Freshman golfer finding success

Calm, controlled and consistent define freshman Brett Jessen's performance so far for the Weber State University Men's Golf Team. Jessen is in his first year for Coach Dave Kearl and the Wildcats, but shows the maturity of someone with much more college golf experience. The Vandal Classic in Idaho was the freshman's first experience, besides his "B" team start in the Purple and Red tournament held at Valley View golf course. Jessen finished the Vandal Classic tied for third place, the best finish so far for the youngster out of Ogden high school. Jessen finished ninth on Tuesday to help the Wildcats to a fourth-place team finish at the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate Tournament. The Purple and Red Tournament wasn't Jessen's first experience with big time golf. He has been playing his whole life, getting serious about playing competitively when he was about 10 years old. The freshman has participated in several tournaments in that time, and won some big events. The biggest of those was the Utah State Junior Amateur Tournament, which he won last summer. The experience he has is one of the factors that makes him stand out among the other freshmen on the team. In the Vandal Classic, Jessen showed a lot of control, according to Coach Kearl. Jessen never seems to get nervous, being so young, which the coach attributed to his extensive experience. He controlled not only his emotions, but also the ball as he played consistently in his best collegiate finish. "He seemed to be pretty calm," Kearl said. "It showed in the scores." WSU senior Greg Buckway also had good things to say about Jessen. "He's pretty confident with his swing and he knows what he's doing," he said. Kearl said it's nice to have a freshman player the team can depend on to step up and have a solid round. Also, to have someone who will be around on the team for a long time, but already makes an impact, is a nice benefit to the team. Jessen has played a lot of golf locally, calling the Ogden Golf and Country Club course home. He said it is one of the nicest courses around and great for learning and experience. Above and beyond Jessen's experience, his strength is his short game according to Coach Kearl. He plays well when he gets up close. Kearl went on to say Jessen is an accurate player, keeping the ball in play and putting the ball where it needs to be. The one thing Jessen said he feels he needs to work on is his ball striking. He said his goal for upcoming tournaments is to hit the ball better and play consistently. There is more to Jessen than golf. He said he is an avid family man, loves other sports and is looking forward to becoming an oral surgeon. He spends a lot of time with his family when he's not playing golf, which is one of his favorite pastimes. When he's not golfing or at home with the family, Jessen said he likes to get out to Jackson Hole and do some fly-fishing. He also played other sports as a kid before he started devoting most of his time to golf. Jessen's dad and brother are both oral surgeons and he said he wants to follow in their footsteps. He is a zoology major at WSU. According to Buckway, besides being a good golfer, he is a good person in an unassuming way. "Two words that describe [Jessen]," Buckway said, "are reserved and kind."

You can leave a message for reporter Jeff Snider by calling 626-7983.