Reed On The Greens August 22, 2025
Best Days Ahead For Bryce Burridge
by Jeffrey Reed, Editor, LondonOntarioGolf.com

Bryce Burridge photo (above): AJGA.

Just 14 years old, London golfer Bryce Burridge has already made history on the links. His TVRA Boys Championship win last year marked the first time a Grade 9 student had captured the tournament.

But with his best golf ahead of him, and an old soul which makes him a champion on and off the golf course, the Grade 10 student at Saunders Secondary School is working hard in preparation for a bright future. In fact, his work ethic alone stands out amongst the crowded leaderboard of life. And a solid foundation provided by his loving family adds to his championship demeanour.

Bryce is still a young teenager, though, so there’s plenty of growing up to do. But put a golf club in his hand, and he already stands heads and tails above most local golfers with his +4.1 handicap index. At age 3, he had already shown golf skills well beyond his years. He played in his first tournament at age 5.

But he wasn’t a child prodigy in the style of Tiger Woods. In fact, Bryce has worked tirelessly to hone his skills on the golf course, which in recent years has proven to be a blessing to both him and his family – his dad, Rick, and his older sisters, Chloe, 21, and Meghan, 19.

Bryce Burridge. Photo: Golf Ontario.

In September 2023, Bryce’s mother, Dawn Marie, died of cancer. She was just 53.

“We’ve had a couple of very tough years since I lost my wife to cancer,” said Rick. “Golf took a back seat, obviously. But we did play locally as much as we could. Hopefully, we’re all coming out of it stronger as a family. And without a doubt, golf helped us heal.”

It wasn’t until last year when Bryce’s extensive travel schedule resumed and saw him again compete outside of Southwestern Ontario. And he didn’t skip a beat. Listed as a public player, since he has support from numerous local courses and practice facilities, and a member at Greenhills Country Club, Bryce has three additional wins this season: the U.S. Kids Golf Michigan State Invitational where he birdied the first playoff hole for the victory; Ontario U15 Boys Championship where he again won in a playoff; and Notah Begay III Canadian Junior Golf Championship Boys 14-15 division.

“My U.S. Kids golf tournament experience (was a) great way to end my time with U.S. Kids. This organization has helped me grow into the golfer I am today,” said Bryce after posting rounds of 71-70—141 (-3) at The Fortress in Frankenmuth, Michigan. In 2024, Bryce also won at that event, and won at the Notah Begay III event – staged by Dixon Golf which is supporting Bryce’s golf journey. He’s also backed by TaylorMade Golf Canada.

“We’re also fortunate to have the support of so many local golf people,” said Rick. Those supporters include Highland Country Club, Sunningdale Golf and Country where Bryce’s swing coach, Mark Elliott, teaches lessons, Bob Martin and Bob’s Golf Range, recently-resigned Fanshawe Falcons golf coach Colin Robertson of Robertson Golf Academy and Joe Barnes of Fanshawe Golf School. London Hunt and Country Club has also reached out and has invited Bryce to play that club for the first time when he returns from Golf Canada’s Boys U15 Championship Aug. 27-29 at Pitt Meadows Golf Club, east of Vancouver, B.C.

“I’m very excited to be going to Vancouver – I’ve never been there!” said Bryce, whose young golf career has already exposed him to sights and sounds most kids his age have never seen.

The Burridge family is extremely sports-oriented – dad, Rick, is a long-time golfer and Greenhills member since 1991. Both Chloe and Meghan have reached the elite level as gymnasts – Meghan is now an artist/athlete with Cirque du monde, Studio Cirque and Le Petit Cirque. Said Rick, “Bryce saw how his sisters worked hard at their sports for 30 hours a week, so that has helped him along the way. And he’s doing what he loves to do.”

“I’m enjoying all of the friendships I have playing golf and enjoying a sport I love.” – Bryce Burridge

A promising minor hockey player, Bryce broke his collar bone on the ice last December while skating with his Bantam AA team. He decided then that golf would be his only sport. Today, he aspires to play on the PGA Tour – but said his favourite golfer is another lefty, LIV golfer Bubba Watson.

“I love how Bubba shapes the ball,” Bryce explained. “I can do the same thing. And I love to drive the ball straight down the fairway 300 yards. The driver is definitely my favourite club, but I work hard at my iron and wedge game, and with my putter.”

When they’re not hopscotching from one golf course to another, the Burridge family enjoys putting at home and hitting golf balls into their simulator in the garage. During the winter months, Bryce hits 200 balls each day in addition to practicing his putting.

Bryce Burridge. Photo: Dixon Golf/Notah Begay III Canadian Junior Golf Championship.

Competing against junior golfers in the U.S. who can play golf during the entire year can be challenging, Bryce said, but his formula and work ethic have been a great one-two punch thus far. He said, “We show up at tournaments two days early so I can practice on the grass, and putt 100 balls. Then, I go out and try to win.”

Keeping things that simple is a wise decision for the young Londoner who looks forward to the Canadian U15 tourney next week, the U.S. Kids Golf PGA Golf Club Village Invitational Oct. 11-12 at Port Saint Lucie, Florida, November’s Notah Begay III National Championship in Louisiana and the upcoming high school season.

Other tournaments earlier this season include a second-place finish at the AJGA Florida Preview, and fifth-place finishes at the Under Armour World Championship and AJGA Junior All-Star tourney in Chicago.

Bryce does not compete on the Junior Tyson Tour this summer, but in ’24 he won the only Tyson Tour event he entered, at Tarandowah Golfers Club – one of his favourite courses. “I love it there – it’s so beautiful,” he said. His favourite course ever played? That would be the historic Kanawaki Golf Club, southwest of Montreal, where the 2005 movie, The Greatest Game Ever Played, was filmed.

What does the future hold for Bryce? He aspires to played NCAA Division I golf, of course, with Texas, Georgia and Wake Forest at the top of his list. He’ll soon attend a Wake Forest invitational and hopes to be invited to similar events at other U.S. colleges.

And, of course, obtaining his PGA Tour card is a long-term goal. Until then, Bryce is living in the moment, “enjoying all of the friendships I have playing golf and enjoying a sport I love.”

And that’s what golf is all about.

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Award-winning writer and broadcaster Jeffrey Reed has covered golf in Southwestern Ontario since 1980. A three-time author, Reed penned the 2018-published book, The Canadian Seniors’ Golf Association, Celebrating 100 Years of Seniors Golf 1918-2018. Reach him at jeff@londonontariogolf.com.