Getting back into the swing

Wesley Bryan’s errant drives often batter the trees of Cobblestone Park and settle far from the fairway’s edge.

Yet Bryan, a towering senior from Chapin, rarely appears rattled. He usually grins while wading through weeds or slashing through tall grass. Ask Bryan to recall his best escape shot, and he suddenly resembles Bill Clinton. Bryan just doesn’t recall.

“I’ve gotten good at shaping shots out of the trees, which means I’m pretty good at shaping shots into them, too,” Bryan said. “I’m definitely in the woods more than anyone else.”

His coaches have seen him Houdini his way out time and again. Stats from the team’s preseason qualifying matches show Bryan has the fewest bogies on the squad.

“If you watched him play, you sure wouldn’t put any money on that,” USC golf coach Bill McDonald said.

Bryan will soon give the woods of Cobblestone Park a break from his traipsing and hacking. He graduates this spring, taking with him several top-five finishes and two all-conference honors. Bryan also has made the SEC’s Academic Honor Roll every year.

Along the way, he’s earned a reputation as a player who takes his game — but never himself — seriously. And with good reason; if he did, there might be lot of snapped clubs and scarred tree trunks.

THE PRANKSTER

Caulder Moore stood atop the 18th tee box of the Mason Rudolph Championship last year, focused on his final drive of the day at Vanderbilt University.

That is, until Wesley Bryan strolled up, clutching a live turtle and grinning. Confusion followed from various coaches and players. Who is this guy, they asked one another. And more importantly, why was he carrying a turtle?

Bryan had pulled his biggest prank yet. His coaches weren’t happy. His teammates weren’t surprised.

“There was a time and place to give Caulder that turtle, and it probably wasn’t that tee box,” Brian now admits with a laugh.

Bryan has latched himself inside a dumpster on USC’s campus several times, startling those who expected a quiet walk home. Longtime teammate and roommate Clint Tolleson remembers the day he refused to give Bryan a ride home from class. Tolleson had another class and needed to stay on campus, but Bryan was ready to go.

Bryan didn’t take the rejection well, flinging himself on the ground in the middle of a crowded thoroughfare and flailing his arms about. The hundreds who passed — some barely dodging a sprawled-out, screaming Bryan — stared with incredulousness as they scurried to class.

“I finally had to leave him there,” Tolleson said. “I couldn’t take it anymore.”

THE PLAYER

Watch Bryan’s long, fluid swing, and you’ll quickly see why he’s much more than silly shenanigans. He is especially potent around the green, often draining long putts and chipping within a few feet of the hole. There are few shots he won’t try, and there are fewer shots he can’t execute.

“His attitude on the course is incredible, but sometimes with the way he’s hit it, it has to be,” McDonald said.

The first two years of Wesley Bryan’s career at USC were nothing short of stellar. He came to USC as a touted freshman, the son of Columbia golf teacher George Bryan Sr. and the brother of USC star George Bryan Jr.

Bryan quickly earned accolades, notching a spot on the All-SEC freshman team and competing in all 11 tournaments as a freshman. His scoring average of 73.09 ranked third on the team. Bryan also scored a top-10 finish in the SEC tourney. Sophomore year brought more stellar play. He was honored with second-team All-SEC honors. A round of 64 in the Bulls Bay Invitational is tied for third in school history.

He is one of five Gamecocks to break 65 in a competitive round, and Bryan’s scoring average of 72.02 still ranks sixth in school history.

“Week to week, with his career resume, Wesley should be our No. 1 player,” McDonald said.

But it all fell apart last year. Shots that once were easy were no longer. Doubt would creep into his mind, derailing simple holes and contributing to many bogeys. Those who play golf say it is mentally taxing; the wrong thoughts can ruin the best round.

His scoring average soared to more than 75. Bryan had two top-10 finishes; he had six the year before.

“I would think to myself, I’m already two or three over, I can’t make another bogey,” Bryan said.

But a few good shots translated to better play in the final tournaments of the season. He picked up mental tips from coaches and others and worked hard in the offseason. This fall, Bryan’s play — along with that of Dykes Harbin, Sean Kelly and Will Murphy — led USC to a second place finish at the Rees Jones Invitational. Bryand also finished fifth at the Bridgestone Collegiate.

Whether that momentum will translate into tournament wins this spring remains to be seen. McDonald said the team is one of the best he has coached in six years at USC, and the leadership — from Bryan and his fellow seniors — is integral to the team’s success. Golf is a mental sport, McDonald said, and this team has the potential to compete if it can couple that talent with good fortune and mental strength.

For Bryan, the next step is a run at the PGA Tour. He hasn’t committed on a backup plan yet — saying he’ll discuss that only if he must. He plans to marry a USC senior in August.

“She’s going to be my rock while I try this,” he said. “I thank God for that everyday.”