Brandon Wu, Korn Ferry Tour, Stanford University
Alex Elias
USGA
In a full-circle moment, Brandon Wu had the honor of hitting the opening tee shot at the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club—just five minutes from where he grew up. Reflecting on his upbringing, the New York native said, “I actually thought it was advantageous to have the different seasons, because it allowed me to play other sports. At Deerfield [Academy], I swam and played football for a couple of years.”
“It certainly keeps your golf game fresh. At times, I felt a bit rusty because I wasn’t playing year-round, but when I got to Stanford and we were playing year-round, it was perfect,” said Wu.
Balancing academics and multiple sports at Deerfield, Wu carried that same philosophy with him to Stanford.
“This might be a different take than some, but I think golf isn’t the most important thing in the world, especially at a place like Stanford. I was fortunate that golf brought me there, but it also allowed me to experience other great things—like meeting interesting professors and becoming friends with people who had started their own companies—and honestly, that helped my game,” said Wu.
“One thing we always talked about is: you play golf, you’re not a golfer. During my first few years at Stanford, if I wasn’t playing well, it consumed me. My mood was so dependent on whether I played well that day,” said Wu. “After I shifted to thinking, ‘you play golf—that’s not who you are, it’s just something you do,’ I found that distinction made me more relaxed and helped me play better.”
NCAA
In his senior year, Wu helped lead Stanford to a National Championship in 2019. Heading into the Match Play Final, Stanford was considered an underdog after the University of Texas upset Oklahoma State University, a team led by Viktor Hovland and Matthew Wolff.
“While we certainly felt like underdogs, it actually helped us because there was less pressure. We had made it that far, so our mindset was, we might as well win it,” said Wu.
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Since joining the Korn Ferry Tour, Wu has maintained his strong play, highlighted by his victory at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship last August. Even given his success, there are certainly challenges that come with turning professional. Reflecting on those challenges, he said, “The transition is definitely tough. It’s just you out there—you know you have to perform. One hundred percent of the responsibility is on you.”
Approaching each week as an opportunity to grow, Wu added, “Sometimes the margins are really thin. Some things are different—like, I’m never going to hit it as far as DJ—but you can make up for it by putting better or hitting your irons a little closer. It’s important to realize that everyone has their own way of going about it.”
