Impact Of A Scholarship: George Bradford

For George Bradford, golf wasn't always the first sport in mind. The two-sport athlete originally went to Elon College (now Elon University) on a football and golf scholarship. But, it wasn't until after a season on the football team that he decided to focus on golf and transfer to Maryland in the hopes of playing collegiate golf for former head coach Don Slebonik. 

Unfortunately, just after Bradford transferred to Maryland, Slebonik left Maryland, and Tom Hanna became the head coach. "During that transition, my opportunity to become a walk-on to get onto the team was lost in that process," said Bradford.

A phone call in the winter of 1993 from former football head coach Mark Duffer would change his career trajectory. "Hey, George, I hear you're on campus; why don't you come to play football," Duffer told Bradford. The lone season Bradford played football in high school, and the connection with brother Jack (Bradford), who played for the Terps in the 1990s for four seasons, may have been just what he needed. "So, I played spring football in 1993, and that was my entry into the athletic department at the University of Maryland," said Bradford.

"I remember having a conversation with former athletic director Debbie Yow, Coach Hanna, and my dad, discussing an opportunity just to earn my way onto the golf team. We walked away from that meeting, and I got an opportunity to display my talents. I made the team and began the long process of kind of repairing my relationship with Tom Hanna. So over the next three years, we grew and had a great relationship."

The transition from playing college football to collegiate golf wasn't easy for the Columbia native, who always dreamed of attending Maryland. Although he only played football for two years, the time away from the game made it difficult to get the golf ball in the hole, even though he was used to golfing in the mid-Atlantic region. 

"I spent a great deal of time practicing every single day, just trying to get back on the lead lap," said Bradford.

Scholarships like the 'Bill Dickey Golf Scholarship' and the funds from the DC Pro-Duffers made it possible for Bradford to attend the University of Maryland to study finance at the Robert H. Smith School of Business.

A rich family history at the institution made it possible for Bradford to excel. His uncle, Dr. William D. Bradford, served as a Smith School finance professor and was the first African American Dean (of academic affairs) from 1991-94. 

Working with Maryland Athletics Hall of Famer and former PGA Tour player Fred Funk throughout the junior golf ranks also made it possible. "That planted the seed, and I was a huge Terps fan growing up. So, it was just a natural fit. I took a little detour through Elon, but I knew that Maryland was all for me," said Bradford.

Bradford only qualified and played in one event for the Terps, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, during his career from 1994-97. 

"I became a very good golfer after I left the University of Maryland, but it was the work ethic and the opportunity that I got at Maryland that allowed me to be a great golfer."

Bradford credits his uncle, Dr. Bradford, and his wife, Kristie Curameng Bradford, who earned three degrees from Mayland, for helping him re-engage with the university. In addition, the school honors his legacy every year by hosting "The Bradford Banquet" to celebrate the diversity at the college.

"The impact is the work ethic. It's the same work ethic it took for me to become an elite golfer. That started before I got to the University of Maryland. You are an elite athlete if you're a student-athlete at the University of Maryland. In order to get the opportunity to compete, whether you're a scholarship athlete or a walk-on, you are extremely good. The qualities that make you successful as an athlete will also make you successful in your next career. You just need to understand what that passion is and apply it."

Today, Bradford is a Financial Advisor and regional director at Merrill Lynch. It was an opportunity he could pass up that came about from Keith Unikel, a former teammate at Maryland, as his playing career was coming to an end. Bradford applies the same mindset he gained playing for the Terps in leading one of the largest satellite offices in the local region. 

"It's really easy for you to be successful in a defined structure, meaning come to practice, work on your drills while you're supervised. That's what good people are going to do. Elite people are going to figure out a way to continue working and getting better when no one's looking because you want to be on the top of that leaderboard… the go to person… you want to be in the starting lineup. So, maybe practice wasn't enough, but not when no one's looking, you're gonna have the discipline to wake up and be like, 'I gotta get a few more extra reps in, I got to do something'. It was that type of mindset that I had before that I had to learn to apply to this industry."

Bradford notes as February is Black History Month, growing up playing golf, he was the only African American in that space. 

"When I got to college, I was 20-21 years old. I'd already been playing for 14 years in an industry that had zero representation of people that look like me. So, I got a little bit older. But the demographics of every tournament that I played in my life hadn't changed."

"I recognized that I have a torch I have to carry in order to pave the way for African Americans to make sure that if given the opportunity to play great golf, I gotta deliver. But, I hold myself to a higher standard to make sure other people like me have the opportunity to be more successful than I ever was on the golf course."

Just months before graduation in 1997, Bradford decided to turn pro and chase his dreams to play on the PGA Tour (after Tiger Woods won the 1997 Masters). "I had the talent; and I always knew I had the work ethic. From a timing standpoint, there was nothing stopping me from that opportunity. So I talked to my parents, they were like, 'Look, if you don't do it, now, you're never going to do it.' So I moved down to Orlando, Florida to Orlando, and just figured it out. "

It was in April of 1999 that Bradford made his first check as a professional golfer ... for $74. He credits his early success to his mentor Rodney Green and golf instructor Mike Bender. 

But, it wouldn't be until a year later that he would get his first professional victory on the Moonlight Tour outside Orlando, Florida. "That win was a pivotal time in my career because I was considering stopping playing and going into the club route to become a club professional or do something different," said Bradford. "I was like, I can't stop now, and that kind of started the momentum to play at the next level. So I got my PGA Tour Canada card."

It became a full circle moment in June 2004, when Bradford Monday-qualified for the Booz Allen Classic for a chance to play in front of a hometown crowd in Maryland at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm in his first PGA Tour event. "I never looked back," said Bradford. "I just kept getting better and better and better every year."

From 2007-10, Bradford was the second highest-ranked African-American golfer in the world at 463rd, behind only Tiger Woods. In 2008, he had his best year on PGA Tour Canada with three runner-ups, five top-ten finishes, and fourth on the Order of Merit standings.

"It looks a lot better than it did when I was playing, and that's great," said Bradford, talking about where the game of golf is today compared to when he played on tour. The Advocates Professional Golf Association, better known as the APGA Tour, was established in 2010; with the economy tanking in 2009, Bradford's chances of gaining any sponsorship opportunity had quickly diminished. As a result, Qualifying School was out of the option. At the time, only four African American players were ranked in the world… Tim O'Neal (who currently plays on the Champions Tour), Andy Walker ( the head coach of VCU's men's golf team), Tiger Woods, and George himself.

The opportunity to play on the APGA Tour changed his life. That year, there were three scheduled events; Bradford won the first event; in the second event, he came in second place in a playoff; and in the third tournament, he had to miss due to an event coinciding at the same time in Canada. The APGA Tour would eventually allow the winner to win a check to compete and fund the qualifying round for "Q-school" of the PGA Tour. Last year in 2022, the same tour handed out nearly 1.3 million dollars to its winners. 

Bradford only received one sponsor's invite in his entire career. That would be the Korn Ferry Tour's event at the University of Maryland golf course just off campus. Today, George Bradford has 17 professional wins to his credit. 

"I'm excited about the future of African Americans in the game of golf, including people at the club level, on the business side of it, on tours, and these private organizations that own these clubs, are having to take a deeper dive into what their workforce looks like," said Bradford. "I think the golf industry is in a much better place. You have to have a diverse lens on when you're hiring, and now that the wealth is beginning to change, your membership demographics are beginning to change. You need to see representation on both sides. You need to see representation, on the other side of the desk when you're a patron, so I'm excited for it… it moves along, very, very slowly, but it's happening."

For George Bradford, it was a chance to play collegiate golf and move the needle. A scholarship allowed him to play golf at the University of Maryland and professionally allowed him to make his impact on the game of golf.