Former MV golfer Bridges battles through adversity at Marshall

Team sports allow athletes the opportunity to share a special bond that only the travails of struggling together through winning and losing can bring. Rehabbing from an injury, however, is a lonely existence, where one misses the daily camaraderie of their teammates. Being around one’s own teammates can be just as bad, watching them continue on together, and not being able to help.

The good news for Mount Vernon graduate and Marshall University junior golfer Ben Bridges is that he is practicing and will be playing soon.

Bridges shot a 72 in his team's home event, starting out his junior year with his game right where he wanted it. It was when he was qualifying for the second event, that his fall junior golf season came to an abrupt end. Bridges swung at a ball, not realizing that the ball was resting on a small tree root. The head of the club caught on the tree root, unexpectedly interfering with his swing, and pulling a tendon in his arm.

"I had a tendon come out of place and then, I didn’t play the whole rest of the fall,” Bridges said. “So, I've been getting therapy and all kinds of treatment. I will be playing in the spring season, but this fall, I didn't have much going on, except trying to get my wrist strong again. I've now just started practicing. I didn't need surgery. All I got were some steroid injections. Now, it is feeling better. It's definitely not healed, but it's manageable now.”

Coming back to Mount Vernon for winter break, has been a chance to renew old friendships and relive some great memories of his days at Mount Vernon High School, including those on the golf course and the basketball court, and watching the current crop of Yellow Jackets basketball players.

“I miss being on the basketball team,” said Bridges. “I miss being around the community. People here are always nice to me and supportive of me, so I definitely missed that. Then, when I come home, I do go to the basketball games. When I go, people will always come up to me and ask me how I'm doing. So, I always miss being around the people here.”

Of course, golf holds many of the other fond memories of high school. Bridges had an outstanding high school golf career with the Jackets, earning All-Ohio honors with a ninth-place finish at the OHSAA Div. I State Tournament, as a senior. 

That same season, He also set a course record 60 (-12) at his home course of Chapel Hill, and consistently lowered his average, ending his senior year with a 74 average.

“Definitely, qualifying for state tournament,” said Bridges. “That really is the highlight. Making it there and finishing top 10.” 

Bridges’ steady improvement in high school has continued on into college.

In his sophomore year, Bridges competed in four events and finished with a 78.1 stroke average in 11 rounds of competition. His best round was an even par 71 in the second round of the Joe Feaganes Marshall Invitational.

That was an improvement over his freshman year, which he completed with a stroke average of 78.6. His best effort for the Thundering Herd came in only his second round of competition, when he fired a one under 70 during the Feaganes Invitational and followed that up with an opening round, even par 71 at the Cleveland State Tom Tontimonia Invitational, the following week. 

“Probably my maturity has improved the most in terms of my game,” said Bridges. “I'm not getting as upset on the golf course. I'm more in control of my mind and I'm able to let things go more easily.”

It's the mental game that becomes more and more important, once you learn the technical skills.

“The best thing that I have done is put myself in positions to learn,” said Bridges. “There will be times when I'm playing good and hit a bad shot. Then, I'll get mad. Before, it would just snowball, but now I'll just learn from it. I think to myself, ‘All right, that's not how you do it.’ College is a real eye-opener, When you're playing competitively. You just learn way more quickly. Our coach really harps on keeping our mind straight. So, over the years, I've just matured. Even in life. It's been a big difference since my senior year in high school. There's nothing tougher than being tested on a golf course. Especially when it comes to your emotions and how you're feeling when things are going really good or bad. Golfers definitely handle a lot of adversity on the golf course.”

When adversity came in the form of an injury for Bridges this past fall, his newfound maturity became very important in his life.

“It helped me refocus and put my efforts into my school work,” explained Bridges. “The worst part was, I couldn't do anything. I was only able to sit at home. Then, I finally got cleared to practice, right when the fall season ended so, now I'm just practicing in the off-season.”

Bridges is a marketing major, who also minors in business management, while he continues to explore his options. While he wants to golf in his future, the world of business also calls.

“Right now, I'm not 100% sure,” said Bridges. “There are lots of people around me who tell me to take over my dad's golf course at Chapel Hill, and that’s an option for me. For now, I would like to figure out some internships for this summer. I'm sure there's a lot of options that I haven't even explored yet. I'd like to work for Titleist, traveling around and selling their products, just to start off.”

In the summer, Bridges is looking to play in some amateur tournaments.

"I definitely don't want to declare pro, at least not for a while,” he said. “So, I will definitely start off the summer with some amateur events. Maybe Ohio Amateur, or the US Amateur qualifier. This summer, I'm definitely going to be in higher events and qualify for some of those. I'm definitely excited to see where my game is in the spring season, coming off the injury. I have no expectations.”