Bayley wins, qualifies for his first PGA Tour event

Former Lakeland High, WSU standout nabs spot in Barracuda Championship in late July

Derek Bayley’s first victory as a professional golfer came with a heckuva reward — a spot in his first PGA Tour event.

Bayley, a Rathdrum native, birdied the final two holes Thursday to win the Reno Open at the Toiyabe Golf Club in Washoe Valley, Nev., and with the win in the Golden State Tour event he qualified for the PGA’s Barracuda Championship, scheduled for July 30-Aug. 2 in Truckee, Calif.

“It’s pretty ironic that my first professional victory comes with a PGA Tour exemption,” Bayley said in a phone interview with The Press on Thursday evening. “That’s what added to all the pressure. It wasn’t just winning the golf tournament, it was everything that came with it. That’s why I had to buckle down. I’m convinced I would have been less nervous, had a PGA Tour exemption not been on the table. That’s a big step in my career — to not only just get the experience, but to keep playing against the best.”

Bayley, 24, finished with 48 points in the modified Stableford scoring format, which awards five points for an eagle, two for a birdie, zero for a par, minus 1 for a bogey and minus 3 for a double bogey or worse.

The $15,000 first prize marked the biggest check of his career.

Bayley, who starred at Lakeland High and at Washington State, trailed by a point as he stepped to the tee on the par-3, 181-yard downhill 17th hole, knowing he needed to birdie one of the final two holes to either get into a playoff, or win the tourney.

“And 18 is the hardest hole on the golf course,” he said.

“I was thinking to myself, ‘Do I attack this flag and risk making a bogey, or just hit it to 15-20 feet and try to make a putt?’” Bayley said. “I didn’t really end up making a decision, and I hit a terrible golf shot — I chunked a pitching wedge probably 10-15 yards short of the green.”

He took out his 60-degree wedge, and chipped in from 20-25 yards out for an unlikely birdie.

“It was one I didn’t expect to make,” he said. “I was just trying to make par.”

Then he saw he was tied for the lead with one hole to play — and the other guy had finished his round.

Bayley hit a 2-iron off the tee on the 479-yard par-4 18th. That left him 203 yards away from a tucked flag, with a hazard left and behind the green.

“I don’t want to say I was trying to make par because I wasn’t, but I did take a little bit less aggressive line,” he said.

He hit 7-iron some 15-20 feet right of the hole, to a spot on the green that fed the ball toward the hole. His approach stopped rolling some 7-8 feet from the pin.

“It was a right-center putt to win the golf tournament, and I hearted it,” he said.

It was Bayley’s first tournament victory since the 2018 Rosauers Open in Spokane, when he beat the region’s top pros as an amateur.

“It definitely helped me, playing down on the Outlaw Tour (in Arizona) and being in contention,” he said. “I think I was in the final group twice ... so I had been there pretty recently, and playing down there has really helped me — just being in the right mindset and working toward where I want to be.

“Playing in the final group, it’s nothing I haven’t done before, and I was extremely proud of myself, the way that I handled it.

“Coming down the stretch, it was nerve-wracking for sure, but I just had to stay calm and keep my heart rate down, and really dial in and focus on what I really wanted to do.”

Bayley played in 10 Outlaw Tour events this year, with a fifth-place finish and two T-5s, earning a total of $10,640. Before this week, he’d earned $1,505 in three previous Golden State Tour outings.

“I think I just put it all together mentally, more than anything,” Bayley said of this week. “I struggled on the Outlaw Tour, in three-round events, just putting three rounds together. It didn’t matter what round it was, it seemed I had one round that was average at best. I’ve been waiting to put three rounds together.”

He followed a pair of 65s by shooting a 9-under 63 on Thursday.

Following his last Outlaw Tour event in late April, Bayley returned home to North Idaho for about a month and a half.

He played in a two-round tourney in Reno last weekend in preparation for this event — and notched his third career ace.

After a few days at home this weekend, Bayley is scheduled to head to South Dakota on Monday to play in the first three events on the Dakotas Tour.

Then he’s back home for the wedding of his sister, Chelsea, then he plans to play in the Colorado Open the week before the Barracuda.

The Barracuda, also a Stableford scoring event, was originally scheduled for July 2-5, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bayley was delighted he was able to share Thursday’s victory with his dad, Mike, who was his caddie and support system at the tournament.

“They didn’t allow spectators, and we were in carts as well,” Derek said, noting players had the option to use carts on the difficult-walking course. “So he rode along with me, and he kept me in the moment. He helped me a lot when it came to verbal confirmation with yardages and reads and conditions.

“So I really appreciate him, and I appreciate my whole family ... my mom (Teresa) and my sister and my grandma (Glenda Bayley) back home. They’ve stuck with me through thick and thin. That’s helped me a lot, to have that support and love there.

“I turned on my phone after I got done with the check and the interviews at the golf course,” Derek said, “and I had 50-some messages, so it’s the support like that that is really good.”