Plenty of pro athletes play golf during their offseason, but Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves took it a step further, trying to qualify for an event on the Korn Ferry Tour.
He fell short, however, shooting a 76 at Willow Creek Golf Club in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Monday and missing qualifying for the Knoxville Open by 11 strokes.
“You can’t really compare anything to it,” Reaves said, according to PGATour.com. “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.”
Reaves is an avid golfer who hadn’t played a competitive event since high school. He told the Los Angeles Times that the plan came together quickly.
“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 said.
He told the newspaper that his short game, specifically his putting, made the difference in shooting a better score.
Reaves said he was coming off his first 67 and had high expectations. He birdied his first hole, but his front nine included three straight bogeys. Overall, he said that it was a great experience but that he’d give himself a B-minus.
Reaves recently completed his third season with the Lakers, averaging career highs in points (15.9), rebounds (4.3) and assists (5.5).