Lakers guard Austin Reaves fails to qualify for Korn Ferry Tour event: ‘I was nervous’
Austin Reaves was 11 shots back from a qualifying spot for this week’s Korn Ferry Tour event in Tennessee
Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves gave it a shot and, at least for the average non-professional golfer, he recorded a very solid round on Monday afternoon in Tennessee.
It was just nowhere near good enough to earn a spot in this week’s Korn Ferry Tour event.
Reaves participated in a Monday qualifying event for this week’s Knoxville Open on the Korn Ferry Tour, which is the PGA Tour’s developmental circuit. He shot a 6-over 76 at Willow Creek Golf Club in Knoxville, which had him 11 shots behind the mark needed to qualify for this week’s tournament. Caleb Hicks won the qualifier with a 64, and three others earned entry to the tournament with a 65.
"You can't really compare anything to it," Reaves said after signing his card Monday, via the PGA Tour. "I was nervous, I will say that, but it was a lot of fun. I was on the first tee shaking a little bit, didn't hit a good ball, but other than that, it was a lot of fun to play some competitive golf."
Austin Reaves gives himself a B- for his debut round of 76 in the @visitknoxopen qualifier. ⬇️@Lakers pic.twitter.com/3olHd3oWzI
— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) May 21, 2024
Reaves, who grew up in Arkansas, is an avid golfer. He holds a +2.2 Handicap Index in California, and he played in high school competitively before turning to basketball full time.
The idea to play on Monday, he said, didn’t take much effort. He was “laying on the couch” bored, he said, and simply decided to give it a shot. It came together really fast.
“I was laying on the couch the other day and I was bored, and I called [my friend Trent Swaim] and said, ‘Find me a Monday qualifier around here,’” Reaves told The Los Angeles Times
Reaves is coming off his best season in the league. The 25-year-old averaged a career-high 15.9 points, 5.5 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game with the Lakers last season, his third with the team. He’ll enter the second year of his four-year, $53.8 million deal with the team this fall.
Reaves and the Lakers went 47-35 last season and snuck into the playoffs, but they were knocked out in the first round by the Denver Nuggets.
