When Barend Botha made his professional debut, on the North American Swing of the PGA Tour Americas, the recent graduate from the University of Toledo had just seven events to make an impression.

Within three starts, however, the 22-year-old had notched up two wins and secured his playing rights on the Korn Ferry Tour for next season. A remarkable result for the rookie from George, South Africa.

“The plan was always to turn pro after finishing college,” says Botha. “So I graduated in May and then went to PGA Tour Americas Q-School in California in June. I had my brother on the bag and we came tie-first, which earned me a card for the North American Swing of the Americas Tour.”

After a delay waiting for his visa, Botha finally got his professional career going at the Bromont Open, on the feeder tour to the Korn Ferry.

“When I started, there were only seven events left,” he says. “The first one, my first pro event, I was nervous and I was just happy to make the cut. At the second and third ones, my game was in good shape and I was in a good headspace. I won those two and suddenly I was in a really good spot on the Fortinet Cup standings.”

Botha’s double victory saw him finish fourth in the final standings, enough for a conditional card on the Korn Ferry Tour next season, as well as a spot in the Final Stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School, where he has a chance to earn his PGA Tour card or improve his status.

“I’ll be honest, after the first win, I didn’t have any words,” he says. “I was shocked. I was just so grateful to have Max Hansen, a good friend from George, on the bag. He kept me calm and relaxed. If I started thinking ahead, he would say, ‘Stop that, focus on this now, focus on this shot.’

“For the second win, I definitely felt a little more pressure as people knew who I was and there was a bit more attention. But after the first round I settled in and felt comfortable. My game felt good, which made it a lot easier for me to calm down and play. Coming down the stretch I was a little nervy and I didn’t know what was going on. I made an eagle putt and I figured that would get me somewhere up there.

“Waking down the 18th I saw the scorecard and the nerves hit. I hit my drive 40 metres short of the green and chipped a sand-wedge to the back-right pin – it checked and then released to about a foot and a half, so I had a tap in for the win. My heart was pumping as I made the putt.”

Botha left South Africa as a promising young 18-year-old player who had been a key part of the Southern Cape Interprovincial team. Few could have predicted his sudden rise, or to see him plying his trade on the Korn Ferry Tour within four years.

He credits his time in the college system for this – he was a star player in the University of Toledo’s golf squad, where he was twice named Mid-American Conference Golfer of the Year twice (2023, 2024) and was an All-MAC selection four times.

“There’s quite a big step up in competition from playing in South Africa,” he says. “I don’t want to take anything away from South African amateur golf, which is very underrated, but in the US you play against many more good players, week after week. It does a lot for your golf to play against that level of competition regularly.”

In four years as a University of Toledo Rocket, Botha’s game improved steadily, but he says he also made great progress on the mental side.

“The biggest improvement was in my course management,” he says. “I really grew in that aspect. I learned over the years to better manage my game, because when I was younger I just hit driver everywhere.

“I think my mental game also improved a lot over the time I was at college. I worked with the university’s sports psychologist to help me with how I think about the game. We focused on staying positive, no matter what happens. It’s golf, so there are always going to be ups and downs, but now I keep looking forward and upward, and I’m not too hard on myself.”

Botha’s experience in the US college system has seen him become an advocate for it.

“If there’s an up-and-coming player in South Africa who is thinking about going the college route, my advice is to do it. I think it’s good to get away from home because you grow up and learn new things, and it helps your golf. The facilities and programmes are so professional and it’s a step up on the ladder to becoming a pro.

“I really enjoyed the college experience. Toledo plays a good schedule and we got to practise at Inverness Golf Club, so it made it a lot better to be in that cold place with those two things.”

With college golf behind him, Botha is looking forward to getting off to a flying start when the Korn Ferry Tour starts up again early in 2025. “I’m looking forward to travelling to some new places and seeing parts of the world I haven’t seen,” he says.

Keep an eye out for Barend Botha on the world’s leaderboards over the next few years. He may have left these shores as a relative unknown, but he’s certainly making a name for himself now.

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IMAGES: BREE BEE/UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO/JAY FAWLER/PGA TOUR/X