Hayfield's Bronson stays motivated by her older brother, who overcame cancer to continue golfing
May 29—HAYFIELD — When Hayfield junior Carly Bronson hits the golf course, it's impossible to tell where family time ends and golf begins.
Carly is preparing for her fifth appearance at the Class A state golf meet after winning the Section 1A meet with a two-day score of 156 on Wednesday. Carly, who took seventh in last year's Class A meet, probably wouldn't be in the position if not for her older brother Keegan, a former Hayfield golfer who golfs in college at Wartburg University and has coached with Hayfield in the past.
Carly was once Keegan's teammate, and now she leans in on him for advice and support when the game starts to wear on her focus level.
"He teaches me to be smarter on the golf course and how to get around without putting up big numbers. He's a good example of someone who's confident and he's put the work in," Carly said. "It's really hard to focus, but my dad and people around me are really supportive. That helps and I've also learned to trust myself."
Keegan took 29th in the Class A meet in his final meet with the Vikings in 2021 and he went on to play at Waldorf University, where he was diagnosed with a cancer that led to his leg being amputated above the knee. Despite the setback, Keegan has kept playing, and that has meant everything for Carly.
"He's shown me that golf is really an opportunity and it should be fun, it shouldn't be life or death," Carly said. "There are bigger things in the world than a bad round of golf. It makes it a lot easier to play when I put that into perspective."
Keegan played for Waldorf with a prosthetic leg this season, but he doesn't get as discouraged as he used to when he has struggles. He's carried that lesson back to his whole family, along with whatever tips and tricks he's learned from his college coaches.
"Golf was everything before I had a prosthetic and even now it still is, but now it's like 'even if you have a bad round of golf, it's not the end of the world,'" he said. "It's just a round of golf, and you're still going to wake up the next day and you'll still get to play golf and still get to go to school. One bad round doesn't make or break you as a person."
Keegan will be supporting Carly at the Class A state golf meet at Pebble Creek in Becker on June 10 and June 11 and she's hoping to impress him and her family.
She's already put up some historic performances this season as she won the Gopher Conference title and she won her first ever Section 1A title. She's hoping that momentum will carry over to the state meet.
"(Taking first at sections) means a lot and it adds another thing that I can be proud of. I showed how I can play and I can be confident," Carly said. "At state, I'm hoping to put up a better score and play better than I did last year."
