Teenage prodigy Oliver Betschart shot three-over in the 54-hole local qualifier at Port Royal Golf Course to become one of three players – with Eric West and Scott Roy – to progress and tee it up alongside some of the world’s best between November 9-12.
Betschart – who became the youngest ever winner of the Port Royal Golf Club Championship in 2022 – actually missed reaching the Bermuda Championship by a single shot 12 months ago, and he was almost cruelly denied this time too.
After carding a stunning final round of 68 in tricky winds out in the Atlantic Ocean, the 15-year-old nervously watched on as professional Chaka DeSilva narrowly missed tying him with a birdie on 18.
West won the event by four – thanks to a round of 66 along the way – and will make his PGA Tour debut alongside Roy as well.
Speaking to The Royal Gazette, Betschart said: “This has been my goal for the whole year, and now it’s finally true. It’s hard to accept it, but I am really excited.
“Last year, I was up here working with the tournament staff and seeing all the work that goes on, and I am really happy to be a part of it this year. I was definitely nervous coming down the stretch and then made a lot of good shots,” he added.
The PGA Tour noted that Betschart will become the second 15-year-old to play in the Bermuda Championship in the past four years, with Kenny Leseur featuring in the 2019 version while six months older than his peer.
And when he walks onto the first tee, the latest teenage qualifier will be the fifth-youngest player to compete on the PGA Tour since the turn of the millennium.
Michelle Wie West holds the record as the most junior player to feature in a PGA Tour event – she was just 14 Years, 3 Months, 7 Days old when competing in the 2004 Sony Open in Hawaii.
The only other names younger than Betschart in that list of PGA Tour participants include Tianlang Guan, Andy Zhang, and Lorens Chan.
Source: Golf Monthly