Travis Bryan Jr. physically won't be able to play in Saturday's Brazos Valley Open Golf Tournament, but his appreciation of the game will accompany each golfer who makes his or her way around Briarcrest County Club.
When Milton Dare, executive director of the St. Joseph Foundation opted to honor a local golfing legend at this year's event, anyone with any appreciation for the game in this community knew it had to be Bryan.
"As you talk to people around the clubhouse and mention the name legend, the first name that comes to mind is Travis," Dare said.
Bryan was one of the nation's top amateur golfers for decades, losing the 1942 state junior championship's 36-hole match by a stroke when his shot on the final hole hit a tree and got an unlucky bounce. His opponent's ball hit a couple trees and found the fairway.
It's one of many colorful golfing accomplishments Bryan will only talk about if prodded.
"I'm not going to tell you a thing," Bryan said with laugh. "People will think I'm braggin'."
But Dizzy Dean once said it isn't braggin' if you can do it, and Bryan has done a lot.
Unfortunately, he couldn't play in the state amateur in his prime because he wasn't a member of a club. BCC didn't come around until he was past 50, but he made up for lost time by winning the club championship five times, helping make BCC was it is.
When he did get to play in the Texas Amateur, his best finish was fifth. He was in his 50s, and he often beat golfers 20 and 30 years his junior throughout his career.
Bryan's love affair with golf started as a 12-year-old and continued until three years ago when he slipped at Viking Stadium, breaking his leg.
He still stops by BCC to watch the regulars like Johnny Lampo, Doug Barkley, Buck Burnham and Howard Vestal, who were lucky enough to have him as a playing partner. You also can see Bryan out walking with a putter as a cane, giving lessons to those who are wise enough to ask. His varied pupils include the guy who puts gas in his car, the chairman of the board of the Dallas Baptist Seminary and his granddaughter, to name a few.
More than what club to hit and how to grip it, Bryan's best lessons are the experiences he can pass on.
"It is a gentlemen's game," he said. "You are supposed to play the ball as you find it. Not everybody does that."
Richard "Dickie" Duble understands that.
Duble was whipping the pants off Bryan, who had hurt his shoulder the week before their match while putting luggage in his car. Bryan could barely swing a club, but he wasn't going to use the injury as an excuse.
So he never told Duble, who won the first five holes. But when they reached the sixth green, Duble batted Bryan's ball back.
"We'll play later when you feel better," Duble told Bryan.
Bryan, of course, won the club championship, but Duble won a friend for life.
"That's what golf is all about," Bryan said. "There's something that binds golfers together. I don't know what it is. They like to play golf, but they [also] like the camaraderie with friends.
"It's the best game in the world."
He said it doesn't matter if you play solo, in a foursome or compete in the Brazos Valley Open where you are battling 239 other golfers - integrity is what matters.
Bryan said one word comes to mind when you say golf: victory. But if you can't win as a gentleman, then you're not a winner.
Bryan approaches life the same way.
He founded the city's first bank, First National Bank, which allows him to show his gentlemen's approach to the community in a big way. He was a Bryan school board member for more than two decades, United Way chairman three times, Chamber of Commerce president, and he's frequently helped the Sisters of St. Francis.
"When you help others, you're really helping yourself," he said. "Helping humanity is one of the best things in life."
So when Dare called, Bryan asked him what he needed.
"St. Joseph is a giant in Brazos County, and the service is impeccable," said Bryan, who had his youngest son, Tim, born there.
The other golfing legends honored Saturday will be Jeb Blair of Madison County, Jim Cross and John Young of Burleson County and Jim Hassell of Grimes County. Also honored will be Sister Alice Warrick, the group's first golfing sister.