"IF YOU LIKE GOLF"
online golf column
by
Chris Dortch

June 22, 2009

Bryce Ledford will be forever remembered as the key recruit who helped Mark Guhne begin the process of building UTC’s golf program into a national power. But before his golf career is finished, Ledford would like to be remembered for a lot more than that.

Last month, Ledford took a major step toward that goal, winning the Tennessee Open. The names of most of the best players in state history appear on that trophy, the notable exception being the great amateur champion Lew Oehmig. That fact wasn’t lost on Ledford, who has studied the history of Tennessee golf, reading all he can get his hands on, including my biography of Oehmig, Gentleman Champion.

“[The book] gave me inspiration,” Ledford said. “I never realized how many great players came out of Tennessee. Winning a [Tennessee Golf Association] event has always been a goal of mine. So it was cool to win one and have my name on the trophy along with the other great past champions.”

Ledford won the tournament, and the $10,000 first-place check, in convincing fashion, shooting a 6-under-par 65 in the final round at Gaylord Springs Golf Links. The tournament marked a changing of the guard of sorts for UTC golf. Ledford’s 10-under-par 54-hole total was three shots ahead of Chattanooga’s Josh Coley and Steven Fox of Hendersonville. Fox, just 18, is a star player in his own right who opened the tournament with a 64.

His college destination? UTC.

Ledford didn’t wait long to turn pro. He graduated in May 2008 and immediately began plying his trade on the Hooters Tour, where he made several cuts.

“I learned how to be more patient,” Ledford said of his Hooters Tour experience, and how to [salvage a round] when things aren’t going my way. I’ve learned that a bad shot is a bad shot and a good shot is a good shot, if that makes sense. I treat every shot the same, and I just try to stay in the same mindset all day.”

That mindset very nearly carried Ledford to the pinnacle in his first few months as a pro. He missed advancing to the third stage of the PGA Tour’s Qualifying School by just two shots. That threadbare margin was all that separated Ledford from a Nationwide Tour card.

Disappointed but convinced he had the game to play on the Nationwide and beyond, Ledford has competed in two Nationwide events this year by advancing out of the grueling Monday qualifiers.

“I played well in both and was high on the leaderboard in both,” Ledford said. “I made some poor decisions down the stretch, but I know I can play with those guys.”

His Nationwide Tour experience would pay quick dividends.

“While playing in those tournaments, I learned a lot about my nerves and how to keep myself calm,” Ledford said. “That was one of the keys to winning the state open. One of my goals was to win this year, and anytime you achieve a goal you have set out for, you know that you are working on the right things and making good decisions.”

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