Medinah's Presidents Cup will be here soon This article appeared in the February 2026 edition of...
Former ISU hoopster to play on hallowed ground
Photos courtesy of USGA
This article appeared in the April 2026 edition of Chicago District Golfer.
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Bloomington native Brandon Holtz earned a spot in the Masters by winning the 2025 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Troon Country Club in September.
Brandon Holtz has attended 15 Masters tournaments. He’s chatted briefly with Fred Couples and Sergio Garcia near the ninth tee. He’s been within earshot of Tiger Woods and his caddie near the No. 6 tee, listening to Woods discuss every detail that could impact his next shot.
“It was just real golf,” Holtz said. “There were things you don’t think about. He’s looking at the trees; he’s looking at the clouds … everything they could find.”
Holtz the “patron” was intrigued by the high-level interaction. Occasionally, he wondered what playing in golf’s premier event would be like.
“The dream was always there, right?” he said. “But I’m a realist. I wasn’t really thinking this was going to be an option. But here we are.”
A 39-year-old real estate agent from Bloomington, Holtz will play this year at Augusta National Golf Club. He secured his Masters invitation by winning the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship in September at Troon Country Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
A man who grew up immersed in basketball, earning a scholarship at Illinois State, will be inside the ropes, taking swings with golf’s elite.
“It’s pretty wild,” Holtz said. “It’s still kind of ‘pinch yourself.’ My wife and I are like, ‘Is this really happening?’ I’m super excited, obviously. I’m super anxious to get there and tee it up.”
Holtz starred in basketball at Bloomington High School and was a reserve guard at Illinois State from 2005-2009. He played golf in high school, helping his team to second- and third-place state finishes, but was not dedicated to the sport.
“I was always kind of naturally gifted in golf, but even in high school, practice was kind of a joke to me,” Holtz said. “I would show up, do what I needed to do and just leave. I never put in any extra work. I would leave the golf course and go to the gym and play basketball. That’s where my focus was.”
The transition to golf came after Holtz’s college basketball career ended. Seeking a competitive outlet, he invested the hours formerly devoted to basketball into golf. From 2010-2014, he played full-time in professional mini-tour events, accumulating more debt than earnings.
From 2015–2021, Holtz played in a limited number of pro events. He placed second in the 2017 Illinois Open and received $14,000, easily his biggest payday. In 2024, he applied to the United States Golf Association, submitted his professional schedule/earnings and regained his amateur status. The motivation? To play with friends in Bloomington-Normal amateur tournaments.
Holtz, a former Illinois State basketball player, will have his full family in tow for Masters week.
Always a long hitter, Holtz’s game rounded into form. He won local Best Ball and Medal Play events last summer, the latter by 10 strokes. With a qualifier for the U.S. Mid-Amateur at his home course, Crestwicke Country Club in Bloomington, he jumped at it.
“I was playing well going into that,” Holtz said. “It was small goals, right? Get out of the qualifier, then make match play (at the U.S. Mid-Amateur) and once you get into match play, whatever happens, happens. It was just a bunch of small goals that I kept hitting.”
Relying heavily on his driver – “The strongest club in my bag,” he said – Holtz advanced through qualifying for match play at the U.S. Mid-Amateur, then won six matches in four days. He clinched the 36-hole final by driving the green on a 308-yard par-4 and sinking the eagle putt.
The win earned Holtz his Masters opportunity along with an exemption into this year’s U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, a 10-year exemption into the U.S. Mid-Amateur and a two-year exemption into the U.S. Amateur.
Holtz has juggled preparation for the Masters with his full-time job at Re/Max Rising Realty in Bloomington and responsibilities at home with his wife, Liz, their 5-year-old son, Baker, and 2-year-old daughter, Millie.
His prep has included hitting into a golf simulator in Bloomington and traveling on weekends to play courses in warmer locales. Holtz has benefited from the flexibility of his job, but said, “I still have to work. If I don’t work, I don’t make money.”
“So, it’s a lot of social media stuff and just the relationships I already had,” he said. “I lean on that a little bit and obviously on the help at the office. My managing broker, John Armstrong, is 100% behind me and has helped me through all this."
Holtz's dad, Jeff, caddied for him during the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship. The elder Holtz will be on the bag again in Augusta.
Liz Holtz, chief operating officer at the Boys & Girls Club of Bloomington-Normal, also is “on board,” her husband said, enabling him to pursue a potential “once in a lifetime opportunity.”
“We hope it’s not, but it could be,” he said. “For her to accept this and be OK with it is huge for me. A lot of my quality time is through FaceTime with the kids right now. But you have to do what you have to do. It’s a juggle for sure, but not a lot of people get this problem. I welcome it.”
Masters entrants can access the range at Augusta on Saturday and Sunday prior to tournament week. There will be practice rounds Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. A priority for Holtz is getting a feel for Augusta’s challenging undulated greens.
Also on the schedule is the annual Par 3 Contest on Wednesday. Liz Holtz will serve as caddie for that and have an opportunity to hit a shot on No. 9.
“I’ll have my two munchkins (Baker and Millie) running around in the caddie suits as well,” Brandon said. “That will be fun.”
For Holtz, a long-range shooter in basketball, only one thing could be better … a 3-Point Contest.
“I’d bring the hoop!” he said. “Those guys play for a lot of money, but I’d shoot for a lot of money if they want to. I can still get it up there a little bit."
Randy Kindred spent 42 years as a sportswriter, columnist and editor at The Pantagraph newspaper in Bloomington. His golf game is a work in progress ... more work than progress.
Jeff Holtz Will Caddie For His Son at the Masters
When 65-year-old Jeff Holtz caddies for his son in the Masters, he intends to go stride-for-stride with 39-year-old Brandon Holtz at Augusta National Golf Club.
No lagging behind on Augusta’s hilly terrain.
“I don’t want him to be a hundred yards ahead of me and look back and say, ‘Where the heck is the old man?’” Jeff Holtz said. “I’ll be up there with him.”
His confidence stems from a training regimen he laid out for himself. It included walking 10,000 steps a day in December, 12,000 a day in January, 15,000 a day in February and 20,000 a day in March.
The Bloomington man “became a mall walker” during inclement weather. He has walked wearing a backpack filled with weights to simulate lugging a golf bag. Holtz also has worked out regularly at a local fitness center, focusing on lunges, squats and shoulder presses.
Oh, and this …
“I’ve been walking on the incline treadmill to try to combat the hills I know we’re going to encounter,” he said.
A former scratch golfer and now a 5-handicap, Jeff Holtz caddied for his son at the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship in September. When Brandon, a Bloomington real estate agent, won the title to earn his Masters invite, his father offered to find him an experienced caddie for Augusta.
“He says, ‘Heck no, Dad. You’re going all the way,’” Jeff Holtz said.
The elder Holtz went to work physically and has prepared mentally, saying, “Every day, I’ve tried to research something” about the course. He also has personal knowledge gained through the years.
After being on a waiting list, Jeff Holtz was awarded two lifetime Masters passes in 2004. He hasn’t missed a year.
“I’ve had 22 years of watching where the pros hit their tee shots, where they hit their second shots, where they lay up, which side of the green to err on,” he said. “I told Brandon, the funny thing is, I think I can help you at Augusta because I’ve seen all the shots. I’ve been there.”
—Randy Kindred
