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| Bronson Burgoon, playing at this year's U.S. Open, found out at a young age that he loved golf. So much so that he used to sleep with a club. (Michael Cohen/USGA). |
By Ken Klavon, USGA
Tulsa, Okla. – When he was a kid, Bronson Burgoon used to squint at the 10 steps leading into his house, draw back and fire.
Ping! Plunk! Ping! Balls bounded everywhere.
Burgoon applied a marksmen’s approach, chipping each ball at the intended targets. Just like a sniper, he’d hit every one of those steps. He made sure of it.
“He wouldn’t stop,” said his 57-year-old father, Richard Burgoon, Tuesday at Southern Hills Country Club, where Bronson carded a 3-over-par 73 in the second round of stroke-play qualifying at the 109th U.S. Amateur. “He’d be at them for hours.”
Burgoon’s devotion to the game was all consuming. He sacrificed time with friends, social gatherings and trips all in the name of practice. Sometimes his dad’s eyes would well up with tears when he’d come home from his job as a general sales manager for a major automobile company and find his oldest son working on his game, in the night’s unfriendly chill, under the din of a single outdoor light. Sometimes the younger Burgoon wouldn’t notice.
On the fast track following in his dad’s footsteps toward a bright baseball future, The Woodlands, Texas, native decided to forego the sport in lieu of golf at age 10. He was a star pitcher in the making, blessed with a golden arm that threw smoke. His dad knew what that was like, having played in the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system for five years until an arm injury eventually led to his release.
Bronson was so talented that his baseball coach would allow him to miss practices. In the meantime, a smoldering passion had grown crimson in his belly. He’d ask his dad to stop at a driving range on the way to baseball practice and Richard would acquiesce. Burgoon gradually migrated more toward golf, finally announcing to his parents that he wanted relinquish ties to baseball.
That’s when he joined the Houston Golf Association Junior Program, a recipient of two USGA Grants.
His four years under the program’s tutelage showed Bronson core values associated with the game.
“They taught you how to respect the game, how not to cheat,” said Burgoon, laughing. “I fell in love with the game even more when I was there.”
It’s hard to understand how Burgoon could have loved the game more. Introduced to the game at 4 by his father, he’d sleep with a club in his bed. Bronson often followed behind his father while heading to the range. Richard had cut down some clubs, but was intent on making sure the game was fun. When Burgoon got better, they’d become more competitive.
“I used to give him 30 strokes when he was real small,” said Richard, who is caddieing for his son this week, “and he’d count every one of those strokes as we played.”
Bronson slowly ingratiated himself into American Junior Golf Association events and learned how to compete among kids his own age. Colleges soon became interested. Texas A&M University seemed like a match. In hindsight it was. This past May, the senior exited the way every collegiate golfer dreams about. As the team’s No. 1 player, Burgoon led the Aggies into the NCAA Division I Championship for a 24th time. The program had never placed higher than fourth (1982).
At Inverness, on the final day of the NCAA Championship, Burgoon had built a comfortable lead against Arkansas' Andrew Landry until losing four consecutive holes. On No. 18, looking at a difficult 125-yard approach shot from deep rough, fate intervened. Burgoon struck the ball with a gap wedge, the ball floating high toward the green. It stopped inches from the hole. When Landry missed his 35-foot birdie putt to halve the hole, Texas A&M earned its first national title.
“If anyone ever says they’re not nervous in a situation like that, they’re lying,” said Burgoon, now 22. “I was just trying to get inside Andrew’s ball. … It was one of the best experiences of my life.”
Burgoon’s summer picked up more steam when he qualified for the U.S. Open at Bethpage State Park a few days after the NCAAs. In the first round on the Black Course, the nerves dissipated enough to shoot an orderly 4-over 74 before a disorderly 79 ended his week. Despite the disappointment, he interacted with the raucous New York fans, engrossed by the environment and the big-time nature.
Now the two-time All-American is here at the U.S. Amateur, his fourth and likely final appearance. He has “lofty goals,” objectives that involve turning professional and getting his PGA Tour card. A couple of years ago, he almost bolted school in search of making a living on the tour.
“I’m glad he didn’t,” said Richard Burgoon, “because the extra years in school have matured him. I’m talking about the mental end. He’s learned to hit higher percentage shots, and things like that have allowed him to progress in that maturity.
“When he had a bad round before, I’ve told him, ‘You have a lot of time to figure it out.’ That might not have been the case if he had left."
The 73 Tuesday on Southern Hills’ Perry Maxwell layout likely will be enough to push him into match play for the first time in the Amateur. From there, the clichéd anything-can-happen axiom is in effect. Should he go far, the innumerable hours working on his craft will have been worth it.
“He’s given up a lot in life for golf,” said Richard. “As you can imagine, I’m the proudest father in the world. The thousands of golf balls he’d hit every day has paid off.”
Even if Burgoon doesn’t advance far this week, he’s still in the early chapters of his golf career. It’s up to him to write the rest.
Ken Klavon is the USGA’s Editor of Digital Media. E-mail him with questions or comments at kklavon@usga.org.
