OCHO RIOS, St Ann — Nowadays, the mention of Wesley Brown’s name no longer goes by without recognition.

He’s no Tiger Woods — at least not yet — but the Jamaican golfer’s rise in status and talent seems the start of the fulfilment of a predestination for success in the sport.

It’s true he’s still a long way off in standing head and shoulders, or going toe-to-toe, with the game’s greats — past and present — but his soaring confidence suggests that sooner than expected he could be teeing off with the world’s best on the prestigious PGA Tour.

“I walk confidence and I talk confidence,” said Brown, after doing caddy duties at the annual Sandals US Travel Agents Golf Tournament, which ended at the Sandals Golf and Country Club in picturesque Upton in St Ann yesterday.

“My goal is to get to the PGA Tour and that’s what we are working on,” he added.

On the heels of a fabulous pro tour last year, Brown had hoped for a better 2015 as he keeps his sights on moving up to the elite ranks.

But with the good, he has also graciously taken the bad.

“I went away in May and played in a couple of tournaments, and the first few were not so good as I had to be relearning everything: the grass, the food and everything,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

“I had two wins last year and two wins this year, but I was expecting more this year, but, you know, we can’t win everything,” Brown added.

The golfer, recognising that he had to get back in form as he chases his dreams, worked tirelessly to get his groove back, and hopefully, with it, success.

“I got on form in the Newburn Classics as I played consistently well, and I finished inside the top 30, which was a strong field and a tough golf course; and while I was a bit disappointed, I was still happy with the result,” he shared.

“I came back (to Jamaica) for the month of July and went back in August, and after tweaking my swing and my mental set-up, I ended up winning one of the events. And the following week I won another event, which is a Pro Am one-day shootout and I was very happy to win as it was my first Pro Am,” Brown said.

Last month Brown was in irrepressible form in capturing the Meadowland Classic Golf Tournament in the USA.

For that sensational victory, the St Ann native shot an even par to start the final round two strokes behind the leader, but produced a blistering round to shoot two under for the day, which spurred him to victory by three strokes.

Brown is already salivating at the prospects that lie ahead.

“I am looking forward for the next six weeks and we are looking at the Florida Swing. And I am hoping to play eight or nine tournaments until December and then I will come here and then I will go back in May and then prepare for the Web.com Tour as that’s the next level,” he noted.

Though he gets a lot of support from Sandals Resorts International, which he appreciates greatly, Brown said it will take more to take him to the next level.

“I have limited resources working with… this golf course (Sandals Gold and Country Club) is a good golf course to play on, but practice-wise you need something else… something like Half Moon and even Cinamon Hill, as those are the golf courses that I should be playing on more often.

“But I work here at Sandals Gold and Country Club, which is a fantastic golf course. But it’s just that fine line that I need to cross and that’s another level for me, but all in all it has been a fantastic year and I have got a lot of respect for performances from the media in Jamaica and the golf community,” he concluded.

— Sean Williams