By Chandler Hawkes, Sports@CJC

PALM COAST — Aiden Byce stepped onto the tee box on a muggy Tuesday morning at The Conservatory at Hammock Beach. But this wasn’t an ordinary round for the 20-year-old Anderson, South Carolina, native.

Byce was about to tee off in his first U.S. Open Qualifier … and he had a special person at his side. For the first time in Byce’s career, his mother, Heather Tran, was on his bag — celebrating a belated Mother’s Day together.

“It was fun,” Byce said. “We didn’t talk about golf a whole lot. We pretty much talked about a bunch of random assortment of things, so definitely kept it lighter than normal.”

For Tran, it was difficult at times during the round to find the line between when it was time to be a mom and when it was time to be a caddie. 

“It’s a challenge,” Tran said. “To try to keep his head in the game, but also not to take it too seriously. I’m just there for support…But also, being an athlete, I know what it takes to kind of have to put your head down and focus when you need to.”

Despite this being his first competitive round of the year in probably the biggest event for him all year, Byce and his mom were all smiles for most of the round.

“Pretty big first,” Byce said. “I was like, well, if I do bad here, I won’t feel that bad about it.”

Byce’s grandfather is normally his caddie, but he was unavailable for this round. When it comes to in-round strategy, Byce said his plan for his round is dictated by who is on the bag. 

“Depending on who’s caddying, it kind of changes what my game plan is,” Byce said. “My granddad was a pretty good player himself, so we usually talk more about strategy. He helps me read greens a lot more often, and for the most part, we keep it pretty much all golf.”

Golf runs throughout this entire family. Aiden’s dad played golf, his granddad played golf, and his mom played golf years ago. 

“I was just kind of born to play golf,” Byce said with a smile. “I didn’t really have a choice.”

However, when it came time to go to college, he chose something else that runs in the family. Rather than going to a smaller school to play college golf, Byce decided to follow in his family members’ footsteps again and attend Clemson University.

“Our whole family went the Clemson,” Tran said. “He could have gone to a smaller school and played, but he decided he really wanted to go to Clemson.”

Byce, however, could be making a stop in Gainesville for a few years. He has applied to go to law school at the University of Florida and said he will likely be attending, if he is accepted.

Byce and his mom were just one-third of a special grouping on Tuesday in Palm Coast. The mother-son duo was also joined by another junior golfer, Trace Carter, who is looking to play Division I golf himself. The third member of their group was R.J. Milford, who has a background in fitness training in rotational sports like tennis and golf, and his caddie was his pregnant wife.

When asked if she would be returning to caddy for Aiden, his mom was quick to respond.

“Uh, probably not,” Tran said, laughing. “Anytime he wants me and he’ll have me, I will gladly do it, but I also want him to do really well. I just want him to have a caddy he is comfortable with. We had a good time today, but my dad is better at it.”

The combination of the tricky Conservatory golf course and the rainy, wet conditions made it a tough day for Byce on the course, He failed to advance in the qualifying process after shooting 92, but he said it will not steer him away from trying to in the future.

“For sure,” Byce said in response to if he would do this again in the future. “Probably every year from now until my back gives out.”

Chandler Hawkes is a sports journalism student at the University of Florida.

Posted: May 19, 2024
Category: Covering the U.S. Open
Tagged as: 2024 U.S. Open, Covering the U.S. Open