Bellevue teen's golf dream leads him to the Masters

  • Published
  • By D.P. Heard
  • 55th Wing Public Affairs
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. --  Little did thirteen-year-old Jason Cruise, Jr., son of Jason Cruise, 55th Civil Engineer Squadron equipment operator, and Collette Cruise, U.S. Strategic Command directorate records officer, know that when he decided to take up golf it would land him in at the national Drive, Chip and Putt Competition in Augusta, Georgia.

The competition preceded the Masters Tournament and Junior placed 9th out of a total of 80 finalists this year in various age groups. There are a total of 10 boys and girls who made the finals. 

After meeting professional golfer Brandt Snedeker, who watched him play, Junior said he became slightly nervous and his game was a little off as a result, but he still competed on a high level. He spent some time in the Founder's Room at Augusta National. There he met and got autographs from Adam Scott, Jim Furyk, Webb Simpson, Jason Day, Fred Couples, Billy Horschel and Gary Player. He also met former United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

The highly competitive event was televised on the Golf Channel and is a national championship golf tournament for kids.

After Junior injured his shoulder blade playing football, he decided to take another road. Jason's father said he really started to gain interest in golfing around the age of 11 or 12 while watching his father play. He can beat his father now.

His dedication to the game is so strong that he even practices in the frigid Nebraska winter temperatures.

"[Junior] has one of the strongest work ethics that you can find regardless of his age," Colette said. "He has always set a list of goals for himself whether it was in school activities, grades or sports."

His dedication to the game is not just noticed by his parents.

Junior's golf coach Mike Stolarskyj, Director of Instruction at Eagle Hills Golf Course in Papillion, Nebraska, said that he is mature, beyond his years. His coach also mentioned that he spends 5 - 8 hours a day at Eagle Hills Golf Course developing his golf skills on the practice range and golf course.

"[Junior] shows that desire, dedication and hard work really do pay off," Stolarskyj said. "He is a champion today and earned his way to Augusta this week. Who knows? Maybe someday he'll return to Augusta as an amateur champion or professional and actually play in The Masters."

Junior watches and reads about golf techniques and how to handle the mental aspect of playing the game. He trains his body doing calisthenics and trains his mind as well. While he is very dedicated at golf, he excels in school and maintains a 5.1 grade point average. His passion for golf led him to give a speech about Tiger Woods for a class project that earned him a near-perfect score.

Junior practices and plays golf at Eagle Run, Willow Lakes and Tregaron courses in the local area. He plans on making golf his profession but he's wise enough to know that he needs to develop a second career just in case golf doesn't work out. His confidence is very high because of his dedication to practice and training. So far, this 13-year-old has a best drive of approximately 250 feet.

In 2014, he was watching the Masters Finals and decided to write to the organization to inform them that he would be participating in the 2015 to participate in the Drive, Chip and Putt competition on April 5.

The Drive, Chip, and Putt held the local competitions at Eagle Hills. The regionals were held at Tiffany Springs Golf Course in Kansas City.  Junior had to place in the top 3 for the local and he placed first in his age group. He placed second in the sub-regional competition and went on to win at the regional tournament in Kansas City.

Junior had to overcome many challenges on his road to success, including losing many friends to golf.

"Children his age are simply not interested in or don't know how much fun golf can be so they tell him that it's boring, too slow and just for old men." Colette said. "He has an old soul and that has helped him stay focused on reaching his goals."

"Meeting the pros was very exciting and almost felt surreal," Junior said.

The qualifying rounds for next year's national Drive Chip and Putt Competition are coming up in a couple of months.  Junior will be still 13 years old but he will compete against 14 - 15 year olds.