Ryan Bender '18 Recruiting Profile

I was drawn to golf at an early age and have worked hard to be a competitive junior golfer in the Midwest. I've competed in local, regional and national tournaments throughout the past eight years. Starting first with the First Tee of Kansas City, Kansas Junior Golf Association, Kansas City Junior Golf Association and U.S. Kids of Kansas City. I achieved many tournament and tour wins with these organizations. 

In 2014, I started my first year of high school at Blue Valley North and became a member of the Varsity Men's Golf team. I kept my spot on the Varsity team during my second year of High School. I enjoyed the team aspect of high school competition and contributed to the overall success of our team. 

In 2016, I received a grant from the AJGA Foundation that enabled me to compete in four tournaments; Under Armour/Gary Woodland Championship in Lawrence, KS., AJGA Junior at Oak Tree in Edmond, OK., Bass Pro Shops/Payne Stewart Junior Championship in Hollister, MO., and Lockton Kansas City Junior in Raymore, MO. I improved my game and learned from each competition this summer. 

I love the game of golf and I'm very serious about learning from each tournament. I have learned over the years that I will have good and bad days on the golf course. It is important to move forward with a positive attitude on and off the course. 

I'd like to pursue the area of business or engineering in college and combine my love of golf with this area of study once I graduate. 

My goal is to be a positive contributor to the Men's Golf team at a Division 1 school in 2018.