Wesley Bryan
Charting the trick shot king’s rapid
rise up golf’s world rankings.HOW HE
GOT HERE
Born March 26 in
Chapin, South
Carolina, one of three
children born to George
III, a golf instructor who
turned their backyard
into a golf academy.AEurekamoment
arrives. Having
discovered he had a
skill for hitting the ball
out of mid-air, Wesley
teams up with George
and performs trick
shots. The Bryan Bros
become YouTube and
reality TV sensations.Graduates from the
University of South
Carolina and joins
brotherGeorgeIV in
playing America’s mini
tours. “He was always
better than me and
stronger than me and
hitting the ball farther
than me, so it gave me
something to chase
after,” said Wesley.
“He always had a really
good work ethic, so
that’s where I learned
my work ethic from.”EarnshisWeb.comTourcardwithaT9atQSchool.
Enters FebruaryRanked 1,127 , then finds some
serious form. With his brother on the bag, wins his
third event of the season, the Louisiana Open(Rank
402),thenquicklyaddstheElBosqueMexico
Championship(Rank 212)and the Digital Ally Open
(Rank 115).WinstheWeb.comTourPlayerofthe
Year and after just 13 starts earns promotion to theWins the RBC Heritage
by a stroke from Luke
Donald, in the
process earning his
first PGA Tour Victory,
and a place at next
year’s Masters – in his
home town of Augusta.
Bryan joins a select
group of players who
have risen from outside
the top 1,000 to inside
the top 50 – including
Rory McIlroy, Dustin
Johnson, Jordan Spieth,
Justin Thomas and
Rickie Fowler. Indeed,
of those five, only
Fowler rose up the
rankings more quickly
thanBryan–45weeks
to 57.Ranked 36No victories but a run
ofT4,T7,69andT
push him further up
th Offi i l W ld
Go
RaBryan breaks into the
world’stop100for
thefirsttime,posting
a T4 finish in the
Genesis Open, six shots
adrift of tournament
winner Dustin Johnson.
Ranked 96
Struggles with the step
up. Between November
2016 and January 2017
Bryan misses four
consecutive cuts in the
RSM Classic, Sony Open,
CareerBuilder Challenge
and Farmers Insurance
Open. His rank drops
from 123 to 141.As their celebrity trick
shot act catches fire,
Bryanstrugglestofind
time to play tournamen
golf.Heestimateshe
played just three or fou
events in 2015, but
practises at the private
facility owned by
Augusta University.2015
1990
2014
2012
(^20162016)
FEB
2017
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2017
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2017
THE SPIN
18 Golf World August 2017