Hard work, attitude change earn Brehm PGA Tour spot

Ryan Brehm graduated from Michigan State a three-time Big Ten champion.

Now he’s graduated to the PGA Tour.

The Mount Pleasant native became the first MSU golfer in program history to earn a full time PGA Tour card, secured when he won the Web.com Tour regular-season finale Aug. 28 in Portland, Ore. He now stands fourth on the money list and the top 25 gain automatic PGA Tour cards for the upcoming season.

Before Portland, Brehm was on the outside looking in at the 39th spot on the money list – but a tie for third place in a tournament in Knoxville, Tenn., followed by the Portland win and a $144,000 payday put Brehm at No. 4. Brehm opened the tournament with an 8-under 63, and then closed it with a 68 in the final round to finish 15-under.

Brehm turned pro after college in 2008, trying to find his game on various mini tours - even taking a break to work as an MSU assistant golf coach to Casey Lubahn during the 2011-12 season. Lubahn has joked that he fired Brehm after the one season, but clearly it was just a push out the door by an important mentor to go do what he was meant to do.

“I told him to go play golf for a living, it’s what he was born to do,” Lubahn said this week.

Staudt: Former Spartan golfer Ryan Brehm's feat significant

With some legitimate paychecks in his pocket now and the PGA Tour opportunity ahead, Brehm – a former Michigan Amateur winner and 3-time Michigan Open champ – is fulfilling that dream.

“My career really changed when last year I finally I was able to crack through Q-school (for the Web.com Tour) and get some status, then fight my way,” Brehm said. “I think I’ve grown as a player, having spent one year on the Web.com. The caliber of play is just very impressive. It’s more like the PGA Tour expanded than just the Web.com – there’s guys constantly going back and forth to the PGA Tour. There’s just so many great players it’s pretty humbling to spend a year out there trying to get better and win. It really motivates you to become as good a player as you can be.”

Brehm was married last summer and he and wife Chelsey now reside in Traverse City. At age 30, Brehm has shown patience in taking his lumps along the mini-tour grind.

“I changed my attitude to not put a timeline on when it was going to happen, I just decided that I was going to focus on the process of making it happen,” Brehm said. “And if I ever felt like I was getting worse or didn’t enjoy it, then I would stop playing. So in doing that I feel I enjoyed golf more and got better.

“(Like they say) golf is 90 percent mental and 10 percent mental.” he added with a chuckle.

Yet mechanics are key, too. Brehm’s reputation in golf circles – going back to earning high school’s Mr. Golf honor – is his ability to bomb tee shots, often times exceeding the end of the practice ranges at many facilities. He’s averaged 314 yards this season, down from 340 in 2015. But it’s with good reason.

“Distance has always been there for me, but golf is a combination of distance and direction, and I think what’s made the difference is I’ve developed a shot pattern that has been more reliable and allows me to be more aggressive because I’m more confident in how the ball’s going to fly,” he said. “I’ve sacrificed a little distance in doing it, but that combination of accuracy and distance has really been the key.”

Lubahn says Brehm can go a long way in golf, but agrees it’s also OK if he doesn’t.

“I think Ryan has an incredible perspective on professional golf,” Lubahn said. “It doesn’t define him. It’s not who he is; it’s what he does, and that makes it easier when things aren’t going well out there. He can kick back and see he still has a wonderful life, a great wife and family and friends.

“He is very good at not making his golf scores a determiner of how good a day he’s having.”

Winning the Portland tournament was big for Brehm, but also for the coach.

“(Aug. 28) was about as special as any I’ve ever had in this business,” Lubahn added. “I’ve always known he was close to breaking through, and after Thursday’s opening round I think everyone had a good feeling. And there was no surprise when he turned it on, on the back 9 Sunday. It was his time. You see these things coming and the look in his eyes on holes 11 through 13 was all I needed to see to know he was going to win.

“He’s the kind of kid that if he plays well on the PGA Tour, America’s going to fall in love with him.”