All Grown Up On the Green

After destroying the course record at the Bumgardner Junior Memorial in Modesto last year, Andrej Bevins was upset.

Only fifteen, the Christian Brothers High School standout had beaten older golfers—but he didn’t care. 

With a four stroke lead, he’d cruised to victory—and he was still mad.

The problem?  He wasn’t perfect.

After two flawless days at the Bumgardner tournament, Bevins missed a putt on the final hole and finished with a bogey.  For a golfer who prides himself on doing his best, that last hole bothered him.

And still bothers him.

“If the best players in the world had played this tournament, they would have beat me,” said Bevins, who will be a junior next year and is Elk Grove Patch’s Athlete of the Week.  “You still have to think about what you did, the bad mistakes you had.”

That attitude must be paying off.  Bevins, who carries a 2 handicap, played this week for the first time at the prestigious US Junior Amateur Championship at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Wash.  After making the cut with a two-day score of 151, the Elk Grove golfer fell in the first round of match play, losing 3 and 2 against Jonathan De Los Reyes of Antioch, Calif.

Still, just qualifying was an incredible accomplishment for someone who recently turned 16.

“In a lot of ways, he’s been a lot more successful this year because he’s qualified for some tournaments that were high on his list of goals,” said his coach, Don Levin.  “Maybe he hasn’t had the same scores as last year, but I think it’s been more successful.”

Levin should know.  His son is professional golfer Spencer Levin, who’s currently 26th on the PGA Tour money list.  Watching Bevin’s rise the past five years has Levin impressed.

“As far as upside—big upside, huge upside,” said Levin. “It’s just what Andrej wants to do with it from there.”

And Andrej says he wants to win.  After the US Junior Amateur, Bevins has three other major tournaments planned this summer, including the Northern California Golf Association Junior Championship next week at Spyglass Hill Golf Course in Pebble Beach.

Even if he's victorious in those events, don’t count on a change in attitude, says Bevins.

“It’s cool to win these tournaments; you know you did something good,” he said.  “But in my opinion, you can’t start a party or start celebrating.  There’s always next time.”

Elk Grove Patch spoke with Bevins on the phone this week after he finished his first round at the US Junior Amateur Championship.  We asked him about dealing with failure, what he’s improved this year and how he developed his mental approach to the game.

You just played in the US Junior Amateur Championship in Bremerton, Wash., earlier this week.  This was your first time qualifying for the event and you must be excited.  What does it mean to get this opportunity to play in such a tournament?

It’s a pretty big tournament for junior golf—it’s the tournament.  So, anytime you get to make it at a USGA event, it’s great.  Just a really good experience. 

Last year, you won two junior tournaments while setting the course record at each event.  This year, you’ve entered bigger events with stiffer competition.  How do you prepare for these harder events?

Lots of practice.  Obviously, when you can play like I did (last year), you learn some stuff.  You learn how to play, you learn how to compete, you learn how to go [under par]. This year, I’m playing a little bit better than I did last season.

You won the 2010 Bumgardner Junior Memorial while going head to head with older players.  How did you deal with the pressure of beating golfers from a higher age bracket?

You have to realize there is no pressure.  It’s just the course.  No other players matter.  Just you and the course and that’s it.

This year, you’ve added about 15 yards to your drives off the tee.  What are some other improvements that you’ve made since last year?

I have gotten a little bit bigger.  I’ve improved my putting.  I’m doing a little bit better on the green. 

Does anyone else in your family golf?

My dad does.  The thing about my dad is that he didn’t play golf when he was younger, he was a baseball and football guy.  He was pretty good at it—he had a lot of competitive drive.  I think he helped me get that drive, too.

Growing up in Elk Grove, where did you play golf?

When I moved to Elk Grove, I started playing at Wildhawk [in Sacramento].

Have you played at any famous courses in other parts of the country or in Europe?

I have played at Pinehurst in North Carolina and the PGA National in Florida.  And this course in Washington, Gold Mountain Golf Club [for the US Junior Amateur Championship].

Are there any current professional golfers that compare to you in style and swing?

My coach, Don Levin, and his son, Spencer, who plays on the PGA Tour.  I try to do the best I can to learn what Don teaches his son.  I’ve been with Don for about five years now, and it’s only getting better.  If I were to emulate anybody, it would be how he teaches.

How do you recover mentally after a bad shot in a tournament?  Is that something you struggled with in the past?

Definitely.  It’s hard to recover from hard shots, especially if you know they’re going to impact you.  Let’s say it’s a big tournament, you hit a bad shot and you can’t afford it.  What I’ve come to learn is when you hit a bad shot, you got to let it go.  I used to fit about it—wonder why, think about it a lot, why did I hit it so bad.  You have to think positively, get good vibes and hope you hit better shots.

You’re only 16 years old, but it seems like your approach to golf is very mature for a high school student.  How do you keep such a positive attitude in an often frustrating sport?

I have a really unique personality.  I know I’m more mature than most people my age.  It’s hard for me to do what normal kids my age do, I don’t know why, I just can’t do it.  I tend to talk better with adults than with kids my own age.  I have no idea where it came from.