10 years after UNLV, Eddie Olson earns mini-tour title

Professional golf certainly looks glamorous from the outside, with players traveling the world on chartered flights, challenging the best courses on the planet under the eye of adoring fans and earning huge paychecks for their efforts.

But for every Rory McIlroy or Jordan Spieth, there are thousands of other pros chasing the dream in the unglamorous world of mini-tours. They’re driving from event to event, staying wherever they can afford and playing for purses that pay next to nothing. But every once in a while, there’s that moment that keeps the dream alive.

Such was the case this week for Eddie Olson, 10 years removed from his golfing career at UNLV and still dreaming big. On Thursday, Olson won on the Unbridled Tour, taking home the title at Fleming Island Golf Club in Jacksonville, Florida. The victory earned him $8,650, a phenomenal payday for a mini-tour event.

And he won the event in championship fashion, closing with a course-record 11-under 60 to finish the three days at 22-under 191 for a two-shot victory.

Olson actually had a shot at the elusive 59, but just missed a 25-footer for eagle on the finishing hole to settle for 60.

“You don’t get too many opportunities to putt for a 59,” Olson said after the round. “But I’m going to take my picture of the check and send it to my mom. She’ll be very happy with that.”

Olson has a 59 in his history, shooting it at Seascape Golf Club in Aptos, California, the course where he learned to play before bringing his talent to UNLV. His stellar career with the Rebels included winning the individual title at the 2008 Mountain West Championship.

After college, he hit the road in his quest for professional glory. It’s an effort that has gotten him as high as No. 1,320 in the Official World Golf Rankings, and he currently sits at No. 2,089.

He’s made it into a handful of PGA Tour events, including this year’s Farmers Insurance Open in January at Torrey Pines, where he qualified for the tournament on a Monday. Despite an eagle on his closing hole, he missed the cut by a single shot in his quest to play the weekend and cash a paycheck on the PGA Tour for the first time.

In the meantime, it’s mini-tours and Monday qualifiers. And keeping the dream alive, something he reflected on in a post on the Seascape website when he joined the staff last summer.

“It’s allowed me to see all parts of America and introduced me to so many wonderful people,” he wrote.

This week, it led him to victory and keeping that flicker of hope alive.

Chip Shots

— The PGA of America this week changed the qualifying standards for this year’s U.S. Ryder Cup team, increasing Steve Stricker’s captains picks to six to go with six automatic qualifiers. Normally, the captain gets four picks to go with eight qualifiers. The change was made due to the limited number of tournaments on the 2020 schedule to earn points, thanks to the 13-week break in play due to Covid-19.

The big question, however, is whether there will even be a Ryder Cup, set for the final weekend in September at Whistling Straits. Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka are among several top players who have said they will skip the event if fans aren’t allowed on the grounds. Stricker said this week that a decision is expected in the next two or three weeks on whether the event will be played or delayed until 2021.

— Another week, another cancellation. The LPGA announced this week that the Evian Championship, one of the tour’s major championships, will not be played in 2020. The French tournament had been moved from July to August, but this week it was dropped from the schedule.

Greg Robertson is a freelance reporter who covers golf for the Review-Journal. He can be reached at robertsongt@gmail.com