Trevor Brunson '18 Recruiting Profile

I have loved and been involved in various sports since I was very young. From fishing bass tournaments with my dad at 5 years old to racing dirt bikes, to playing football and basketball, I love competing and trying to be the best I can be. Unlike many junior golfers, I did not get introduced to the game until I was 13. During the summer before my 8^th grade year, I began playing golf in my free time and I fell in love with the game immediately. At the end of my 8^th grade basketball season, I made the decision to focus solely on golf to prepare for high school tryouts later that spring. After making the high school team and playing on the varsity team for most of my freshman season, I lettered and made the 5-man team participating in the 7A State Championship.

After this first year of high school golf, there was no doubt I wanted to be able to play golf in college and beyond. With that as my focus, I began to play local and a few regional junior tournaments. Not wanting to miss any days playing, my first win actually came when we were on vacation in Massachusetts in the summer of 2015 at a New England Junior PGA event. The opportunity to play tournaments at many different locations was a great learning experience and I was able to head into the fall high school season with 7 top 5 finishes and 2 wins for the summer. Based on my work over the summer, I was able to hold either the 2^nd or 1^st team spot during my sophomore season. During 2015 7A Arkansas State Championship, I finished in 10th place out of 90 participants with a score of 150 (75-75) and made All-Conference and All State.

Knowing that it will take continuous work and improvement to get the opportunity to play golf in college, I was able to play almost every day during the off season (even dragging my dad to the course on Christmas day). Also, I was able to play in a few tournaments in Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas throughout the winter and early spring and prepare for a more aggressive summer schedule. With 2 years’ experience on the high school team, I really enjoyed working with our high school coach mentoring, advising, and evaluating new players during our team tryouts at the end of spring.

The summer of 2016 was very busy and rewarding and it also reaffirmed my desire to play golf at the next level. Summer began at the Junior PGA qualifier at Karsten Creek GC in Stillwater, OK, the USGA Qualifier in Little Rock, followed by the Arkansas Junior Championship also in Little Rock. Attending my first ever golf camp in Tuscaloosa in early June reassured me that I could compete with some of the best junior players that were already committed to play in college. My summer was highlighted by winning the South Central Junior PGA tour player of the year with 1 win (Tulsa, OK) and finishing in the top five 4 other times. Participating in my first AJGA qualifier event at the Robert Trent Jones course in Huntsville, AL, I finished 3rd shooting 2 under par. Playing another tournament on vacation, I was able to finish in 4^th at a Virginia Golf Association event at the Birdwood GC in Charlottesville, VA. As the summer came to an end I was able to play in my first AJGA Open tournament in Kansas City finishing 25^th out of 72 participants. Although I was able to shoot a 75 (+3) on days 1 and 3, my 2^nd day 79 was a lesson in not getting over confident from a previous day’s round. As captain for the East team during this year’s Oakley Cup matches (Ryder Cup style tournament with the top players from Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma competing against the top players from Kansas and Western Oklahoma), we were able to lead the East team to their first ever Oakley Cup win at Shangri-La Golf resort in northeast Oklahoma.

I believe I will be a good college student-athlete based on my work ethic both in the classroom and on the golf course. I am fully aware that I will need to continuously work to be my best in the classroom, the course, and as a team mate. The opportunity to play golf at the next level is my primary goal. My commitment is to help a program be successful by being a good teammate on and off the course and representing my school, my team, and myself the best that I can. The opportunity to work with others that have the same desires and willingness to continuously improve are very appealing. Having other great players around to push me to keep getting better and be my best is what I am looking for in a team and coach.