FRESNO, Calif. - Our alumni spotlight features former Fresno State men's golfer Joseph Lloyd who captured his first professional win on Thursday, Dec. 10 at the 2025 Fallbrook Open, held at the Golf Club of California. Lloyd sat down with GoBulldogs.com to discuss his preparation and initial reaction to winning his first professional tournament.
A native of Scottsdale, Arizona, Lloyd spent three seasons with the Fresno State men's golf program. Throughout his Bulldog career, Lloyd competed in 33 tournaments, recorded a scoring average of 72.08, and accumulated four Top-5 finishes and seven Top-10 finishes. Lloyd concluded his Bulldog career at the 2025 Mountain West Championship where he placed ninth.
During his junior season, Lloyd set a new program record when he posted a score of 17-under 196 at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate, while also recording a career-low round of 7-under 64 and a career-best second place finish.
Q: What part of the grind prepared you for this moment?
Lloyd: "I think it was a lot of prep over the summer since I graduated and turned pro. I got to travel all over the world pretty much and play in different events and see what professional golf is like. Every week is a different challenge just like it was in college golf. There are so many guys that I am playing against that could easily be on the PGA Tour, so if you want to win out here you are gonna have to be sharp at all levels. I think I was doing all the right things but I just really hadn't put it all together for one week and I knew I had everything to be able to do that. I just hadn't done it yet. This week everything felt right, the stars aligned, and I was able to play some of the best golf I have played all year."
Q: When did it first hit you that this was actually going to be your first pro win?
Lloyd: "It's kind of funny. I did not look at the leaderboard all day. I started the day two shots back. I asked my buddy who was caddying for me that final round on the middle of the tenth fairway because I shot 3-under in the front nine if I was close to the lead, and he said I was two shots back, so I said alright, I still have some work to do. The back nine is very scorable and I played it well yesterday and I could do it again. I kept going and made a birdie on ten and missed two really short birdie putts on 11 and 12 so I'm like ahh those were two missed opportunities. I got to 14, the par-5, and made eagle, hit it to like three feet and it kicked away for an eagle and I'm like alright that's definitely gonna help me shoot up the leaderboard wherever I am. Then, I go on to birdie the next hole, a short driveable par-4, and then make about a thirty-footer on 16 for birdie, so now I had gone four under in my last three holes, so I was like, I got to be close to around the lead. I felt like I was probably leading. I made a really good two putt on 17 and we were driving to 18 and I asked my caddie where do I stand, I got to be leading. He goes, "Joseph, I just need this ball on grass." It was a par-3 over water, so it's just like put the ball on grass and we're good. I hit it on grass and hit it to about thirty feet and walking up I said alright how much of a shot lead do I have and he said "three", and I was like okay this is happening, this is actually gonna happen but the guy who was closest to me still had two holes to play, so I'm like alright I still got a two putt and I knew he could still go birdie birdie easily. If I can go two putt, I know I would win. When I lagged it up there to about a foot-foot and a half, that is when it kind of hit me that I won my first ever professional event."
Q: What would you say the emotions were walking off the green?
Lloyd: "A lot of excitement, especially with having one of my best buddies Cade Anderson traveling with me. We traveled all throughout the summer together and unfortunately he missed the cut by one in the tournament, but he said that he was going to caddie for me for the final round. Our hug and embrace after my final put was really special and there was a lot of excitement and a lot of laughs. It was just a really cool experience and to be able to experience it with him was super special."
Q: What does a win like this do to propel you into next season?
Lloyd: "It does a lot. We won a team event in college my senior year, but I had not won an individual event in about four years, so it had been a while since I had been in the winner's circle. I think it shows me that I have the game to win. I have the ability to close out tournaments and handle the pressure of winning a golf tournament very well. I think it is going to give me a lot of confidence going out there for next year so when I step out on a tee, I know what it takes to win and I have done it before and I can do it again."
Q: Did you hear from Coach Spencer after the win?
Lloyd: "I did. When I looked at my phone it was one of the first texts I had. Him and there were a bunch of my former teammates that had sent me texts, but he was one of the first people I had gotten a text from. I knew he was following all day, so it was really special to hear from him and get that congratulations text."
Q: How did your time at Fresno State prepare you for this?
Lloyd: "It helped me a lot. We always played a great schedule and the events we played in had a lot to do with prepping for the next level. They were all really good tournaments and the courses were set up somewhat like professional events. Sometimes they were set up even harder than professional events. I think the access we had at Fresno State between our home golf course at Sunnyside and the facilities and everything really did help prepare me for the next level. I'm not sure I would be as prepped as I was if I did not go to Fresno State."
Q: What would you tell current golfers and former teammates at Fresno State who are chasing the same dream?
Lloyd: "I would say to never give up. There were plenty of times throughout this summer where things were not going great where it's like, "Can I really do this out here, can I make a living doing it?", but I always just kept my head down and kept grinding knowing that I had that ability. I think that if you can put your mind to something, that is the biggest thing. If you are mentally ready and you can have that confidence that you can win out there and be a great player, then that is 90% of the battle. Just keep a good frame of mind and just keep grinding because you never know when it is going to be your week and all the stars will align."