Southwest Florida golf: Naples' Emma Bradley committed to college, but weighing options

Naples

Emma Bradley has options many golfers would love to have.

But right now, even after playing in the U.S. Women's Open and placing in the top 10 at the Florida Women's Open this summer, the 17-year-old senior at Seacrest Country Day is fine being just that -- a high school student who's good enough at golf to have a verbal commitment to SEC school Ole Miss.

Oh, sure, there are another enticing one Bradley is considering. She could turn professional after she graduates in May and join the Symetra Tour, the developmental circuit for the LPGA Tour.

"Age doesn't really have a lot to do with it," she said. "I feel like my game is really ready."

The cliche "timing is everything" applies.

"I think the LPGA is a matter of timing," she said. "When the time's right, I'll know. I know I definitely have a lot to think about during my senior year."

But instead of pulling out the Symetra Tour schedule and plotting her next move, Bradley can't wait to make her official visit to Ole Miss, where she verbally committed back in May 2016. She can officially sign in November.

"I do plan on signing," Bradley said. "I'm definitely excited for my official visit. All of my teammates will be there. I'll get to see my coaches.

"I had a litany of choices to pick from my sophomore year to know where I went to college. I really fell in love with Ole Miss. If I do end up playing college golf, it will be at Ole Miss. It's all about timing and when I'm ready. We'll see. The plan is to keep just plugging along and see how everything goes."

So far, everything has gone pretty well. Bradley qualified for the Class 1A state tournament as a regional champion back when she was in eighth grade. Shortly after that, she gave up high school golf to play regular junior golf. And while not perhaps the tried-and-true route to college and professional golf, that worked, too, with her picking the Rebels over Vanderbilt and Florida State. She also had talked with Auburn, Georgia, Arizona, and Notre Dame. .

This summer, Bradley tried to qualify for the U.S. Women's Open and did so, beating out Nelly Korda, an LPGA Tour player whose older sister Jessica qualified for the Solheim Cup team. The younger Korda has three top-10 finishes on the tour and easily will qualify for the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in Naples in November.

Bradley shot 82-77/159 at Trump National Golf Club.

"Playing in the Open's definitely an eye opener," Bradley said. "It really showed me what I'm capable of. I think it's a nice boost of confidence. It's a matter of timing and when I'm ready and when it's the best option to go play Symetra, go to Q-school. When that time comes, I'll know. It's just a matter of timing when it's best for myself and my family."

Southwest Florida golf: Naples' Bradley, Martin, Tamulis miss cut at U.S. Women's Open

For now as far as golf goes, Bradley plans on playing events on the National Women's Golf Association -- a professional tour -- as an amateur. The tour has a few Florida stops.

"I'm pretty much done with junior golf," she said. "The bigger events is what I'm looking to play. Not a ton of junior golf, but some to keep my game sharp. ... It's just a higher competition grade for me to sink my teeth, just really get a feel for a higher level."

Like college golf. Or the Symetra Tour?

"It's a discussion since it's the end-goal, really," she said of playing professionally. "We haven't really totally gone in-depth about it. It's been a discussion here and there.

"It's a huge decision. To play professional golf is something obviously any golfer would want to do. It's just a matter of when it's right for me and when I feel the best about doing it."