The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Hall of Honor
- Induction:
- 2020
- Class:
- 1998
A player that Longhorn Men's Golf coach John Fields once referred to as "one of the best amateur and collegiate golfers ever," Brad Elder is one of only four Longhorns to win the nation's oldest and most prestigious collegiate golfer of the year honor, the Fred Haskins Award. After a successful career as a Longhorn that saw him earn four All-America and four all-conference honors, Elder began a professional career following his 1998 senior season. Since turning pro, he has played on the PGA Tour, the Nationwide Tour, and currently plays on the Web.com Tour. Elder earned All-Southwest Conference and honorable mention All-America honors in helping the Longhorns win the final SWC title and a third-place finish at the NCAA Championship as a freshman in 1995. As a sophomore, he was a first-team All-American and helped Texas finish 13th at the NCAA Championship. His most successful season as a Longhorn came as a junior in 1997, when he earned the Haskins Award. That year, he was again selected first-team All-America and honored with the Jack Nicklaus Award, given annually by the Golf Coaches Association of America to the golfer who excels throughout the course of the entire season. He was named to the 1997 Walker Cup and Palmer Cup teams, helping Team USA win both events. A 1998 third-team All-American as a senior, Elder was a two-time medalist as a Longhorn, winning the 1995 Taylor Made Red River Classic and the 1998 Cleveland Golf/Morris Williams Classic. He finished his collegiate career as the nation's No. 1 amateur according to the Golfweek/Titleist amateur rankings. Throughout his professional career, which has spanned 20 seasons, Elder has played in more than 400 tournaments, winning three times on the Web.com Tour (1999 NIKE Inland Empire Open, 1999 NIKE Wichita Open and 2007 Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open). He has also posted 23 top-10 finishes in his career. His first year on the PGA Tour came in 2000, when he ranked third among all rookies in earnings ($700,738), highlighted by a tie for second at the SEI Pennsylvania Classic. He has qualified for the U.S. Open three times, making the cut in 2015. A native of Tulsa, Okla., Elder currently resides in Dallas.
