A Loyola alum is on a journey through the Korn Ferry Tour to the PGA Tour.
Brandon Berry ‘21 began his golf career with a plastic club set that his parents bought him when he was little. His parents saw something within him as he swung the clubs, which prompted his grandpa to take him to the range. That is when the Berry family knew that Brandon was going to go far in the sport of golf.
Berry’s family entered him in his first golf tournament when he was six years old, where he went on to break par through nine holes. The Virginia native attended Langley High School, where he was a two-time first-team All-State, two-time All-Region, and four-time first-team All-District performer. He was also named golf team captain twice and helped lead his team to a state championship in 2016.
After Langley, Berry committed to Loyola University Maryland, where he went on to win two Patriot League championships. In the 2020-21 season, he also won Patriot League Golfer of the Year, a significant accomplishment in a talent-filled pool of student-athletes.
After Loyola, Berry spent two years at PGA Tour Q-School and joined the Korn Ferry Tour in 2024. In 2024, he played in his first PGA Tour event, the Corales Puntacana Championship. He finished in 65th place, shooting two under par and earning $8,600.
Berry also played in the Myrtle Beach Classic and the Rocket Mortgage Classic in 2024. In 2025, he played in 25 Korn Ferry Tour events, finishing top 10 twice, top 25 four times, and earning $108,43.
Berry explains how the transition from college to pro golf is very challenging. Traveling alone has been a difficult transition for him. But in some ways, he says that it is not so different from college, even though he is traveling from state to state and even across different countries. The player said that sometimes pro golf is like college golf because he sees the same people every week, he makes friends, and they all travel from one place to another.
Even with this transition, the changes have helped Berry improve his play over time. Traveling alone has helped him become a more patient person, which translates to the course when he hits a couple of shots that do not go his way.
“In terms of transition, it’s definitely an adjustment. I’ve become a lot more patient as a person the last few years as I’ve really tried to add that to my golf game,” Berry said.
Every tournament, Berry continues to learn both mentally and physically how to become the best golfer that he can be. Playing every week helps him figure out what he needs to do during his practices from Monday through Wednesday to play his best golf Thursday through Sunday.
Christopher Baloga has been coaching golf at Loyola since 2010. He has helped the Greyhounds secure eight conference titles and competed in the NCAA Regional Championships the same number of times. He is also a four-time Patriot League Coach of the Year and was the Golf Coaches Association of America Northeast Region Coach of the Year in 2021. Before Loyola, Baloga played collegiate golf at Towson University. There, he earned Colonial Athletic Association Scholar-Athlete honors for all four years and served as a co-captain for his senior year.
After college, Baloga competed in state, regional, and national amateur competitions. In those competitions, he secured first place at the 2008 Middle Atlantic Amateur Championship, the 2008 and 2011 Maryland Amateur Stroke Play Championship, the 2010 Maryland Mid-Amateur Championship, and the 2010 and 2012 Washington Metropolitan Mid-Amateur Championship.
The accomplished coach gave great praise to Berry and his play on the course.
“He is quite tall for a golfer, 6 foot 3 inches, and hits the ball a long way. I bet on his upside as a recruit and that paid off as he was a huge part of our success during his time at Loyola.” Baloga said.
When Baloga spoke about Berry, he did not have many cons. He elaborated on how Berry was very diligent in his practice and came in every day ready to improve his game. The coach said he was also always very complimentary and willing to help his teammates. Baloga remembers times when Berry would practice with teammates who did not start. Berry would help them ease themselves into the course and give them pointers as well.
Baloga realized during Berry’s senior year and graduate year that he had what it took to go pro. During his fifth year in 2021-22, Berry was something close to 30 under par total in the last two events in their fall season. Earning second place following a win in Hawaii was something only high-level golfers could accomplish. Beluga knew that shooting scores like that is special and goes to show that, at Berry’s best, he was capable of being one of the best in the country.
Berry has been inspired by the journeys of his fellow golfers as he looks towards his own future as a player.
“The great thing about golf is everyone’s path is different and unique. Seeing the 20 guys graduate the Korn Ferry to PGA Tour this year was pretty inspiring,” Berry said.
This inspiration has motivated Berry every day to become the best golfer he can be. He does not have any result-based goods. He believes that when he gets too attached to the results on tour, it derails him for months.
Instead, Berry plans to focus on getting a little better at golf every day, a plan of consistent improvement. He has proven to himself over the last two years that he is good enough to compete in this sport for a living and fulfill his dream to play on the PGA Tour.
“I know if I can continue to improve year after year, I can make it to the PGA tour,” Berry said.