Daniel Berger joins succession of Seminoles on Tour

Daniel Berger joins succession of Seminoles on Tour


" Florida State coach Trey Jones is enjoying a nice little 1-2-3 run on the PGA Tour. After Jonas Blixt turned professional, Jones welcomed Brooks Koepka to the team. Daniel Berger, whose career in Tallahassee overlapped one year with Koepka’s, joins the FSU alumni on the PGA Tour.
“I think it actually gives a lot of credit to (Jones),” said Koepka, who won in rowdy Phoenix on Super Bowl weekend. “He’s preparing guys ... the things that we were doing up there were correct.”
Koepka, 24, and Berger, a 21-year-old rookie, are playing close to home this week at the Honda Classic. Koepka five-putted a green on Torrey Pines' Poa annua and is pumped to get back to Bermudagrass, his native turf.
For Berger, it’s an eight-minute drive from his couch to PGA National.
Koepka took the long route to the PGA Tour, toiling in Europe on the Challenge Tour because he failed at two qualifying schools. Berger, however, left college after his sophomore season and busted through the Web.com Tour (finishing 15th on the money list) and onto the big stage.
“He’s probably one of the most talented kids I think I’ve ever met,” Koepka said of Berger. “Just naturally gifted.”
Koepka, known for his monster drives, ranks second on Tour in driving distance, at 313.3 yards. Berger isn’t far behind, ranking 10th at 304.6 yards.
At Florida State, Jones said Berger showed the biggest improvement in his short game, learning to use a variety of clubs around the green rather than relying solely on a 60-degree wedge. He became a better putter, too.
One area that didn’t need sharpening: Berger’s confidence.
“Daniel will self-proclaim to be the best athlete in the ACC,” Jones said with a laugh.
Regardless of the activity – bowling, tennis, pingpong – Berger wanted to be the best.
Jones continually was amazed by Berger’s ability to bounce back from a poor shot, a trait that Jones credits to Berger's father, Jay, a retired tennis pro who reached as high as No. 7 in the world. Jay serves as director of men’s tennis for the U.S. Tennis Association.
“There’s no other sport that you have to have a shorter memory than tennis,” Jones said.
In 10 events this season on the PGA Tour, Berger owns five top 25s, including top 10s at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. He ranks ninth on Tour in ballstriking.
Not surprisingly, Berger said he looked at the success of Jordan Spieth, who also is 21, and thought, Hey, why can’t I do this?
Berger’s bio says that if he weren’t on the PGA Tour, he’d be playing professional tennis. He still goes out on the weekends and hits with his dad. It was at a golf camp in Miami at age 11 that he got hooked.
By 14, Berger had an after-school job picking the range at The Dye Preserve. That was really just a way to be able to practice all day. Some days he got paid, sometimes he didn’t.
It never was about the money.
Now, he’s a full-fledged member of The Dye Preserve and considers the staff there to be extended family.
“I’ve come a long way from picking the range,” Berger said.
A long way in a short period of time."