From Volunteer To Player - 15-Year-Old Makes PGA Tour Debut In Bermuda

Oliver Betschart is the youngest player to tee it up in a PGA Tour event in a decade after the 15-year-old qualified for the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

The Bermuda native has been a volunteer at the event for years, but is now going inside the ropes with his clubs in hand as the fifth-youngest player to appear in a PGA Tour event this century.

“I’m not trying to get too hung up on that,” said Betschart. “Not feeling entitled or anything. Just staying very calm and enjoying hanging out with friends still. Nothing’s going to change.”

Betschart is almost part of the furniture at the tournament, having held a variety of posts over the last few years, from a range volunteer, caddie and last year being part of the tournament staff.

He won the Port Royal Golf Club Championship three weeks ago to qualify for the Bermuda Championship – which will be played on the same course to give the youngster a decent home advantage.

Betschart made his first hole-in-one at the course when he was aged just seven, and he hopes his inside knowledge can help counter the fact he will be giving away plenty of yards off the tee to the big boys.

“I've played this course over thousands of times now, I know a bit more strategy and I mean, me and my coach, David Ogrin, have gone over this as well,” Betschart said. “I definitely have a bit of an advantage now having played the course a bunch of times, and I just play my game, play how I’ve been doing now for the last few years.

“Just got to focus on myself and playing against the course, not against my competitors really. I realise that all the players out here probably outdrive me from anywhere between 70 to 30 yards, so I've got to apply the other strengths of my game.”

He may still be just a kid at 15, but Betschart is already talking like a pro golfer in how he’s working on the mental side of the game as well as his swing.

“I've been just practicing a lot more and training with mental coaches,” he said of his recent practices. “My mental game has definitely improved since last year.

“Obviously getting a bit more length now definitely helps with my performance on the course. I'd say it's a different atmosphere as well, you know, to be in this amazing event here and to be able to compete on home soil.

“Nerves are, they're meant to be there, it just means that you care about it. I don't think nerves are a bad thing, it's going to happen obviously. I mean, this is the big stage here and you're out here to play and have fun.”