The 23-year-old former Auburn University standout received a sponsor’s exemption to play in this week’s Biltmore Championship Asheville
Credit: Mike Mulholland/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Brendan Valdes is back playing golf
- The 23-year-old golfer was diagnosed with a form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma earlier this year
- Valdes received a sponsor’s exemption to play in this weekend’s Biltmore Championship Asheville
Brendan Valdes is “excited to get the show on the road” and return to playing golf, nearly nine months after receiving a cancer diagnosis.
The 23-year-old rising golf star is hitting the links this weekend for the Biltmore Championship in Asheville, N.C., his first PGA Tour appearance since entering treatment for a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
“They did a little CT scan, and they found a nine-centimeter mass in the middle of my chest and, yeah, it was definitely a little bit scary,” Valdes tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview, sharing how a trip to the hospital for what he believed was a bad cold took a more serious turn on Jan. 1 of this year.
“It was surprising to say the least, because I just played a tournament two weeks before that, and I played two weeks before that,” he says. “That last event, and I felt fine, you know? There, there were really no problems. So finding out about it was definitely scary and unbelievably surprising.”
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As Valdes processed the shock of the diagnosis, he was surrounded by friends and family members, including his parents, Tammy and Matthew Valdes, sister Bailey, and his fiancée, Rachel Gourley.
Credit: Justin Edmonds/Getty
His friends and former Auburn University golf teammates, including PGA Tour rookie sensation Jackson Koivun — with whom he won the NCAA national championship in 2024 — also stood by his side through it all.
“Having my family and all my friends and having all their support and prayers, I mean, that really made a big difference,” Valdes says. “It was tough, but having all those people keep up with me made me feel a little bit better every single day. So I would say having those people definitely made it a lot easier.”
After working out a plan with doctors at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Valdes began chemotherapy in Auburn, Ala., to treat the primary mediastinal lymphoma immediately.
By June, the Orlando native learned he was cancer-free, a moment, he says, he’ll always remember.
“It was honestly a giant weight off my chest, literally and figuratively,” Valdes tells PEOPLE. “It was amazing when I got the call because, at that point in time, I knew I could get back into it. I could start working again. I could start playing some golf. I could start moving around.”
The young golfer did just that.
Valdes’ appearance in Asheville this weekend will mark his sixth career PGA Tour start.
After graduating from Auburn in 2025, Valdes earned his card on the Korn Ferry Tour. In appearances last year, the young golfer shined, tying for third at the Price Cutter Charity Championship and tying for 13th at the Wichita Open.
He also made the cut in all three of his PGA Tour starts in 2025, and tied for 20th at the 3M Open.
Upon hearing the positive health update in June, Valdes has been looking forward to an opportunity like the one at the Biltmore Championship, where he received a sponsor’s exemption.
“It’s a lot of excitement,” he tells PEOPLE. “Yeah, I mean, that’s truthfully what it is. Of course, everyone’s gonna have some nerves, but for me, it’s just so much excitement.”
He adds, “I’m ready to be back. I’ve taken a long hiatus, and now I’m healthy enough, and I feel like my game’s in the place where I can go out and compete. So, I’m excited to get the show on the road.”
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