TAMPA, Fla. – Growing up in West Palm Beach, Andrew Kozan played a good amount of sports as a kid and wanted to try them all. Eventually, around the age of 12, Kozan made the decision to focus on golf year-round instead of having, "one foot here and one foot there," and he hasn't looked back since.
The Florida Junior Tour alumnus and member of the Auburn University Class of 2021 did not come from a traditional golf family. When he first started to explore the sport at a young age, Kozan was the only member of his family that played golf, with his parents starting to get into it more as he went to further his career at Auburn.
Despite this, Kozan found the opportunity to play competitive junior golf on the Florida Junior Tour, where he discovered incredible success. In 2013, as a 14 year old, Kozan won the 13-15 division of the FJT Tour Championship. One year later, as a 15 yearold, he was victorious once again at the FJT Tour Championship, but this time playing in the 16-18 division. This second Tour Championship victory was, at the time, his third-consecutive victory, fourth victory of 2014, and eighth top-five finish out of the 12 events he played that year.
Then, in January of 2015, Kozan would add another win to his resume, this time at the AJGA Puerto Rico Junior Open. Through this victory, the young golfer gained exemption into his very first professional event, the PGA Tour's Puerto Rico Open. Despite missing the cut, it was at this point when a 16-year-old Kozan truly began to realize his potential.
"That was a few weeks’ span where I was playing a bunch of really good golf. It opened my eyes too. I always told myself my whole life that I could do it, and that was proving it to myself in the moment at that age that I had what it takes."
As he prepared to graduate from Auburn, Kozan reached another milestone by qualifying for the 121st U.S. Open Championship at Torrey Pines. Although he ultimately missed the cut by just one stroke, an impressive feat in his first U.S. Open, Kozan once again was able to take away positive memories from playing the game he loves on a big stage.
“When I got home we had a lot of reflection with my coach and he was really positive, speaking to me that I could make this into a career based on what he saw that week and how comfortable I felt not having any nerves. I definitely felt like I belonged.”
For Kozan, a sense of belonging among his peers, even when they may be much more experienced, has been a source of pride and a sign of progress in his game. Even when his result was not what he may have hoped leading up to a tournament, Kozan always tries to take away the positives.
In 2022, with his junior and college golf days behind him, Kozan turned his sights to playing professionally, making his debut on the Korn Ferry Tour at the Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay. Soon after, the new professional was given a chance to live out one of his greatest dreams by playing the PGA Tour’s The Honda Classic, an event hosted on the same course where he was a member at growing up.
“We were members at PGA National for about eight years growing up, so you're always playing the championship course and trying to envision playing this during The Honda Classic.”
Not only was it a memorable experience because of where Kozan was playing, but how he played as well. Powered by the hometown fans cheering him on, Kozan found himself in the top-five after shooting a 5-under 67 in the first round, and ultimately completed the event in the top-30.
Then, on the heels of living out one of his dreams, Kozan hit a wall. Over his next 14 events, a stretch that spanned the months of March through July, the young professional made just one cut, a tie-for-40th finish at the Club Car Championship at The Landings Club. Kozan had experienced a level of failure he had not yet had to encounter in his entire career.
“It's always tough to have good results, you need a lot of confidence, and then to have a lot of confidence you need good results, so it's tough when those two go hand in hand.”
With the summer dragging on, and the fear of being demoted to Q-School looming, Kozan once again attempted to right the ship, this time at the Utah Championship at Oakridge Country Club. In what Kozan described as a, “stacked field,” the Florida native came out firing with a scintillating 8-under 63, giving him a share of the lead through 18 holes. Kozan would go on to make the cut, but heading into the final round, he was outside of the top-10, five shots back of the lead, and needing a top-three finish to ensure he would not have to return to Q-School.
After shooting 3-under par on the front nine, there was still a lot of ground to make up on the leaderboard. However, with the stakes at their highest, Kozan was able to play his best. The Auburn graduate played the back nine at 5-under par to secure his first professional victory by just one stroke and complete the largest comeback on the Korn Ferry Tour that season. Kozan had accomplished his goal of earning exemption to playing on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2023.
“To still have the confidence I had at the end of that stretch, even though I wasn't showing the results, I think it was the first time in my career where I was able to prove to myself that even if you didn't play well the last few weeks, you go into it with the positive mindset that you truly believe you have what it takes to win every single week no matter what the previous weeks have held. To play well that week and have the right mindset after all those struggles was a huge learning curve for me and was truly great.”
As the calendar turned to 2023, Kozan knew that he wanted to improve his game even further to continue reaching new heights, and eventually earn his PGA Tour card by finishing in the top-25 on the Korn Ferry Tour points list.
When asked what his goals are for the upcoming year, Kozan mentioned he would like to “put myself in contention more. They say you are in contention if you're within a few [strokes] going into the back nine on Sunday, and that's the goal. Just give yourself a chance.”
So far this year, Kozan has struggled to find himself in contention and find the great success he has been hoping to achieve. Through his first five tournaments of the year, which included four events on the Korn Ferry Tour and one event on the PGA Tour (The Honda Classic), the West Palm Beach native had yet to make the cut and give himself the chance to play on the weekend and earn money for his efforts. However, in his most recent event, the Korn Ferry Tour's Astara Chile Classic, Kozan made the cut, ultimately finishing in a tie for 18th and taking home $12,257.
If there is one lesson Kozan has taken away from his time playing this great game, it is this: no success has ever come to anyone who did not have to work hard and struggle for it first.
“It's obviously not going to be your week every week, but getting yourself in the hunt and feeling that pressure, that's why we play. To get the blood pumping and the heart rate up a little bit, it's a feeling you can't really replicate, the feeling we're always trying to chase.”
Kozan has proven before that after stretches of not reaching his expectations, he is able to get back to that blood-pumping, high-intensity pressure that you just can’t experience anywhere else. We look forward to following him on that journey, and are proud to call him a Florida Junior Tour champion.
