Adam Bresnu will have had plenty of time on the flight from Dubai to Texas to think about his week’s work. And maybe to ponder whether it was, in fact, all a dream.
Playing a practice round with Jon Rahm. Teeing it up at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, the pioneering golf event for the Middle East. Becoming the first Arab to make a cut at a Rolex Series event. Matching Adam Scott stroke for stroke on moving day. Getting 200 extra followers in a day on Instagram.
If he is covered in bruises by the time he returns to class at Odessa College, then it might be from pinching himself all the way home. But, yes, it really did happen.
“A guy like me, 20 years old, I think a lot of people would love to have my place right now,” said Bresnu, who was due to fly back to the United States on Monday.
“I was just super happy to be that person. It is just the beginning. I have to work more. I know what I can do now. In a few months, maybe a few years, hopefully I will have the potential to win a Rolex Series or DP World Tour event.”
Bresnu’s history-making trip back to the region came about because of a sponsor’s invite. He had only ever been to the UAE once before, when he played at an event at Al Zorah in Ajman.
Fair to assume the field in Dubai might have packed slightly more of a punch than the one of his first appearance in the country, what with the likes of Rory McIlroy, Rahm, Scott, and a host of other household names being present.
Maintaining his poise in such vaunted company was a credit to him, but there is a reason he might not have felt distracted by all the stardust at Emirates Golf Club. After all, he had recent experience to call on of rubbing shoulders with the sport’s great and good.
Last month in King Abdullah Economic City near Jeddah, he finished in a tie for sixth at the PIF Saudi International. He shared that position with respected tour pros like Thomas Pieters and Branden Grace.
The 267 strokes he took at that event was just two more than Tyrrell Hatton, the eventual Desert Classic champion, used. Major champions Louis Oosthuizen and Patrick Reed, meanwhile, were further back down the leaderboard.
From the heady heights of that competition in Saudi Arabia, to his bright showing in Dubai, Bresnu is becoming a trailblazer.
He said becoming the first Arab to make a Rolex Series cut "was one of my goals. I just wanted to make history. I made it a month ago in Saudi Arabia when I finished sixth in the PIF Saudi International. Making the cut here is a big thing.
“I had so many calls. I was like, please leave me alone, I want to sleep. But that was nice. My goal is just to show the world that Arab players, we have the potential and we have the talent.
“Now it's only a question of time. I'm sure you'll have kids playing on the tour - for sure. I'm really happy what I did, and also for the next generation.”
He hopes he can be an inspiration for that next generation of players from the Mena region, and Morocco in particular.
“In golf, it is only a question of confidence,” he said. “If they [aspiring players in Morocco] see me making the cut, and playing well, they might think, ‘Well, I beat that guy a couple of times, so I can make it’.
“It is a good thing. It will give them confidence. Having more confidence means playing good. Playing good means more players on tour, and that is one of the [Moroccan golf] federation’s goals – to have more players on tour.”
Bresnu is from Paris, where he was taught the sport by his dad, who is a golf coach. His mother is Moroccan, and he has spent much of his life between France and Rabat.
“I just loved it,” he said of his first impressions of the sport. “At 10 years old, I was good at golf and I thought, ‘Maybe let’s try to make it’.
“That was my goal. On every vacation I made to Morocco, I was looking at what the federation was doing. They were doing an amazing job with all the players because in Morocco it is not that easy to play golf.
“There are a lot of nice golf courses, but when you want to play at the high level, you need the money. Morocco [golf federation] helps a lot the young kids.
“Some of the best kids come from nothing. It gives them hope for the future and a chance to make it. I think that is amazing.”
Bresnu realises golf has its work cut out to make a dent in football’s market share in Morocco. He points out it is embedded in Moroccan sporting culture, and acknowledges he loves football himself.
He has fond memories of teaming up with his cousin as a child in Rabat and challenging teams from other neighbourhoods, with Dh5 at stake.
“In Morocco, people love football. It is part of the culture,” he said. “There is a cliché about golf that it is for rich, old people.
“It is hard to play, so people don’t really know golf. But if you don’t know a sport, you can’t judge it. It is hard to make golf famous in Morocco, except with TV and media, or being famous on social media.”
He was thrilled to see his Instagram following grow in Dubai, but he is well aware he is not a star yet. He does show signs of being a player of substance according to Scott, though, the former Masters champion who was Bresnu’s third-round playing partner in Dubai.
“I think the info filtered down to juniors and college players is really good, and if you told me he was a pro, I wouldn’t be surprised either,” Scott said of his young namesake.
“It was probably a great experience for him playing this week in a big event. It is huge. I remember when I got a start in the Benson and Hedges [International Open] at The Belfry. It was big event back in the day. I played with Jose Maria [Olazabal] on the Saturday, and they are lasting impressions.
“You learn a lot out of it. What I learnt the most from the first time playing with my heroes in the game was that they didn’t do everything perfect.
“That was an eye-opener for me. When you are a kid, you think everything has to be perfect but it’s not. They don’t hit every shot well, yet manage to shoot in the 60s. And when you are off [as a young amateur], you are shooting in the high 70s.
“There is a learning curve there. It was fun to play with him.”
