Evan DeGrazia, at 25-years-old, has big dreams for his career. Born and raised in Thunder Bay, he’s a local bartender at Moose & Goose Sports Bar and Grill and is on his way to becoming a professional golfer.
When DeGrazia was 12 he gravitated toward golf after participating in all the expected, rough-and-tumble sports kids play.
With a business administration degree under his belt, DeGrazia played on the college golf team when he received a scholarship at Newberry College in South Carolina, an NCAA Division II school.
Prior to this scholarship, DeGrazia participated in a four-month stint at an academy in Orlando perfecting his golfing craft.
When he came back to Thunder Bay after graduation, DeGrazia turned pro right away and then got his PGA Canada card. “Plan A is to play professional and this will be my third year trying to get on the Canadian tour. I was two shots shy last year.”
This year, he made it.
“I have conditional status on the Mackenzie Tour [which is technically PGA tour Canada].”
Because of the flexibility granted by Moose & Goose, this allows DeGrazia to participate and practice in tournaments to perfect his game.
Brian, his supervisor, was his previous boss at Thunder Bay Country Club between 2016 and 2018 and didn’t hesitate to offer DeGrazia a bartending position at Moose and Goose so he could enjoy the comfort of steady employment paired with flexibility.
He’s been at Moose & Goose since last September, granting him the time to commit to becoming a professional golfer.
DeGrazia was just in Texas for a month and during the cold months in Thunder Bay, he practices at Landale Gardens with a TrackMan Golf Simulator, a top of the line virtual golf simulator. He teaches golf lessons out of there and at the city courses during the summer months.
Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, DeGrazia was scheduled to play in Phoenix for a month to get into the golf season and get some competition under his belt.
Currently, the Mackenzie Tour has postponed all other qualifying events until mid-May, which will push the start of the season back more than likely into June sometime and “all other smaller events I had planned are up in the air as well. Just going day by day like everybody else.”
While tournaments are postponed, DeGrazia is able to share with the Moose & Goose crew frustrations but also comradery that comes with sharing your passion. It’s safe to say, DeGrazia’s game will be more ready then ever when the golf season gets underway.
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