Brandon Nelson opened his junior year for the Bemidji State University men's golf team in fine fashion.
After working his way up from barely making the team, he's now one of the Beavers' top players. Nelson finished third at the Embry-Riddle Aeuronautical University Spring Invite earlier this month, helping BSU finish five strokes behind tournament champion Arizona Christian University.
Nelson carded a two-under-par (69-73-72), finishing just one stroke out of second place.
That success has come with a lot of hard work and dedication, and a lifetime of golf that started long before even his high school days.
With two older brothers and a dad who play golf, it was natural for Nelson to be exposed to golf at an early age and pick it up. His dad, Scott, taught both of his brothers and eventually, Brandon.
“I've been around golf courses as long as I can remember,” he said. “My dad used to tell me stories about how he would put my car seat on the back of our golf cart and they would drive me along while they played.”
Although Nelson has played for most of his life, he started taking golf more seriously as a competitive sport during his seventh or eighth grade year at Litchfield Middle School.
“I played baseball until my freshman year, as well,” he said. “I think that seventh- or eighth-grade year, I wanted to compete mostly in golf.”
Prior to playing in high school, Nelson played in some competitive tournaments like the Junior PGA events. But it wasn't until he began to play in high school that Nelson developed his passion for golf and improved his game the most.
“I started playing varsity a little bit in eighth grade,” Nelson said. “I looked up to the seniors that we had. Then freshman year, I got put into that spot of playing at the top of our team. When I got put in that spot, I was playing with a bunch of juniors, seniors, that were on the other teams.”
Competing with those older golfers helped Nelson make friends along the way. Which is nothing new in the sports world.
But it was Nelson's sophomore year, that he took the next step. He won a couple of tournaments that year and missed making the state meet by just one stroke. That hit Nelson hard and made him want to go back out on the green and make sure it didn't happen again.
“That just brought the passion out of me,” he said. “(It) made me want to get to state my junior year. Made it to state my junior year. A little disappointment in the two rounds and that just built the fire and made me want to get even better.”
Nelson finished in 23rd at state his junior year after not having his best round of golf that day. But he hunkered down and put together a great senior season and ended up taking second at state in his final year of high school competition.
Nelson had no offers to play at the next level, but he knew that he wanted to. About halfway through his senior year, Nelson contacted the head coach of Bemidji State about him playing there.
“I got a visit set up with (Ekron Miller),” Nelson said. “When I first met him, I loved him. He was a great influencer on me coming to Bemidji. As soon as he asked if I wanted to sign, I signed immediately without even taking a tour of the campus.”
Nelson's first year got off to a rough start as he was on the verge of being cut after team qualifying. But Miller saw something in him and kept Nelson around, which turned out to be the right decision.
“I came in our first tournament I believe fifth or sixth,” he said. “From then on, I've been pretty much a top-five player the last three years.”
Obviously, it meant a lot to Nelson to have the coach go out of his way to make a bid to get a 13th player on the team.
“It just shows his character and demeanor,” Nelson said. “It shows that if he sees some sort of talent, that he will go out and help his players and hopefully get them to stay on the team.”
But for Nelson, the biggest highlight is the friends he has made during his time on the team. The golf team doesn't have planes or buses that take them to the tournaments. They have to drive to those places on their own. That means being in the car with your teammates for 12-13 hours and then staying in a hotel room with them for the weekend. Being around his teammates for that time, Nelson said, has built something more than just friendship with his teammates.
“We all have each other's backs,” he said. “Some of these guys have become actually a family to me. If I need somewhere to stay, I can stay there. They need somewhere to stay, they can stay with me. We have a family and it's really fun to know that we have that.”
For his final year and a half of school, Nelson still wants to expand his game and improve. If something comes along after school, he will take a look at it. But for now, Nelson just has two focuses, golf and school.
“I'm very focused on getting my major,” Nelson said. “To get out of college with a degree and being able to graduate.”
