points towards the 2011 Player of the Year title. The top 10 and ties will earn points and the winner will be crowned following the final round of the KC Am at Kern River.
Going into the final event, CSUB's Chase Goodvin is the leader with 56 points, followed by Fresno State's Bhavik Patel with 52 and Manav Shah of UCLA with 47. Scott Anderson has 44 points and is fourth while Bryan Hogan is fifth with 36, but Hogan is now a professional and will not be competing in the KC Am.
Mathimatically, Nick Valejo (32), M.J. Morin and Ron Killmer (30) and Jeff Campbell with 24 points, still have a chance to win but that would require a victory and a lot of help. The winner receives 30 points and any player that ties or breaks any of the three existing scoring records receives two bonus points for each record, so the winning player could earn as many as 36 points.
CHIP SHOTS
* Tiger Woods returns to golf this week as he plays in the Frys.com Open at CordeValle in San Martin. After that, he has the Australian Open, The President's Cup and the Chevron World Challenge left on his 2011 ticket. Let's hope he shows us something in these next four events that will make us believe that he will be a factor again in 2012!
Tee to Green appears weekly at Bakersfield.com/sports. You can reach Gautney @ rgautney@bak.rr.com.
