Colorado University Athletics
Former Buff Heisele Earns European Tour Card
November 19, 2016 | Men's Golf
BOULDER — Former University of Colorado golfer Sebastian Heisele is now a full-fledged member of the PGA's European Tour, as he earned his card for the 2017 season on Thursday.
Heisele turned in a 6-under par 422 in the grueling six-round, third stage of qualifying event held in Girona, Spain, at the PGA Catalunya Resort. His scorecard of 68-66-72-73-76-67—422 tied him for 19th in the standings. He made the 72-hole cut by six strokes, but the 4-over 76 put him on the bubble ahead of the sixth and final round, in which he responded with the 5-under 67, which tied for the fourth-lowest score of the 72 players that made the cut.
The top 30 players earned their cards. Heisele was exempted from the first stages of qualifying because he had a good year on the European Challenge Tour.
"I was nervous out there, I had a shaky par on the eighth, my 17th, and a shaky par on the last but I got there in the end," Heisele said following his last round. "I knew I had to post a score (Thursday) but I think it was actually more comfortable to be coming from behind than being right on the number because I kind of had nothing to lose. And in a way it was easier after that late triple on day five, as I needed a low one and could just go out and shoot a number.
"I felt like being on the bubble going into day six would have been the worst. Obviously you need to go shoot a 67, they don't happen every day on a tough course but I felt it would have been the easier way into the top25 instead of freezing up and playing to avoid mistakes. I started well, I was three under through four, four under through nine, and I just tried to keep going, keep giving myself chances, and it managed to work out in the end. But it was the most nerve wrecking last four holes of my entire life with so much on the line. Took quite a while for my heartbeat to drop; man, that was brutal."
Heisele opened with a bang, his 4-under par, first-round 68 featuring a golf rarity — back-to-back eagles – made on a par-4 and a par-5; he closed with a bogey-free round, scoring five birdies for his 67.
"I am very proud of Sebastian and so happy for him that he has achieved a long-standing dream," said Roy Edwards, CU's head coach who recruited Heisele to Colorado in 2008. "He set this as his goal when he left us in 2012 and has been worked hard year-round to get there. It's very satisfying for all of us who know him to see him qualify and we'll be checking the results every week."
Heisele, was CU's leader in stroke average with a 72.1 figure for the 2011 fall season, but with degree in hand, he decided to turn pro. Just over five years removed from his last collegiate tournament, he now joins the likes of Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Danny Willett and Henrik Stenson on the European Tour.
A German National who grew up in Dubai, Heisele didn't play golf until he was 12. He won his first junior tournament within a year and would relocate to Florida where he spent two years at the David Leadbetter Academy in Florida. He has been playing in various tournaments around Europe since he left CU, including as a member of the Challenge Tour this past season.
"I was happy with what I'd done on the Challenge Tour this year, and I think I ended up only about 8,000 points outside the top 16, so this was a chance to make up for that so I'm going to enjoy it now," Heisele said.
"It's (the European Tour) going to be a new experience, new territory, so I'm going to try to get used to it, keep doing what I'm doing, and hopefully it will go well and I'll keep learning and improving as the year goes on. This means the world really -- some 20 odd years of work have finally allowed me to fulfil a childhood dream."
OTHER CU GOLF NEWS: In the final fall rankings, the Buffaloes finished No. 24 (Golfweek), No. 28 (GolfStat) and No. 31 (GCAA), their highest rankings entering the spring season under Edwards, who is in his 11th season as CU's head coach … In the final Arnold Palmer Cup fall rankings, CU junior Yannik Paul was ranked 10th in the Europe standings; the top six individuals in both the United States and Europe standings will be among the 10 individuals selected to compete in the Arnold Palmer Cup at Atlanta Athletic Club next June 9-11 ... His older twin brother, Jeremy, a Buff senior, has advanced to final stage of the Web.com Tour qualifying, which take place in Winter Garden, Fla., next month (Dec. 8-11) ... Four Buffaloes will compete next week in the inaugural Gobbler Amateur in Tucson, coordinated by CU's Edwards: juniors Kade Crossland and John Souza, sophomore Ross Macdonald and freshman Victor Bjorlow will all participate in the 54-hole event Monday through Wednesday on the challenging Sewailo Golf Club course.
Heisele turned in a 6-under par 422 in the grueling six-round, third stage of qualifying event held in Girona, Spain, at the PGA Catalunya Resort. His scorecard of 68-66-72-73-76-67—422 tied him for 19th in the standings. He made the 72-hole cut by six strokes, but the 4-over 76 put him on the bubble ahead of the sixth and final round, in which he responded with the 5-under 67, which tied for the fourth-lowest score of the 72 players that made the cut.
The top 30 players earned their cards. Heisele was exempted from the first stages of qualifying because he had a good year on the European Challenge Tour.
"I was nervous out there, I had a shaky par on the eighth, my 17th, and a shaky par on the last but I got there in the end," Heisele said following his last round. "I knew I had to post a score (Thursday) but I think it was actually more comfortable to be coming from behind than being right on the number because I kind of had nothing to lose. And in a way it was easier after that late triple on day five, as I needed a low one and could just go out and shoot a number.
"I felt like being on the bubble going into day six would have been the worst. Obviously you need to go shoot a 67, they don't happen every day on a tough course but I felt it would have been the easier way into the top25 instead of freezing up and playing to avoid mistakes. I started well, I was three under through four, four under through nine, and I just tried to keep going, keep giving myself chances, and it managed to work out in the end. But it was the most nerve wrecking last four holes of my entire life with so much on the line. Took quite a while for my heartbeat to drop; man, that was brutal."
Heisele opened with a bang, his 4-under par, first-round 68 featuring a golf rarity — back-to-back eagles – made on a par-4 and a par-5; he closed with a bogey-free round, scoring five birdies for his 67.
"I am very proud of Sebastian and so happy for him that he has achieved a long-standing dream," said Roy Edwards, CU's head coach who recruited Heisele to Colorado in 2008. "He set this as his goal when he left us in 2012 and has been worked hard year-round to get there. It's very satisfying for all of us who know him to see him qualify and we'll be checking the results every week."
Heisele, was CU's leader in stroke average with a 72.1 figure for the 2011 fall season, but with degree in hand, he decided to turn pro. Just over five years removed from his last collegiate tournament, he now joins the likes of Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Danny Willett and Henrik Stenson on the European Tour.
A German National who grew up in Dubai, Heisele didn't play golf until he was 12. He won his first junior tournament within a year and would relocate to Florida where he spent two years at the David Leadbetter Academy in Florida. He has been playing in various tournaments around Europe since he left CU, including as a member of the Challenge Tour this past season.
"I was happy with what I'd done on the Challenge Tour this year, and I think I ended up only about 8,000 points outside the top 16, so this was a chance to make up for that so I'm going to enjoy it now," Heisele said.
"It's (the European Tour) going to be a new experience, new territory, so I'm going to try to get used to it, keep doing what I'm doing, and hopefully it will go well and I'll keep learning and improving as the year goes on. This means the world really -- some 20 odd years of work have finally allowed me to fulfil a childhood dream."
OTHER CU GOLF NEWS: In the final fall rankings, the Buffaloes finished No. 24 (Golfweek), No. 28 (GolfStat) and No. 31 (GCAA), their highest rankings entering the spring season under Edwards, who is in his 11th season as CU's head coach … In the final Arnold Palmer Cup fall rankings, CU junior Yannik Paul was ranked 10th in the Europe standings; the top six individuals in both the United States and Europe standings will be among the 10 individuals selected to compete in the Arnold Palmer Cup at Atlanta Athletic Club next June 9-11 ... His older twin brother, Jeremy, a Buff senior, has advanced to final stage of the Web.com Tour qualifying, which take place in Winter Garden, Fla., next month (Dec. 8-11) ... Four Buffaloes will compete next week in the inaugural Gobbler Amateur in Tucson, coordinated by CU's Edwards: juniors Kade Crossland and John Souza, sophomore Ross Macdonald and freshman Victor Bjorlow will all participate in the 54-hole event Monday through Wednesday on the challenging Sewailo Golf Club course.
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