Lashley eases to emotional win at Rocket Mortgage Classic

Nate Lashley eased to his PGA Tour victory at the inaguural Rocket Morgage Classic in Detroit, besting the field by six shots

Nate Lashley completed a wire-to-wire victory at Detroit Golf Club on Sunday as he eased to a final-round two-under 70 to win the inagural Rocket Morgage Classic by six shots. 

“I was just happy to get in this week, and to end up winning is just a dream come true,” he said Sunday.

And it was a victory that almost wasn’t. Having failed to get through the Monday qualifier, Lashley relied on three players withdrawing from the tournament to be the last man in to the field, and with just one top 10 on the PGA Tour to date, a win seemed more than unlikely. But when he did get in to the tournament, he more than made it count. 

Lashley led from day one with an opening round nine-under 63, and followed it with rounds of 67 and 63 to move in to a six-shot lead after 54 holes. 

With a level par front nine and two-under back nine, Lashley’s final round 70 was enough to best his nearest challenger Doc Redman by six shots. 

“Nobody really made a big run at me today, so that kind of kept me a little more relaxed,” Lashley said. “Nobody ended up getting to like past 20 under par, so I had a little cushion to play with. So yeah, that was a little more easy on my nerves.”

But the story about the life and career of 36-year-old Nate Lashley, ranked 353rd in the world, is one that made his victory all the more emotional. 

His lead was never under any real threat on the final day, but his mind did wander back to his parents as he walked up the 18th hole: His parents, and his girlfriend, died in a plane crash in 2004 after watching him compete at an NCAA event in Arizona. 

“I think about my parents all the time,” he said. “I was getting emotional walking up 18, even before I hit my second shot, thinking about my parents. Without them, I wouldn’t be sitting here.

“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.”

For a time, that even meant turning his back on golf after an unsuccessful stint on the mini tours and working in real estate, although he insists it was just a break from the sport. 

“I always felt it was more of a break than a quit,” he said.

But things looked to have turned a corner when he won three times on the PGA TOUR Latinoamerica, and claimed victory on the Korn Ferry (previously Web.Com) Tour in 2017 at the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship. 

Since then, success had not come easily for Lashley, earning just one top 10 on the PGA Tour to date before his win. And it gave the crowd a man they seriously wanted to root for on Sunday. 

“Nothing’s quite sunk in yet, but the fans were just absolutely great, especially today to me, rooting me on,” Lashley said. “It was great having them on my side.”

In addition to his trophy and a winners share of $1,314,000, Lashley has earned a spot in the Open Championship at Royal Portrush from 18-21 of July. 

“I’ve actually never been over to Europe, so I’m really looking forward to it,” Lashley said. “Really, it’s just a dream come true really getting to go over and play in The Open, getting to play in the Masters.”