Aiden Krafft's Journey to Oregon and his First Victory

When Aiden Krafft made his first trip on a plane to Oregon from New Mexico he knew it was a special place.

Coming to Oregon to play golf on the Oregon Ducks men’s golf team, Krafft knew there would be changes. Some of them included the weather but also the bonus of a scenic state.

“I came from New Mexico, so from the desert. I came in flying in, its so different,” Krafft said. “It was a little challenging with the rain but I’ve learned to love it. I’m happy to call this home, Oregon as a whole is amazing on the athletic side and the scenery. The rain makes you appreciate the sunny days more which is something I never did in New Mexico.”

Aiden Krafft is from Albuquerque, New Mexico and went to Cibola High School. He is a two-time New Mexico state high school champion in golf and won other junior tournaments.

Krafft shot a state high school record 12-under 60 in the final round of the 2022 New Mexico state 5A tournament and won the individual title by 12 strokes (13-under 131) and led Cibola High School to a runner-up finish.

His opportunity to join the Ducks came via an unexpected connection with Notah Begay III who was a college teammate of Oregon head coach Casey Martin at Stanford. Begay is from New Mexico and won four times on the PGA Tour.

“I didn’t have a lot of tournament experience when I started so my junior year of high school Begay came out with a junior series, I won a qualifier, we met and played together,” Krafft said. “He told Casey (Martin) about me and helped me get to Oregon. He was trying to help me out because there aren’t a lot of golfers who come from New Mexico because there aren’t a lot of opportunities. I didn’t get recruited by the New Mexico colleges. I needed help and he was there to help me.”

Fast forward to Krafft’s junior year which just began last week and Krafft broke through again, this time in college.

Krafft claimed his first college career victory at Sahalee Players Championship on September, 8, 2024 beating out Arizona State's Jose Luis Ballester and Preston Summerhays.

Ballester just won the U.S. Amateur on August 18 and Summerhays won the Sahalee tournament in 2023.

“It was really cool, a little bit unexpected to get my first win,” Krafft said. “You don’t go in thinking you’re going to win that week. The emotions were up and down, and at the end it was really exciting. It was really cool and I really loved it.”

“They’re huge names in college golf and amateur golf. It was an honor to compete with them and great for the confidence to beat these guys and know I can play with them.” Krafft explained.

“I played a lot of other sports, not just golf. Winning is a skill you have to develop,” Krafft said. “You take that (winning) with you no matter what. My junior golf career, I didn’t start playing until the end of 8th grade. I’m always trying to get better to see how good I can get.”

Krafft was named the Big Ten Men’s Golfer of the Week following his individual title at the Sahalee Players Championship last weekend.

“I love all sports, not just golf. I used to do archery; I love to work on cars. We have a little shop now and some cars we’re working on,” Krafft said. “Golf is huge part of my life, but I have some hobbies off the golf course that allows me to be free when I’m playing.”

The Ducks return to action on September 23 at the Husky Invitational at Aldarra Golf Club.