Palo Verde golfer eyes pros after competing in Junior Amateur event

Brandon Bauman, 16, is fresh from the U.S. Junior Amateur Golf Championship in Stratham, N.H. The Palo Verde High School junior was the only golfer in a field of 150 from Nevada.

The tournament was held July 16-18. Bauman shot 151 initially, which qualified him for match play as one of 64 to make the cut. But with such tough competition, he was eliminated after the first round.

"You're not playing a single bad kid," he said. "You had to be on your game 100 percent of the time. If you slipped one time, you were done, out of the tournament."

It was only his second match play tournament. Besides the tough competition, he said it was "crazy" to have spectators watching him golf, like in the pros.

His father, Dave, who is also a golfer, accompanied him. Dave said even watching was intense, as it was like living every shot with his son.

"It was nerve-racking; it was amazing," Dave Bauman said. "It's probably one of the most exciting things you've ever watched in your life."

The younger Bauman began playing golf at 12.

"I used to be a very, very big soccer player, but when I broke my ankle, I broke my growth plate," he said. "So, if I were to damage my ankle any farther, my leg would actually stop growing. My dad gave me a club and said, 'Start swinging.' I fell in love with it."

He advanced quickly, shooting even par within three years. Angel Park Golf Club, 100 S. Rampart Blvd., is his home course.

At the Angel Park Golf Academy, Tom Carlson is his coach. He said when he first met Bauman, he saw promise.

"He's always had that confidence, that borderline cockiness," Carlson said. "That's the formula for the making of a great player. He works hard; there's no question he's in it for the long haul. He loves the game, and that's where you have to be to (play) on that level."

Bauman's first tournament was when he was 12 at Painted Desert Golf Club, 5555 Painted Mirage Road, a nine-hole match where he shot an impressive 38. Bauman said it's easy for him to zone out everything when he steps up to take his shots.

"Under pressure, I'm pretty good," he said. "I was used to (soccer games where there were) screaming fans and my dad screaming at me. I actually enjoy pressure. I think it brings out my best game."

He can play in three tournaments a month and said he enjoys that aspect more than casual play ---- that competitive drive thing again.

"He's a mature golfer for his age," said Todd Steffenhagen, his coach at Palo Verde, 333 S. Pavilion Center Drive. "He really thinks himself around the course pretty good. He can shoot the ball both ways and hit different kinds of shots ... he can maneuver the ball whatever way he needs to."

Bauman said his nature is to "win at everything. I'm one of those kids."

He hasn't disappointed himself.

As a freshman, he took fifth in the 2011 Nevada State High School Boys Golf Championship in Reno. He was a first-team selection for the All-Sunset Region and All-Northwest League teams for the 2012 high school season as a sophomore.

As an individual player, he holds the Nevada scoring record of 64 for the U.S. Kids Golf tournament at Tuscany Golf Club in Henderson in July 2010.

Other titles of note: Bauman took first place at the Butch Harmon-Tuscany/Arroyo at Red Rock Tournament in June 2011; second in April's Sunset Region Tournament at Aliante Golf Club in North Las Vegas; and first place in The First Tee of Southern Nevada Spring Break Tournament at Sun City Summerlin's Highland Falls Golf Course and Las Vegas Golf Club in April.

That last one qualified him for the Callaway Junior World Golf Championships at Torrey Pines Golf Club in San Diego, where college scouts were present.

For the past two years, Bauman has been a sign holder for professional golfer Ben Crane at the annual Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin, 1700 Village Center Circle.

Being up close to the pros, what did he learn?

"It gives you the feel of what they have to do to win a tournament," Bauman said. "I (learned) course management ... They pick a spot where they want to land it. They basically play golf like it's a chess game."

He is looking forward to a golf scholarship, and his first choice would be Arizona State University to keep it in the family, as his parents and brother went there. He's also looking at the University of Texas, San Diego State University and the University of Nebraska.

He plans to major in business or chemistry but said his ultimate goal is to make a career of golf.

"For me to go pro would be my dream because there's nothing better than playing golf," he said. "If I can get on the tour, I'm basically living the life."

Contact Summerlin/Summerlin South View reporter Jan Hogan at jhogan@viewnews.com or 387-2949.