Emergency 9: Fantasy tidbits from Round 4 of Sony Open

DETROIT – No, golf is not life and death. But sometimes, it is death then life, and when you come across people built of such incomparable strength that they handle that most excruciating of sequences, you want for them to have a stage basked in brilliant sunshine and surrounded by adoring supporters. That moment arrived early Sunday evening for Nate Lashley – the stunning winner of the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club – and it could not have been more perfect. Not because he had the 18th green to himself after romping to a six-stroke win over Doc Redman, but because he was embraced by his sister, Brooke, perhaps the only person is this world of ours who could even fathom the emotions that have consumed the two of them since that horrific day in May of 2004 when a plane crash claimed the lives of their parents, Rod and Char, and Nathan’s then girlfriend, Leslie Hofmeister. They had flown in Rod’s four-seat, single-engine Mooney M20K from Nebraska to watch Nate and his team play in the NCAA Regional and were returning home. “The rest of us don’t have a clue how he feels,� said Rick LaRose, who was Lashley’s coach at the University of Arizona 15 years ago when life changed forever. Brooke Lashley, who traveled to Pebble Beach two weeks ago to watch her brother play in the U.S. Open, was back home in Phoenix and a trip to Detroit GC “wasn’t on my radar.� At least, not until her brother, who got into the field mid-day Wednesday as the last alternate, started making birdie upon birdie upon birdie and Saturday’s third-round 63 propelled him into a six-shot lead. Then, the older sister said to herself, “I cannot not be there,� and that sentiment resonated in various homes in the Phoenix area, as well as with a small army of family friends in western Nebraska. Next thing you know, Saturday evening flights were made and Nate Lashley had an even larger following Sunday’s final round and when he birdied two of the first three holes, it was as if tens of thousands of people who flocked to this first-ever PGA TOUR tournament inside Detroit’s city limits were galvanized in a compelling drama of human spirit. “It made me feel like I wasn’t out there alone,� said Lashley, 36, a second-year member playing in just his 33rd TOUR tournament. Which was in stark contrast to all those times when he couldn’t help but feel alone and never felt the need to pull others into his private world. “Honestly, we’ve never talked about it and I’ve known him a long time,� said Ricky Romano, who played for the University of Houston, then on a series of minitours, crossing paths for years with Lashley. Two years ago, he agreed to caddie for Lashley, so, yes, there have been plenty of opportunities, but those who know Lashley afforded him well-deserved privacy. “I know Nate’s thinking about it. It’s got to be always on his mind,� said Greg Luebe, who coached Lashley in basketball at Mitchell High School in Mitchell, Neb. “But there was no way we needed to talk to him about it.� LaRose said he even offered Lashley as much time off as he wanted in the 2004-05 season, just months after the crash, “but he said no, that he wanted to return to school, play, and earn his degree.� Lashley did all of that, then he turned pro and struggled mightily, a poor season on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2006 led to one minitour stint after another until. What stands out is his success; Lashley won the Colorado Open, a couple of Waterloo Opens, he won on the Gateway Tour, on the EGolf Tour, on the Dakotas Tour, then in 2015 he won three times on the PGA TOUR Latinoamerica, which afforded him a chance to play on the Korn Ferry Tour where in 2017 he won the Corales Puntacana Resort. The list was read off to Scott Stallings, a TOUR winner who smiled. He was one of those who competed against Lashley in the 2008 Waterloo Open, so he can appreciate the man’s spirit. “I have so much respect for what he’s done, because the valleys are way more than the peaks,� said Stallings. “I’m rooting for him.� Stallings stood in line and Adam Shenk was right there with him. A second-year TOUR member, Shenk played against and traveled with Lashley on the PGA TOUR Latinoamerica and wasn’t surprised by the 27 birdies he made against just two bogeys in rounds of 63-67-63-70 – 263. “He’s not scared to go low, not scared to win,� said Shenk, who chose Lashley as his partner for a Latinoamerica team event in Mexico City. They finished eighth of 30 teams. “I think that attitude might have come from the adversity he faced in his life, that when compared to that, nothing really scares him.� Shenk, like Romano, never talked about the plane crash, but in the aftermath of his dominating win at Detroit GC – one that rewarded him with a check for $1.314 million, plus priceless job security – Lashley conceded that Luebe was correct. “I’ve been through a lot. It took a lot of years for me to get over (the deaths). It was mentally holding me back for a long time,� said Lashley, the world’s 353rd-ranked player whose only other top 10 before this week was a T-8 in Puerto Rico. “I think of my parents all the time. Without them, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now.� Mixed into all those years of minor league golf was a time wen Lashley felt he needed to get a real job, so he turned to real estate. Brooke Lashley laughs when asked if she served as counsel for her brother. “Nate’s his own man,� she said. She also rejects the notion that he walked away from golf. “I always felt it was more of a break than a quit.� But will commiserate with Lashley’s colleagues and peers, nearly all of whom described him similarly. Very competitive on the course, almost to the point where he spent too much time beating himself up, but gentle and lighthearted off it. In fact, on Tuesday evening of the U.S. Open, there was a small gathering, a cookout with steaks and beverages and good talk. “It was a great evening,� said Romano, “so I said to (Nate), ‘Don’t take this the wrong way, but why can’t you be like this on the golf course?’ � Romano isn’t sure, but he wonders if Lashley took that to be the compliment it was intended to be. Because even after he failed to get through the Monday qualifier for the Rocket Mortgage Classic, he remained upbeat. On Tuesday, Lashley was playing Detroit GC and came across veteran rules official Mark Russell, who encouraged him to stay positive, that he’d likely get in. He did and oh, did he take advantage. He birdied the very first hole, went out in 32, and little did anyone know that a story that would define the human spirit was being scripted. The vibes started building and out in Mitchell, Neb., the man who cherished his days as a high school basketball coach, embraced everything about this developing story. “Just amazing, given the tough times in his life,� said Luebe. “He was only 6-1, but he’d come up to me, knowing the other team’s best player was 6-4 and he’d say, ‘I’ll guard him, coach.’ Just a tremendous competitor.� If you sensed there were tears at the other end of the phone line, it was for good reason. Luebe was great friends with Rod Lashley, “we used to play a lot of golf together,� and it’s painful to recall the day that single-engine plane crashed into Gannett Peak in Wyoming. “The whole story still gives me a sense of sadness. But if anybody deserves something like this to happen to him, it’s Nate.� And Brooke, of course. The proud and incredibly strong sister stood greenside with Ashlie Reed, Lashley’s girlfriend, and a dozen or so friends from Phoenix and Nebraska. Everyone got a hug in with the winner, but Brooke’s was long and warm and filled with tears. “It’s a great lesson, that you can go through really, really tough times and still come out on top,� she said. Asked for what she said to her brother, Brooke wiped away tears and shook her head. They will remain private, just for brother and sister. The rest of the story is for everyone, for which we are blessed.

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Brian Gay is the only previous champion of three to tee it up this week as the TOUR heads back to Bermuda for the fourth consecutive season. RELATED: Expert Picks | Sleeper Picks Port Royal Golf Club in Southampton has been the canvas for the previous three editions and will take up that honor again this season. Robert Trent Jones laid out the seaside tract in 1970 and helped bring it up to modern day speed in 1995. The last major renovation was in the 2008-2009 years by Roger Rulewich as he was prepping it for the Grand Slam of Golf (2009-2014). The Par-71 sits at 6,828 for the fourth consecutive edition. Hardly overpowering Port Royal provides only one Par-4 hole stretching past 440 yards. Of the three Par-5 holes two won’t climb past 520 yards and the longest only extends 553 yards. Wind is a constant in this part of the world and defends the course along with elevation changes and doglegs. Only 19 acres of fairway suggests controlling the ball out of the two inches of Bermuda/Zoysia will be a factor this week. The Champion Bermuda greens will be prepped for wind and weather and won’t reach speeds on the Stimpmeter that TOUR pros are used to navigating. Mother Nature will have her say as thunderstorms and rain are in the forecast for tournament days. For the third time in four seasons it will provide full prize pool money and full benefits to the winner. On the line outside of $6.5 million and 500 FedExCup points is a trip to Maui for the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January plus a stroll down Magnolia Lane come April. The previous three winners here have been aged in the 20s, 30s and 40s and were listed at +6000 or worse in pretournament odds. Need more details about the course? Read Rob Bolton’s Power Rankings and Adam Stanley’s The First Look. Please read Statistically Speaking as well! Giddy up! Let’s find Horses for Courses! Horses for Courses High Five -Players listed only if they are in the field for 2022- Brian Gay (Win: +20000; Top 10: +1400; Top 20: +600) Season 2021 champion at age 48. Defense of T12 after playing the final 54 holes 14-under. Claimed T3 in the inaugural event. Owns two rounds of 64 and two rounds of 65 from 12 career total. Patrick Rodgers (Win: +2800; Top 10: +225; Top 20: +200) Only returning player from 2022 top 10 (4th). Best finish in three starts included finding 55 of 72 GIR (3rd) plus just three bogeys and a double. Only hit 20 Fairways. Career best 64 (Round 2) from 12 attempts. Denny McCarthy (Win: +1600; Top 10: +150; Top 20: -145) Final round 63 led to T4 in 2021. Closed 65-68 in 2020 for T15. Kept the streak alive with T39 last season. Of 12 rounds 10 are par or better. Kramer Hickok (Win: +8000; Top 10: +650; Top 20: +300) Hard to ignore three visits all inside T30! All 12 rounds are par or better with 11 in the red. Sat one off the 36 and 54 hole leads in 2021. Cashed T15 on debut followed by T8 and T30 for 30-under aggregate. Russell Knox (Win: +4000; Top 10: +350; Top 20: +170) Breaking my own rule here to include a guy WITHOUT a top 10 payday from three visits! Scotsman sits No. 11 in all-time money cashing T12, T16 and T11. 68.33 scoring average with 10 of 12 rounds in the red. Debut round of 64 is the best. Odds sourced on Tuesday, October 25th at 2 p.m. ET. For live odds visit betmgm. Pipped at the Post Hank Lebioda (Win: +8000; Top 10: +650; Top 20: +300) Lefty closed with 63 on debut in 2020 for T3. Returned for T16 in 2021 before MC last season. Half of his 10 rounds are 68 or better. Harry Higgs (Win: +15000; Top 10: +1200; Top 20: +550) Only visit was 2020 where he was the 54 hole leader by two before finishing second on 20-under. David Hearn (Win: +25000; Top 10: +1600; Top 20: +750) Canadian opened T8-T8 before T39 last season. Of his 12 rounds nine are in the 60s including final round 66s in 2020 and 2021. Ryan Armour (Win: +6600; Top 10: +500; Top 20: +225) Either led or was one back after 18, 36 and 54 holes in 2021 before cashing T8. Matched his debut (T8) finish as first eight rounds were 70 or better. T67 last season included just one round below par. Alex Smalley (Win: +2800; Top 10: +100; Top 20: +225) T12 on debut (10-under) thanks to T12 Fairways, T4 GIR and only five bogeys. Seamus Power (Win: +2200; Top 10: +188; Top 20: -120) Bookend 67s on debut (T12; 10-under) with T12 Fairways and T12 GIR. Circled 18 birdies and an eagle against eight bogeys and a double.. Responsible sports betting starts with a game plan. Set a budget. Keep it social. Play with friends. Learn the game and know the odds. Play with trusted, licensed operators. CLICK HERE to learn more at HaveAGamePlan.org

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Prairie View A&M University golf coach Kevin Jennings has an expansive history with what is now the PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship. He played in the event when it was the National Minority College Championship while he still was a high school student, competed as a college player and coached Talladega College to a title in what was then the NAIA Division for smaller schools. Never before had he won the Men’s Division 1 title at PGA WORKS, however. Until Wednesday. On a windy and difficult day on one of the toughest, most historic tracks on the PGA TOUR – the daunting Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass – Jenning’s Panthers came from behind, first catching Howard University and then holding off hard-charging Alabama State to capture the title. Prairie View, three-time champions of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), shot 18-over 306 on the Stadium on Wednesday, an effort bettered only by Alabama State (303). Florida A&M and Howard, the 36-hole leader, finished third and fourth, respectively. “I put on the back of our t-shirts, ‘Trust the Process,’ and it’s strange how things work out from time to time,” Jennings said. “Yeah, it’s a great feeling. … It just feels great to be with these guys and have some success. This is a good group.” In the Women’s Team Division, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi cruised to a 28-shot victory over Delaware State. The Islanders shot 24-over 312 on the Dye’s Valley Course, led by Lucy Martinez, who shot a final-round 74. Delaware State’s Baipor Khunsi (5-over 221) was the division’s medalist, edging Madison Lake (Texas A&M Kingville) by four shots. “Yesterday, when we played the Stadium, I was walking the fairway of 16 and saw all the people and the cameras, and I was like, ‘I feel like I’m on the PGA TOUR,” said Martinez, a sophomore from Aguascalientes, Mexico. “It was so awesome.” Phu Khine, a junior at UNC-Wilmington from Myanmar, shot 76 on the Stadium for a three-round total of 2-over 218 to win the Women’s Individual title, while Khavish Varadan of University of Alabama-Birmingham won the Men’s Individual crown. Varadan, a freshman, had not seen the Stadium Course since competing on it four years ago in the Junior Players Championship when he was 17. He would put together the most impressive stretch of the week. Teeing off on the 10th hole at the Stadium Course early Wednesday, in winds blowing to 15 mph, he played his first eight holes in 5 under par. He got up and down for birdie at the par-5 11th; birdied 13 (8 feet) and 15 from in tight; got up and down from the left side of the par-5 16th for birdie; and hit a knocked-down gap wedge that released to 8 feet at the island 17th. The birdie putt had 3 feet of break in it, and Varadan poured it in, building on the success of going to the arm-lock putting style at the recent Conference USA Championship, where he was runner-up. “He has broken through that glass barrier with his putting, and that was holding him back,” said UAB assistant coach Ryan Heisey. What impressed Heisey most about Varadan? “I’m real impressed with how calm he stays, even when he got into some places out there that were not ideal. He just focuses on the next shot. Calm. That’s how he is. You can’t tell if he is 5 under or 5 over out there, and that’s a good quality to have.” Even with a bogey at 18, Varadan turned in 32, leaving his closest competitor, 36-hole co-leader Timothius Tamardi (Appalachian State) five shots behind. Varadan went to his final hole (the par-5 ninth) at 4 under, tried to reach the green in two, clipped a tree, got a bad kick and finished with a double to shoot his second 2-under 70 on the Stadium. The last hole did little to dampen his spirits. He didn’t have much time to celebrate. He had an 8 a.m. tee time on Thursday at a U.S. Open local qualifier in Panama City. “You know your game is good when you’re playing well on golf courses like this,” said Varadan, who is from Malaysia. “I really wanted to test myself this week. I’m pretty impressed … It wasn’t my best stuff, but finishing under par on a golf course like this, it’s a bit of good golf.” The Men’s Division II Team Division went to Alabama’s Miles College, which placed three players, including medalist Anthony Lumpkin (76–231), inside the top 10. Medalist in the Men’s Division 1 field was Howard’s Gregory Odom Jr., who competed this week after losing his father, Greg Sr., to liver complications back home in Memphis on Saturday. Odom, a junior, told his coach he wanted to stay and compete, and his mom thought it was best, too. It is the first title of any kind for Howard, which restarted its golf program just 13 months ago with the financial backing of NBA All-Star Steph Curry. Coach Sam Puryear has experienced many victories at many levels of college golf, but said none had made him prouder than seeing Odom win. He shot 74 on the Stadium Wednesday, finishing his week at 4-over 220. “Not another player in this field carried a more heavy heart than this kid,” Puryear said of Odom, who was his very first Bison recruit. “To do what he did and hold your emotions in to the end, how do you do that? I just don’t know what’s better than that. There were 23 teams and 52 individual players competing in five divisions at this week’s PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship, which brings together Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions and Minority Serving Institutions. This was the 35th edition of the event, with the 2020 PWCC canceled because of COVID-19. On Sunday, student-athletes took part in a Career Expo at the new PGA Tour Headquarters. It was the final stop of the spring for many teams, but Prairie View A&M isn’t done with its season, as Wednesday afternoon it received its Regional bid to the NCAA Championships, representing the SWAC. The Panthers will play May 17-19 at the University of New Mexico, with momentum on their side. Coach Jennings boarded a charter bus with the team on Wednesday evening in Ponte Vedra Beach, hoping to get as far as Mobile, Ala., to break up the 14-hour ride home to Texas. For Jennings, the journey will be extra special having that PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship trophy by his side. It had been a week he won’t forget. Given the venue and the overall spirit of the competition, it was that kind of week for many student-athletes, too.

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