A&M-Victoria’s Gratton qualifies for Canadian Am

EDMONTON, Alberta – Brandon Gratton's success from the 2025-26 season hasn't stopped yet.

Fresh off Red River Athletic Conference Men's Golfer of the Year honors and a runner-up finish with Texas A&M University-Victoria at the RRAC Tournament, the junior from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, recently qualified for the 121st Canadian Men's Amateur Championship which is the national championship for amateur golfers in Canada.

"I've put in a lot of time trying to get to the next level," Gratton said. "Seeing things like this happen in rather quick fashion between the tournaments in the summer and this last year at A&M-Victoria, it kind of just pushes me because I know I'm much closer to the goal of a long-term golf career. It also means this next year for college is that much more important and it's going to be full steam ahead."

The winner of the Canadian Am earns a spot in next year's RBC Canadian Open, a top event on the PGA Tour schedule, as well as the U.S. Men's Amateur.

"I'm super proud of Brandon," said head coach Garrett Adair. "Qualifying for the Canadian Am is a huge accomplishment, but I know it's only the start for him. He is an exceptionally hard worker who continues to see his hard work pay off."

Gratton earned his spot at the Canadian Am, hosted by Mickelson National Golf Club and Heritage Pointe Golf Club in Calgary, Alberta, July 27-30, by finishing T-9 at the 114^th Alberta Men's Amateur Championship after shooting 74-75-74—223 over the course of three days at Fort McMurray Golf Club. He finished three strokes out of a Top 5 spot at a tournament that featured just 10 rounds under par across roughly 120 golfers

It will be his first appearance at the Canadian Am.

"Honestly, it was quite relieving [to qualify]," Gratton said. "The course we played at was very tight and there was zero forgiveness, especially off the tee, and the scores definitely showed that. So, being able to keep it together mentally, even after a couple mistakes – which was bound to happen on that course – and holding strong and beating most guys out, was a huge boost for my game."

New Perspective

The 2025-26 campaign was the first for Gratton at A&M-Victoria after spending his freshman year at Morningside University in Iowa.

His first year in South Texas saw a change in his game. Gratton finished the year with a 72.6 adjusted scoring average and was the 95^th ranked golfer in all of the NAIA after nine tournaments.

Gratton made noise in his first tournament with the Jaguars, finishing third at the Texas Wesleyan Texas Intercollegiate after going 71-70-66—207 to finish T-3. He followed that up by tying the program record for lowest score to par by shooting 12-under over three rounds at the Poss High Country Shootout in Ruidoso, New Mexico, two weeks later.

The reason for his drastic improvement was both a boost in confidence by consistently playing in tournaments for the Jaguars, as well as seeing different styles of courses and learning how to play a different style of golf to better manage the new courses.

"Up here [in Canada], it's a lot of super technical golf and keeping it straight, not veering off path too much," Gratton said. "It's very much fairways and greens. Down [in Texas], you can definitely be a bit more sporadic and get away with it, especially some of the links-style courses we play. So it forced me to get more creative and have more trust in more aspects of my game.

"And I think every single one of my teammates was a key factor of that because I'd watch them go out and do the same thing. It might not be 'perfect' golf, but they'd still shoot low scores. So, I think that was a big aspect for me, building confidence and improving my game."

What's Ahead

Gratton, much like his fellow Albertans in the Canadian Am field, is relishing the opportunity to compete for the title in their home province against the field of 256 golfers.

"All of us guys from Alberta kind of have a chip on our shoulder," Gratton said. "We know it's this type of golf, this type of grass we're used to, and I've played that course a few times in my life so I know what it's about."

But he's not getting ahead of himself, knowing the two courses max out at 7,100 (Heritage) and 7,300 yards (Mickelson), respectively. Gratton knows each round is going to require perfect golf to compete against the layout of the course and the field, which features a number of NCAA Division I talent and PGA Tour hopefuls.

The four-round tournament will feature a cut to the lowest 70 scores and ties after two rounds.

"This field is unbelievably skilled," Gratton said. "Scores in the past have been lower than 20-under par to win through four rounds of golf. It's just always going to be a scoring fest. So, going out, I have to be on my A-game and I know I have to be mentally strong. You have to believe that every part of your game is up to the task of beating everyone in that field. It's a test. It's nothing but everyone trying to beat everybody else out there and all you can do is go out, make sure your game is as good as it can be and hope the putts drop and it's enough."

Fans can keep up with Gratton at the Canadian Am by following the Live Scoring on Golf Canada's Golf Genius page.