Lanto Griffin’s special connection with The Greenbrier

Talk about beginner’s luck. The first time Graham DeLaet ever went fishing in Alaska, he caught a 55-pound king salmon. How do you put that in perspective? Well, consider this. A PGA TOUR pro’s fully-loaded golf bag weighs roughly 40 pounds — and there wasn’t a caddy in sight on the river that day. As big as DeLaet’s salmon was, though, it wasn’t near the record. According to the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame, that chinook weighed in at 97 pounds, four ounces. DeLaet was 3 years old when the late Les Anderson caught the fish on the Kenai River on May 17, 1985. Fast forward about two decades or so. Delaet, who is an avid outdoorsman, had gone to Alaska after the RBC Canadian Open several years ago for some much-needed rest and relaxation. He was using fish eggs for bait and hooked the salmon about 4 or 5 feet directly below the boat. The water was so murky, though, that DeLaet couldn’t see how big the fish was initially. “As soon as I hooked into him, they have a counter on the reel, he was 90 feet out before I even had the chance to think about what was happening,â€� the Canadian said. The battle with the stubborn fish was a challenge. And DeLaet said it felt like he fought to the salmon for a lot longer than the 15 or 20 minutes it probably took. “I almost gave the rod to my buddy,â€� DeLaet recalled. “He was like, man, you’ve got to pull this thing in. “When you are fishing the rivers there and they get into the rapids, it can get away from you so fast. It was kind of fight, fight, fight, fight, get to the boat, gone again, fight, fight, fight. It was fun.â€� DeLaet didn’t get to bring any salmon steaks home with him to Boise, Idaho, though. There were no fleshy pink filets to smoke, either. “It wasn’t the season for chinook, the kings, so I had to release him,â€� he said. Don’t worry. DeLaet says there is photographic evidence, so everyone knows this isn’t a fish story. DeLaet has been back to Alaska several times to see if he could catch another whopper like that one. He’s also fished for salmon in northern Washington with his wife, Ruby, and her family. The Boise State product initially started fishing to help him wind down from the rigors of playing golf for a living. He’s also a hunter and has sought big game in places as far away as Zimbabwe. “But I didn’t really start enjoying (fishing) until probably like 2010, something like that,â€� he said. “Kind of like my rookie year out here, I almost needed something to do to get away from golf, and that was it.â€� DeLaet’s twins, Lyla and Roscoe, now provide that release. When the two, who were born in 2015, get a little older, he hopes they’ll learn to enjoy fishing, too. “It would be a fun thing to share,â€� DeLaet said. That salmon remains the largest freshwater fish DeLaet has ever caught “by a mile,â€� he says. He did land a 40-inch barracuda earlier this year when he was fishing in the Atlantic Ocean near Fort Lauderdale, though. And this time he didn’t have to settle for a photograph. “I got that one mounted, so it’s coming,â€� DeLaet said. “It’s being delivered to Idaho to put up in my garage. It was a pretty nice barracuda.â€� Just in the garage? “Yeah. My wife won’t let me put it in the house, I’m sure,â€� DeLaet said. “Maybe if I get a cabin someday, I can put it in there.â€�

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The PGA Tour is working with law enforcement for its tournament in Austin in the wake of bombings there.

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Keegan Bradley (68, 6 under, six off the lead of Sahith Theegala) saw a guy dressed as Santa Claus on the rowdy, par-3 16th hole at the WM Phoenix Open on Friday. It was a funny getup, Bradley said, but there’s a paradigm shift at this tournament that can be serious stuff for those who choose to embrace it. Bradley said he almost goes to another place and time, invoking Fenway Park and his Boston Red Sox. Talor Gooch (64, 8 under) mentioned Lambeau Field and the Green Bay Packers. Two-time WM Phoenix Open champion Brooks Koepka, who once posed with the Wanamaker Trophy next to NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo, was less specific but said he can feel like more than just a golfer here. And that’s a good thing. “It almost feels like a real sport,” Koepka said of the rowdy, say-anything vibe that smacks golfers in the face at the WM at TPC Scottsdale. “Like football, basketball, things like that, soccer.” As we anticipate the Super Bowl this weekend, and amid the ongoing Winter Olympics in Beijing, PGA TOUR pros are getting just what they expected at the WM Phoenix Open: a combination golf course/gladiator pit that can take them out of golf’s sometimes stuffy bubble and transport them to the goal line, free throw line, or into any other sports fantasy. It doesn’t really matter what the sports fantasy is; what matters is that they go with it. “I love it,” said Bradley, a four-time TOUR winner who is 91st in the FedExCup and 90th in the world. “The thing about this week I always tell people is, you’re ready for it, this is the week. It’s not that big of a deal when they boo you; people think it is, but I think, like Brooks says, it’s kind of nice to feel that – like I always imagine that’s what, that’s my only time I get feel like what it might be in Fenway Park for me, you know, my life-long dream. “So I try to enjoy my time in there,” he continued. “But over the years it’s not just that hole anymore, I mean the whole back side is pretty loud and pretty fun.” Is there anything like this week? Not really, Bradley said, although the legendary New York fans at their beloved muni Bethpage Black can provide a similar spice. Gooch, whose seven-birdie, no-bogey round left him four off the pace of early second-round leader Sahith Theegala (64), a sponsor’s exemption out of Pepperdine, cited the “fun energy” here. Rickie Fowler, who won here in 2019, buys into that energy. In fact, he not only pumped the crowd up, he also booed himself after missing the 16th green Thursday, turning his thumb down as the catcalls rained down around him. “I hit it a little heavy,” Fowler said before waiting to see if 1 under (71-70) would make the cut. “You kind of know what you need to do to get a positive reaction or not, and it’s all in good fun. I was hoping it was maybe going to catch the front and somehow move forward, but I messed up, so I had to give myself the thumbs down. Poor execution.” Those who like this tournament’s crazy energy, Fowler continued, tend to come back. Those who love it thrive. Patrick Cantlay (66, 9 under, three back) equated the noise at 16 to “a dull roar” that he tries to mostly ignore. Same for Theegala, 24 who is seeking his first win and said he didn’t make eye contact with anyone on the tournament’s rowdiest hole. You can hardly blame him, for Theegala was in the zone: After starting his round with four birdies on the first five holes, he birdied four of the last six on the back nine to grab the lead by himself, buy three over Cantlay. “We’ll see how it is this weekend,” Theegala said, noting he hadn’t yet played 16 late in the day, around cocktail hour. Like Fowler and others, Theegala, even as a rookie, knows the week is a one-off. So does Gooch. And that knowledge somehow makes the whole thing easier to embrace. “We all love it,” said Gooch, who won The RSM Classic last fall, “but we – I think we all love that it’s not a weekly thing because it’s draining. It’s a lot. It’s a lot of energy when you’re trying to calm your emotions, it’s just not the most conducive environment for that.” Koepka, who intimated that the feisty crowd helps him stay focused, takes a more sanguine view. “Well, first off, I think it brings a whole new group of fans to golf,” he said. “I think that’s important. I think you look at – I mean, I don’t know the numbers, I don’t want to screw it up, but, I mean, it’s pretty much the biggest tournament we have on the PGA TOUR as far as fans, people, the presence. The atmosphere is unbelievable. I love it. “Look, I love when people get rowdy,” he added. “They’re cheering you when you hit it tight and booing you when you hit it bad. If you do something wrong, you deserve to get heckled. If you do something right, they will cheer for you. That’s what makes this event so cool.”

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