Hayden Buckley reflects on journey from Suncoast Classic win in Lakewood Ranch to PGA Tour

Every time Hayden Buckley takes a flight, he pulls out his phone and watches the video. 

A 10-foot birdie putt on the No. 18 hole at Lakewood National Golf Club, during a playoff with Taylor Montgomery and Dawson Armstrong, was all that stood between Buckley and a win at the 2021 LECOM Suncoast Classic.

He sank it to finish 13 under par, then let out a scream as the crowd went wild.

Buckley said watching the video of the putt brings back the good vibes he felt that day. He will even watch it before he goes to sleep if he think he needs an extra pick-me-up before a big round. 

When the 2022 LECOM Suncoast Classic plays out from Feb. 17-20 at Lakewood National Golf Club, the 25-year-old Buckley won't be defending his title. Since his Suncoast Classic win, Buckley has accomplished a lot, including a tie for fourth (14 under par) at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship at Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh, Indiana in September. That finish placed Buckley seventh on the Korn Ferry Tour's overall points list for the finals and earned him his PGA Tour card.

Once that card was acquired, Buckley did not waste time in playing on the Tour — or in finding success. Two weeks later, Buckley finished tied for fourth (20 under par) with Henrik Norlander and Andrew Landry at the Sanderson Farms Championship at the Country Club of Jackson in Mississippi. In all, Buckley has three top-12 finishes on the Tour this season. 

It is possible that none of those things would have happened if Buckley did not win the Suncoast Classic.

He came close to not playing in the event. It's a story Buckley has told hundreds of times in the last 12 months, yet he still gets a smile on his face when rehashing it. He was not in the event's initial field. A week before the event, he was 10th on the alternate list. Then he watched that number shrink as golfers pulled out for various reasons.

By the morning of the first round, he was the first alternate. He arrived at Lakewood National two hours before the round began, getting ready to play just in case his name was called. It was — 15 minutes before he had to tee off. That 15-minute window is a blur, Buckley said. He was just happy to get a chance. 

Buckley capitalized on that chance, of course.

But what he remembers most from the event is not the lead-up to it. Instead, it is something his caddy Brian Mahoney — whom Buckley had met for the first time through a mutual acquaintance just days prior — said to him after the second round as the two sat and reflected on the previous 48 hours. 

"Brian said, 'Look, no matter what happens in the rest of the tournament, I'm coming with you because I believe in you,'" Buckley said. "He told me, 'You're going to make it to the PGA Tour.' Sure enough, we eventually did. It took us a bit of time to get used to each other. I struggled a bit for a few months. But the win (at Lakewood National) let us keep playing the rest of the year and we turned that into a card. I feel so comfortable with (Brian) now. I can look over at him and say, 'I'm feeling a little lost, can you help me?' and he can do that. I had six caddies before him, but I hope he's my caddy for life." 

Buckley and Mahoney have become so close over the past year that Mahoney will be a groomsmen in Buckley's wedding, scheduled for December in Fort Myers. 

Buckley said his transition to the PGA Tour has been a smooth one, crediting the Korn Ferry Tour with preparing golfers well for the next level. Buckley said at one point he played 10 events in a row last summer, so playing in a bunch of early-season PGA Tour events has been nothing new, even if those events have taken place in cities like Phoenix or Los Angeles instead of Boise, Idaho. On the course, Buckley said, golf is still golf. He doesn't prepare any differently than he did in his Korn Ferry Tour days and the fourth-place finish at the Sanderson Farms Championship convinced him that he belonged at the highest level of the sport.

The biggest change, he said, is the payouts from each event, as well as his perspective on success. On the Korn Ferry Tour, because golfers need to accumulate so many points to gain a Tour Card, winning is not just a goal, but the only goal. On the PGA Tour, things are different. Golfers still want to win, of course, but a top-20 finish is no longer a disappointment. When Buckley finished tied for 12th at the Sony Open in Hawaii on Jan. 16, he earned $148,875. He earned $108,000 for his Korn Ferry Tour win. In total, Buckley has earned $646,820 so far this season. 

The money hasn't changed Buckley's humble personality — or his tastebuds. 

"I still love Chipotle and Olive Garden and go to those basic chain restaurants all the time," Buckley said. "I still use the same clubs I used (on the Korn Ferry Tour). I'm still me; I'm just living the dream." 

Knowing how much the tournament can change a golfer's life, Buckley shared advice for navigating the Lakewood National course for 2022 participants — or for amateur golfers thinking about tackling the course some day. Buckley said the biggest thing is to be patient. It can get windy, Buckley said, and that meant he did not hit every green he wanted to hit. But Buckley chipped well and was able to sink many putts under seven feet. He said to be aggressive on the holes that fit your eye. He said to be cautious on the ones that do not. 

"It's a tough course," Buckley said. "I love it there. I wish I could play it again."

True as that statement might be — the Fort Myers resident said he's considering attending a round of this year's event as a fan if he's not playing a PGA Tour event.

Through his success, he will never forget where it all started. And he always can pull out that video.