15-year-old qualifies for PGA Tour’s Bermuda Championship

Oliver Betschart will become the youngest player to compete in a PGA Tour event in nearly a decade when he tees it up next month at the Bermuda Championship.

The 15-year-old Betschart prevailed in a local qualifier in Bermuda to earn his way into the Nov. 9-12 event at Port Royal.

Betschart, who competed as an amateur, shot a three-round total of 3 over par to join fellow qualifiers Eric West (also an amateur) and Scott Roy in what was a 22-man field.

Betschart missed qualifying by a shot last year, but this time the local prodigy made three birdies in a five-hole span on his back nine to get through.

“This has been my goal for the whole year,” Betschart told the Royal Gazette, “and now that it’s finally true, it’s hard to accept it, but I’m really excited.”

Betschart will be the youngest player to compete on Tour since Guan Tianlang in 2014. Overall, Betschart is the fifth-youngest to compete on Tour since 2000, behind only Michelle Wie, Andy Zhang, Lorens Chan and Tianlang.

Tianlang made the cut at both the 2013 Masters and 2013 Zurich Classic as a 14-year-old.

The Bermuda Championship is the second-to-last event on the Tour’s fall slate. Seamus Power is the defending champion.