There are sometimes moments in life that feel like a dream. When they are occurring, you know it's something special but it doesn't quite sink in right away.
 
Last weekend at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., Oakland alum Evan Bowser had one of those moments.
 
"I'm not a huge goals and dreams guy as I like to take everything day by day," Bowser said. "But playing in a major championship was certainly the thrill of my golfing career."
 
Bowser was one of 21 club professionals from around the country that qualified for the PGA Championship, one of golf's four major championships. The Naples native was playing for his home club in Florida, LaPlaya Golf Club, where he is the first assistant professional.
 
The qualifying process is grueling, and only the very upper echelon of players gets one of the coveted spots into the field.
 
"Qualifying for the PGA Championship was a difficult challenge," Bowser said of his experience. "The qualifying process takes all the club professionals from across the country through a local qualifying process then a national qualifying tournament. The first qualifier was in September last year and the national event was in April this year so you need to be playing well for a long period of time."
 
Bowser was lucky enough to get through his local qualifiers and competed at the national qualifier, where the top 20 finishers would qualify for the PGA Championship.
 
"The national tournament in Texas was a difficult test on a difficult course with difficult conditions. There's no way to luck your way there. You have to just play great."
 
And play great Bowser did.
 
On a windy day on the Sunday of the national tournament, Bowser shot a 72, good for the second-best score of the day. He moved up from 29th, to a tie for 8th on the last day, plenty good enough to finish in the top 20.
 
He had found his way into what some call the best field in golf.
 
Among the best in the world, Bowser made his mark. He shot an opening round 73, one over par. A highlight chip-in for birdie made its way onto ESPNs national broadcast, with Scott Van Pelt calling his name. Bowser finished the tournament +3, but record low scores didn't allow him to make the cut and play the weekend. However, the specialness of the moment was not lost on Bowser.
 
"I found it to be very fun competing against the best in the world. They are all incredible golfers who hit the ball so far and well. This is their career so they take it quite seriously."
 
While Bowser missed the cut, he finished ahead of all-time greats Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson on the leaderboard. That is 21 major championships and six PGA Championships between the two, all looking up at Bowser.
 
"Being someone born in 1994, I grew up in the Tiger and Phil era of the 2000s and finishing higher than them is certainly something I will remember forever and something I can always proudly state. Just saying I beat Tiger and Phil just doesn't seem real," Bowser said.
 
Born in 1994, the 29-year-old Bowser says he began playing the game of golf at the age of two. Originally from Dearborn, the Michigan native played at Oakland from 2012-2016. He made three all-league teams in the Horizon League, including being the tournament champion as a junior. As a freshman, he was all-league in the Summit League. He qualified for three US Amateur Championships while at Oakland and holds numerous school records, including career stroke average where he passed PGA Tour tournament winner Brian Stuard, and rounds under par.
 
While Bowser has put in the hard work as an individual, he remembers his time at Oakland fondly.
 
"I find that the coaches, administrators and teammates at Oakland University helped shape me into the person I am. I am very grateful to all the wonderful people who have been so supportive. They helped me believe and have confidence that I could do something like this."
 
Bowser became the second Golden Grizzly to play in a major championship, joining Brian Stuard in that company. He also hopefully isn't done on the sport's biggest stage.
 
"I will certainly be attempting to qualify every year," Bowser said.