March 15, 2008–There's something about talking to a guy who is confident. It fires you up almost as much as the person doing to the speaking. That was the case this week when we touched base with Las Vegas golfer–and member of the 1998 UNLV NCAA Championship golf team–Jeremy Anderson. Anderson has played the PGA Tour, the mini tours and the Nationwide Tour, but hasn't had the breakout season that many expect from him. He has fought injuries along the way, and a few bouts of having little confidence in his game. Not so these days. "I will win on the Nationwide Tour this year, no question, finish in the top 25 on the money list, and be back out on the PGA Tour next year," says Anderson, speaking from spring training in Arizona, a day after watching the UNLV basketball team win a Mountain West Conference tournament game in Las Vegas. For more …
Anderson still lives in Las Vegas, and is a fixture at UNLV sporting events and major golf events in the city. He was recently spotted watching the UNLV golf team win the Southern Highlands Collegiate Golf Championship played at Las Vegas golf course Southern Highlands, and was partial to the Choco Tacos as opposed to the Klondike Krunch bars passed out in celebration of the win. Whenever he talked casually about his golf game at these events during the last several years, he would exude confidence, but there was something a bit hollow in his words.
"It's one thing to talk a good game, but it's another to truly believe it inside and that is what you need to do to be successful," says Anderson, who was a high school teammate of Matt Kuchar in Lake Mary, Florida. "It is good to feel this way about my game. I am very comfortable and feel like I have come full circle."
Anderson barely missed the top 25 on the 2007 Nationwide Tour–the magic number needed to graduate to the PGA Tour–but had six top 10 finishes and earned $186,258, good for 29th place on the money list. However he missed 16 of 27 cuts, a number he knows he needs to improve.
"It was nice to be in a position to win several times last year, and I played well when I was in that position, unfortunately someone just played better," says Anderson, who also says his health is good, much of that due to a solid workout regimen created by Las Vegas physical therepist Tim Soder.
Anderson is off to a slow start in 2008–through his first four events he had earned only $7,272 and was 72nd on the money list–but he is ready to have a big year.
Anderson played the PGA Tour in 2001, earning $99,464 in 28 events but lost his exempt status. He has played the Nationwide Tour several times, accruing more than $314,000 in career earnings.
Anderson was a three-time All-American at UNLV, won two conference player of the year awards, and left the school holding Rebel records for the all-time scoring average (72.01), low 54-hole tournament total (201), low round (63, still stands), and single-season stroke average (70.85). Current PGA Tour star and former NCAA Champion Ryan Moore eclipsed most of the records. Anderson also won five tournaments during his career. He finished in 29th when the Rebel team blistered the field at the 1998 NCAA Championships, earning the school's first and only NCAA title.
He also was a three-time Academic All-American and graduated with a business degree.