It wasn’t long ago that Daniel Bennett was a junior member walking the fairways at Gorge Vale Golf Club.
Now, he is sharing tee boxes with some of the best players in the world.
Bennett, a sophomore at the University of Texas, opened his PGA Tour debut with a 1-under 71 on Thursday, March 5 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Fla.
The 20-year-old earned a sponsor exemption into the limited-field of 72 signature event after winning a player vote at last summer’s Arnold Palmer Cup.
“It’s obviously pretty cool to tear it up with some of the best in the world,” Bennett said ahead of Thursday’s opening round.
“I’ve obviously got very low expectations coming in. Hopefully I can go out and compete and be around this weekend. I’m just going to go out there and have fun and have a good time and just enjoy this experience.”
Bennett was part of the first pairing to hit the course Thursday morning, teeing off alongside PGA Tour veteran Joel Dahmen at Bay Hill Club and Lodge.
After opening his round with a bogey, he settled in and played steady golf the rest of the way to finish under par in his first competitive round as a PGA Tour participant.
Bennett moved to Saanichton in 2015 from South Africa, when he was nine years old. It didn’t take long for him to make his mark on local golf courses.
As a junior at Gorge Vale, Bennett quickly became one of the province’s most promising young players.
In 2020, he captured the B.C. Bantam Championship by six strokes. This came one year after representing the province at the Eddie Hogan Cup in 2019, the youngest player ever selected for the B.C. team.
He also briefly shared the course record at Uplands Golf Club after firing a remarkable 10-under 60, a mark that stood until AJ Ewart broke it last August during the Victoria Open.
During his freshman season at Texas, he won the NCAA Division I Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award, an honour previously claimed by players such as Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler.
Currently ranked 16th in the world amateur rankings, Bennett now finds himself in the same tournament field as many of the game’s biggest names.
During a practice round earlier in the week, he found himself sharing a tee box with world No. 2 Rory McIlroy.
“I kind of feel comfortable to be honest, which is weird to say,” Bennett said. “I have always wanted to play out here one day, so this is kind of just that first step.”
Bennett tees off for the second round Friday, March 6 at 4:50 a.m. PST.
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