{"id":22337,"date":"2026-06-17T07:00:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T07:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/22337\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T07:00:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T07:00:46","slug":"brandon-holtzs-journey-from-illinois-state-hoops-to-2026-masters-nbc-chicago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/22337\/","title":{"rendered":"Brandon Holtz\u2019s journey from Illinois State hoops to 2026 Masters \u2013 NBC Chicago"},"content":{"rendered":"

What similarities do basketball<\/a> and golf<\/a> share?<\/p>\n

There might not be one that jumps to the top of your head, except for both requiring the player to skillfully put the ball in the hole\/basket — one being on the ground and the other 10 feet up in the air.<\/p>\n

So, what’s it like to compete in both sports at a top level? Ask Brandon Holtz.<\/p>\n

Holtz is about to compete in the 2026 Masters Tournament<\/a> this week, his first time doing so and his first major championship start of the year.<\/p>\n

Now 39 years old, it’s not a journey he would’ve seen himself taking during his younger days, where he played college basketball<\/a> at Illinois State from 2005 to 2009 with no time spent in competitive golf.<\/p>\n

The 6-foot-4 former guard explained his background in both sports, saying golf was number two behind basketball before his recent upswing.<\/p>\n

“… Honestly, it was really golf [that] was my outlet to get away from the gym,” Holtz told NBC Local. “And I didn’t really play a whole lot of competitive golf. I played in high school, but that was really it. I didn’t really travel and play in any tournaments. Sometimes I’d play maybe the local tournament here or there, but again, golf is secondary.<\/p>\n

“And then after I got done playing basketball, I needed something to fill that that competitive mode, and golf was that outlet for me. So I kind of focused all of my free time and just that need of that competitive feeling, I guess. Over the years I’ve had some ups and downs and I’m 39 years old, and here we are, finally. Finally made it a little bit.”<\/p>\n

Holtz reached a milestone last September, as he competed in his first USGA championship. There, he won the U.S. Mid-Amateur at Troon Country Club in Arizona with a 3&2 victory over Jeg Coughlin III.<\/p>\n

Thanks to the win, he regained amateur status and earned places in the fields for both the Masters and the U.S. Open this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I bet I had five, 6,000 text messages, emails, calls, you know, back in September after I won,” Holtz said. “And it was good to hear from obviously the close family and friends … the distant ones that you haven’t talked to in a year and it’s good to catch up. It’s a humbling experience and just happy that we have these contacts and friends and family and it’s great.”<\/p>\n

The Masters field is going to be a whole lot tougher, though, and Holtz understands the level he’ll need to operate at. He explained his mentality and personal qualities ahead of the action commencing.<\/p>\n

“You know, I’m going to try my best to take it one shot at a time,” Holtz said. “There’s a lot of moving pieces. There’s a lot of people out there. I’ve never played golf in front of all these people. But I’m excited, I’m anxious. And I think just I’m a competitor and I would say maybe an aggressive golfer.”<\/p>\n

What’s unique about Holtz is how his family has a close bond with him while he’s actively playing, too. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, many members of Holtz’s family has worked with State Farm and the company is now sponsoring him<\/a> for his two major 2026 events.<\/p>\n

Holtz explained how his dad will caddy for him at Augusta before his brother takes over at the U.S. Open.<\/p>\n

“Yeah, my dad retired as a State Farm employee. My brother’s the actual current agent. But the funny thing is we’ve played a lot of golf together. We’ve talked a lot of golf. And really, when we’re on the golf course, we don’t talk about golf, you know?<\/p>\n

“And I think that’s the cool thing about having him on the bag is it’s more of the father-son relationship and not necessarily the caddy player. And it’s worked so well. Let’s hope it keeps working.”<\/p>\n

So, how will fans be able to spot Holtz out on the golf field? Like a good neighbor, he’ll be sporting specific colors.<\/p>\n

“I’ll definitely have the red and khaki on throughout the week, just kind of little combinations,” Holtz said. “I got some pretty slick red shoes out there, too, that I’ll throw out there. [State Farm] will be well-represented. They’ll be on my chest and then another logo on the back.”<\/p>\n

After the Masters, Holtz will shift focus to the U.S. Open that will take place at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York, from June 18-21 on NBC and Peacock.<\/p>\n

“I’m super excited,” Holtz started. “And then being out in New York at Shinnecock from what I’m hearing is like one of the top five hardest stops on tour. So I’m up for the challenge … another opportunity to see what I can do. And again, I’m anxious. I feel like I’m ready. We’ll find out real quick, right?”<\/p>\n

As a husband and father of two kids ages 2 and 6, Holtz offered some advice for people pursuing their dreams, regardless of their age.<\/p>\n

“Not to sound too cliche, but never give up, you never know when it’s your turn,” Holtz said. “And if you have the passion and you have the drive, just keep at it. Again, I’m 39 years old. I never saw this day coming, but here we are.”<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDelve into the rich history and fascinating details behind one of golf’s most prestigious events, The Masters Tournament.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What similarities do basketball and golf share? There might not be one that jumps to the top of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22338,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[44,1271,3608,9218],"class_list":["post-22337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-masters-tournament","tag-golf","tag-masters-tournament","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-basketball"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22337\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}