Wil Bateman “riding the wave” to full Korn Ferry Tour status

It was a dream-like campaign for Wil Bateman on PGA TOUR Canada. The Edmonton native ripped through the schedule without missing a cut, notching two victories and taking home Player of the Year honors after topping the Fortinet Cup.

Now the 29-year-old will have full status on the Korn Ferry Tour for next year and will hope to keep riding the wave of success to his ultimate goal – the PGA TOUR.

“Riding the wave,” Bateman said, is not just a common turn of phrase. The former top-ranked junior in Canada talks frequently with his sport psychologist, Debra Graham. Graham calls it “flowing.” Bateman gets on life’s wave and just cruises.

It’s a good way to be when you’re navigating such a mind-bending game as golf. Bateman, a 10th-year pro who played collegiately at San Diego State, has been a regular presence across PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR Latinoamerica through the years. Even though he has made just three career Korn Ferry Tour starts, he has maintained self-belief that his best golf is enough to compete at the highest level, and this season in Canada validated that perspective.

The native of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada now holds full Korn Ferry Tour status into 2023, with an eye on securing his first PGA TOUR card via the season-long points race.

“Our goal for the whole season was just continue to ride the wave,” said Bateman. “If you think about riding the wave, it’s a pretty calming thing. You’re just enjoying it and cruising. The universe is doing its thing.”

The crest of Bateman’s wave in 2022 came at the ATB Classic presented by Volvo Edmonton. Bateman opened and closed the week with 65s and he won his hometown tournament. Most, if not all, the fans on site were

there to cheer for him. He was in the mix, and then he took the event across the finish line for his maiden PGA TOUR Canada title. He never looked back after that.

“I went into that week and said I was just going to completely let go and let the universe figure itself out,” said Bateman. “It helped me stay calm and stay in the moment a bit more and put less pressure on myself.

“As long as I can stay riding that wave, I feel like that’s what brings out the best in me.”

Bateman said notching that victory in Edmonton in his second event of the season was a big-time boost to his confidence. The win allowed him to play freely for the balance of the season, where he notched two other top-10 results along with another victory at the season finale. He finished second at the CRMC Championship presented by Gertens after a final-round 62. Going into the Fortinet Cup Championship, the last event of the season, he was about 80 points behind the No. 1 spot and knew he needed something special to close out the year. When the previous No. 1, Jake Knapp, struggled in the finale, Bateman could have captured the Order of Merit title even without a victory – but that’s not how he wanted to go out.

“If I just controlled my emotions coming in, I probably would have won the season regardless, but to win the last one on top of winning the season was huge. It was a lot of fun,” said Bateman, who rolled in a lengthy par-saver on the 72nd hole of the final event of the year from off the green and let out a boisterous “Yeah!” to the assembled crowd.

But all this success, the streak of good results, the mental fortitude to stay present as he got closer to the biggest carrot offered on PGA TOUR Canada – did he think he had the kind of year in him that he ended up having?

“You never really know when you’re ready until you prove it,” said Bateman. “But I worked really hard last year and felt like I was definitely ready for (2022). I got to the first event of the year and I was pretty confident with my game. In that first event I shot my worst round of the year in the final round … but I walked off the course and I was actually still pretty confident with everything and knew there was a lot of good golf ahead of me.”

Bateman has no shortage of fellow Canadians on TOUR to model his efforts after. Corey Conners has become a stalwart in the world’s top-50, Mackenzie Hughes and Nick Taylor have both won twice in their career on TOUR – with Hughes capturing this fall’s Sanderson Farms Championship – while Taylor Pendrith made the International Presidents Cup squad after his rookie TOUR campaign. Bateman, 29, is certainly not old, but he’s not a fresh-from-college stud either. Conners, Hughes and Pendrith are only a year or so older than Bateman but have already climbed golf’s ladder.

“Definitely at my age I’m a little bit behind all the guys I’ve played with growing up that are out (on TOUR) and playing well, but I’m not looking at it like that,” said Bateman. “I feel like it’s my opportunity and my time, and as long as I can focus on what I can control and stay patient for the whole year, hopefully I’ll have a TOUR card at the end of the season. I’m not looking too far in advance. More so looking at my accomplishments and staying patient and just getting the first ball in the fairway in the Bahamas and going from there.”

Time to ride the wave.