Former Gamecock Golfer's Career Comes Full Circle

Wesley Bryan’s golf career is coming full circle. The former South Carolina golfer and PGA TOUR professional is back in Columbia rehabilitating his shoulder after surgery for a torn labrum, and the Chapin, S.C., native is grateful to be back home and spending time at the Gamecocks’ practice facility to help make his comeback.

“I just love being around a competitive environment, and I feel like a college golf team is about as competitive as you can get,” said Bryan, who always keeps a Gamecock logo on his TOUR bag. “The (practice) facility is great. It’s right up there with the best in the country, not just as universities are concerned, but with overall practice facilities. Week in and week out, I’m at the best golf courses in the world, and this practice facility right here stacks up with all of them. Just having quality product to get ready to go back to what I’ve been doing; it’s definitely going to help.

“I still have a pretty large friend group here in Columbia. That’s been fun. As far as golf is concerned, I feel like having a facility like this is one of the better career moves I could make.”

It hasn’t been uncommon for Bryan to stick close to his hometown. Bryan had an outstanding career at South Carolina. Among his collegiate honors, he was a two-time All-Southeast Region selection, was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team in 2009 and earned Second Team All-SEC honors the following year. The local product was South Carolina’s team MVP as a senior in 2012.

After college, he moved just down the road to Augusta, Ga., to pursue a career in professional golf alongside his older brother. After some ups and downs across various mini tours, his big breakthrough came in 2016, when Bryan won three times with seven top-10s on the Web.com Tour (now the Korn Ferry Tour). He was named 2016 Web.com Tour Player of the Year after finishing No. 1 on the points lists by a wide margin. 

Bryan had an outstanding first full season on the PGA TOUR in 2017, earning five top-10s in 28 starts. He finished 41^st in the final FedEx Cup standings and his year was highlighted by a win at the 2017 RBC Heritage on Hilton Head Island. He became the first native South Carolinian to win the event in its 51-year history.

“If I could pick any golf tournament to win, non-major, I’m going to take that one,” Bryan said. “Going into it, I knew there was this curse where no South Carolina golfer had ever won it. I literally had hundreds of family and friends watching that Sunday. Afterwards, to be able to give them hugs and for them to be there for my first PGA TOUR victory was really special.”

“Try to win every single day, in every single contest and in every part of the game.”

Three years into life on the PGA TOUR, Bryan began having pain in the middle of last year.

“It really affected me on my backswing,” Bryan said. “I played through it for a while, and this past fall it got so bad to where I could barely take the club back. I knew it was jacked up. I knew there was something wrong.

“Physically, I was struggling for about a year; just health-wise. I knew I was playing through something I probably shouldn’t have, but when they give you the opportunity to travel around to the coolest places in the world, play the best golf courses in the world, against the best players in the world; it’s hard to say no to that. I probably should have got it checked out and shut it down a lot earlier. I’m still young and dumb, and still learning. I’m definitely chomping at the bit to get back out there, but health is first and foremost.”

Bryan went to the doctor and he wasn’t surprised by the diagnosis, but he initially took it in stride.

“The timing of it was perfect,” Bryan said. “My wife (Elizabeth) was probably eight and half months pregnant when I found out. I was going to have to have the surgery pretty quick, so it allowed me to be a fulltime dad.”

He had surgery last January and his timeline to return to the PGA TOUR is still to be determined.

“I’m just trying to build up strength,” Bryan said. “Whenever I feel like I can go back and play seven days in a row with little to no soreness, I feel like that will be about the time I’m ready to compete.

Prior to his injury, Bryan and his wife were considering a move back to the Midlands and started building a house at the end of 2017. When he got back into town, Bryan reached out to his former coach at South Carolina, Bill McDonald, and former Director of Golf Puggy Blackmon about checking out the facilities. Bryan was blown away by South Carolina’s new Huskey/Dietrich Practice Facility.

“I’m actually a little bit glad it wasn’t here when I was in school because I don’t think there is any way I would have graduated,” Bryan said. “I would have spent way too much time out here! The kids that are coming through now, this is all they’re ever going to know. Good for them.”

The 29-year-old enjoys seeing the current student-athletes and talking about his experiences as a Gamecock, as a professional golfer, and as an online celebrity with the series of trick shot videos he and his brother and former South Carolina teammate, George IV, have put out as part of Bryan Bros Golf. He’s also happy to pass along advice for success.

“You have to key in on that really competitive side,” Bryan said. “Try to win every single day, in every single contest and in every part of the game.”

Bryan comes from a competitive golf family. His father played for Gamecocks in the early 1980s, while older brother, George IV, was a three-time All-American for the Gamecocks from 2006-10, and his sister played golf at the College of Charleston.

“Growing up, my dad never let us beat him,” Bryan said. “As we got a little bit older, my brother was that standout, stud, and went through a point in time where he couldn’t be beat. Then I started getting the best of him a little bit. My sister never really stood a chance. I never let her beat me. Given that she has a fulltime job now and plays like once a month, I don’t think she is ever going to be able to say she beat me.” 

As he has matured, Bryan has a new perspective of his own days playing college golf.

“Playing for a guy like Bill (McDonald) is very easy,” Bryan said. “He does expect a lot out of you, so when you’re playing for him, he expects you to work hard. He expects you to compete at a high level. So, playing for guy like that was very easy, and it was also fun. We have a little different relationship these days. I feel like I can give him a little more grief now.”

Bryan is looking forward to rehabilitating so he can get back on tour and hopefully be in contention at tournaments on Sundays when he wears his traditional final-round outfit of baby blue pants, a hot pink shirt and American flag socks.