Home is where the start is.
That’s how the saying goes, at least this week for AJ Ott.
The Fort Collins native, Fort Collins High alumnus and former Colorado State men’s golf standout is practically on home turf for his first-ever Korn Ferry Tour tournament in The Ascendant at Berthoud’s TPC Colorado course.
“This event being so close and on a course I know so well, it’s definitely special to qualify here specifically,” Ott told The Coloradoan before the event.
While he’s played in smaller pro tournaments and top collegiate events, this is Ott’s first taste of true high-level pro golf. The Korn Ferry Tour is essentially the minor-league training ground for the PGA Tour.
Ott estimates he’s played “over 70” rounds at TPC Colorado since it opened in 2018, many of them during his Rams’ career.
His familiarity paid off in qualifying for The Ascendant.
The event used a meritocratic tournament format instead of handing out four sponsor’s exemptions. Ott won the open division last Saturday, birdieing the first six holes and shooting a five-under 67 to beat 32 other hopefuls.
“I definitely felt comfortable out there,” Ott said. “Once I had that fast start, I had to keep the pedal down since it was just for one spot.”
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He opened the tournament Thursday with a tough draw, getting the day’s final tee time (2:15 p.m.) as temperatures approached 100 degrees in the sweltering afternoon sun.
Ott finished a grueling first round that took nearly six hours with a steady even-par score of 72. Several dozen fans, friends and family followed him around the vast TPC Colorado layout for the largest crowd on day one.
“My parents were excited, really just about being able to see me play,” Ott said. “I travel a lot for other tournaments and there aren’t really many in Colorado for them to come watch live.”
Ott has a short turnaround, teeing off Friday for his second round at 8:42 a.m. local time.
The crowd of supporters came as no surprise since the crafty lefthander has a storied track record in local golf.
He finished top 10 in Class 5A all four years during his Lambkins’ high school career, including a runner-up state finish his senior year in 2015.
Ott stayed home for college, playing five seasons at CSU from 2016-21. Three times he made the All-Mountain West team and won a pair of tournaments in his super senior season.
The Rams’ Most Improved Player award within the program is even named after Ott, who improved his scoring average by over three shots after his freshman season.
Since finishing his CSU career, Ott (now 26 years old) has relocated to Denver and continued pursuing his professional golf career.
He’s a member at Bear Creek Country Club in Lakewood, his home base these days, playing plays mini-tours across the country hoping to break through in the professional ranks.
He mainly enters small tournaments in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, with winter work coming in California and Arizona plus Korn Ferry/PGA Tour Qualifying “Q” School in Nebraska and Alabama.
“It certainly isn’t that glamorous,” Ott said. “You’re staying in crappy hotels and putting miles on the truck, just grinding and driving a lot.
“But it’s playing golf for a living and I started playing competitively because the sport is fun and I love it. So that’s the wide lens I try to keep in perspective.”
He often travels to events with roommate and friend Jackson Solem, a former University of Denver golfer and Longmont native who also plays pro golf.
Ott takes coaching by committee, relying on teaching pros Kirk Rider (Bear Creek) and Ed Oldham (The Ranch in Westminster) plus former college coaches and advisors in California.
It all has Ott on the upswing lately.
Just three weeks ago, he won the San Juan Open (and $15,000) in Farmington, N.M. with a four-day score of 19-under-par for his third pro win.
“Winning is always a nice little confidence boost and it came at a good time,” he said.
The stage is bigger in Berthoud, something Ott hopes to find himself facing more often.
“I’m just thrilled and blessed to compete against some of the best golfers out there,” Ott said. “A lot of these guys have PGA (Tour) experience and they know what it takes. You’re working to be on that level.”
Ultimately, Ott said this opportunity is less about the pressure of high-level pro golf or what a good showing could mean for his career.
He’s mostly just grateful to be home for a week, quite literally staying in his childhood bedroom 12 miles north of the course in south Fort Collins.
“I’m excited to sleep in my own bed for a few days,” Ott said before laughing. “It’s a pretty cheap hotel bill this week.”