On the spotlight: Filipina golfer Sam Bruce

Sam Bruce has arrived.

The 23-year-old has qualified to compete in the coming Ladies European Tour (LET), and all this after going through a different route than most young Filipina golfers. While other opted for home school, Sam went to Seattle University to hone her skills and to also get a degree.

There, she made her mark. 

She was a two-time Team Captain, and broke and rewrote all the relevant program records. She is a three-time All-Conference, four-time WGCA Academic All American, Seattle University Athlete of the Year, and the first Filipina nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. In her final year, she had the second best single round score in the NCAA with a 64, and was top-40 in the league in scoring. 

We are hoping the best is yet to come, as she sat down with Real Sports during the holiday break. 

Congratulations on getting your Tour card, what are your plans leading up to the season?

Sam: I’ve been in Morocco for two weeks for qualifying so I’m going to take a break first and enjoy Christmas. But as the new year approaches, I’m back to my regular practice, and trying to get better at my game.

How tough was Q-school?

Sam: This is actually my first time for the LET, so here, there is a pre-qualifier and the final qualifier. If you are not in the top-10 in the second division, or top-20 in the first division, you play in the pre-qualifier first. I was here for 15 days, and played 13 rounds of golf, including the practice rounds, so for pre-qualifiers, it’s 3 rounds and the top 26 out of 75 players make it into the final stage. It’s then a five round event in the final stage, and after four rounds, there’s a cut, the top 65 players including ties out of 150 players go to the last day. Then the top 20 players get their full card and 21-50 get conditional status on tour. So it was a very long journey, aside from it being physically challenging, it was definitely mentally challenging as well just being able to keep your focus for that many rounds of golf is something different. Most tournaments are only four rounds, sometimes three rounds, but this one really takes a toll on your body.

Well, having gone through this, it will only help you get even better.

Sam: Yes for sure! I’m very lucky to have this experience, I’ve never played this much tournament golf in a while and it definitely made me stronger physically and mentally. It helped me realize what I’m good at and what I need to work on. Because when you’re practicing, it’s different from the stress and the pressure of actual competition. This has already made me a better golfer and person as well.

Why did you choose LET?

Sam: I didn’t even know I was going to play this until September. Obviously, everyone wants to get into the LPGA, it’s the best Tour in the world, Summer of 2022 I tried qualifying for the LPGA, I got some status on the Epson Tour, but I was also an incoming senior in college, so I decided to put a hold on professional golf and finish my education. So I played half a season on the Epson Tour, but I missed a lot of tournaments and the learning curve of professional golf, it’s very different. I graduated in June 2023, September was the LPGA qualifying, I didn’t give myself too much time to prepare, and I didn’t do well. I missed the cut by one stroke so I had to rethink about what to do. Exploring options, there was LET, staying home, mini-tours in the US, but I decided on the European Tour. It’s the second best in the world, I haven’t been to Europe, so I thought it’d be a great overall experience to travel, experience different cultures and playing at a high level too.

What are your expectations and or goals for yourself this season?

Sam: You always enter tournaments thinking you will win, you want to do your best so that’s the main goal. Through playing LET, perform well, win a couple of events, and hopefully enter the LPGA though this. 

I look at things step by step, so just getter with the skills I have. My long game is strong, my approach shots are good, but things can be a little better, but to nitpick I need to improve my short game. You can always improve, so that’s a goal.

Looking back at your college career, what stands out?

Sam: I’m going to pick a couple. In golf, it’s hard to win a tournament, there are hundreds of players. In team sports, I feel it’s a bit easier. In golf, if you win one in your career, you’re set. If you’re always in the top ten, top five, that’s a good indicator that you’re doing well. So one, is when I won a tournament in my junior year. That was also actually the first win for the team in a couple of years.

Another achievement is when I was First Team All-Conference for two years in a row. No one in the history of the golf team has ever achieved that, so that’s memorable. It showed how well I played the entire season. 

Lastly, it might not seem as big, but for me it is. The school has athletic awards at the end of the year, coaches and athletes choose who wins it. And I won Athlete of the Year! Golf never wins this! It goes to bigger teams like basket and volleyball, but to win this, it shows just how good I performed that year. 

Early in your career, the injury bug hit you, how tough was that?

Sam: Honestly, that injury was the best thing that happened to me. Crazy right? It was a setback at that point because I was on the National Team, I was being recruited by many schools in the US. When the injury hit, I felt like I went back to zero. I lot all those offers, I was off the National Team. My golf declined. But it gave me the opportunity to take a step back, and rethink what I could do better. It also help me find the love for the game again. I felt like my entire life was on the line. I skipped a lot of other things to play tournaments and I was burned out. So that injury helped me take a step back and help me trust in myself again. Getting back after an injury isn’t easy, learning the skills again and building your confidence. Things then started to work out the way that they’re meant to. So I’m grateful I experienced that injury.