Espen graduated from the University of Denver in 2010 with a degree in Marketing and Economics.
He holds the school record for the lowest 54-hole score of 195 and won twice on the collegiate circuit.
In his final year, he had the lowest scoring average on the team, having carded 12 rounds in the 60s from 13 tournaments and recorded ten top-ten finishes, and in 2009 he won the ‘Arets Talent’ award as Norway’s top amateur.
His handicap was plus 4.1 when he turned professional at the end of 2010 and he had reached 18th in the World Amateur Rankings. Espen won the Norweigian Individual Championship twice as an amateur and represented Norway twice in the World Amateur Championships.
Espen played most of his golf on the Challenge Tour during 2011 and narrowly missed out on securing a European Tour card for 2012.