After reaching the NCAA Division I golf championship match-play final, Cole Anderson of Camden is now setting his sights on a pro career.
He will travel to British Columbia and participate in a 72-hole PGA Tour Americas qualifying tournament beginning June 10.
“The top 25 qualify,” said the 23-year-old Anderson who will get to play in 10 PGA Tour Americas events across Canada if he makes the cut.
“It was pretty wild when I registered for Q (qualifying) school. I checked a box as a professional instead of as an amateur for the first time,” said Anderson. “It’s pretty cool.
“I took a moment to reflect on the journey to this point. It’s exciting,” he said.
This is the first year of the tour which was created by combining the PGA Tour Canada and PGA Tour Latinoamerica circuits and playing events in Latin America from February through May and the rest in Canada from June through September.
In his final tournament as an amateur, Anderson and his Florida State Seminoles lost to Auburn 3-2 in a final on Wednesday that pitted two teams that were each seeking their first NCAA title.
Anderson teed off in the first pairing against Carson Bacha and posted a 1-up win but the Tigers won three of the final four matches including the last one in which Auburn’s J.M. Butler beat Luke Clanton 2-and-1 to give his team the title at the Omni La Costa Resort and Spa North Course in Carlsbad, Cal.
Anderson said winning the national championship was the goal from the outset and, despite the loss, the whole experience was fun.
“The atmosphere was awesome. It was a very high-pressure situation but I enjoyed it a lot. I’m just proud to be a part of it,” said Anderson.
Anderson had shot a six-over-par 294 over four rounds in the stroke play portion of the championship which left him in a 31st place tie. He was the second best finisher among the Seminoles behind Clanton, who tied for second with a two-under 286.
He then lost his head-to-head matches in the team’s match-play victories over North Carolina (3-1) and Georgia Tech (3-2) in the quarterfinals and semifinals before beating Bacha in the final.
“I played pretty decent in the stroke play portion but I wasn’t quite as sharp in spots as I would have liked to have been. I struggled a little bit in the first two match-play rounds but, in the final round, I managed what I had really well and I just fought tooth-and-nail and was able to win the match,” Anderson said. “I performed well but, as always, it could have been better. I’m definitely not disappointed.”
Anderson said his college career was rewarding.
“But, overall, it was a really good week to close out what has been a pretty special five and a half years for me,” said the three-time Class A schoolboy golf champion from Camden Hills High School in Rockport and two-time Maine Amateur titlist.
His regular season didn’t live up to his expectations.
“I struggled with my golf swing in some portions of the year. It was something different every day. But it’s golf. It is what it is. It’s part of the journey,” he said.
Anderson didn’t start playing golf until he was 10 as baseball and hockey were his sports of choice.
“But then I got hooked on golf,” he said.
Just 13 years later, he has realized his dream of turning professional.
He will continue to work on his game in Tallahassee, Florida before heading to British Columbia.
He said he is confident he can finish in the top 25 and earn the opportunity to play on the PGA Tour Americas circuit.
“I’m excited to get going and give it a run,” said Anderson, who finished in a tie for third in the PGA’s Korn Ferry Tour’s Live and Work in Maine Open in 2022 at the Falmouth Country Club.
The Korn Ferry Tour could be a future destination for him if he qualifies for the PGA Tour Americas circuit and plays well enough in those 10 Canadian tournaments.
