Taylor Lowe swaps pro shop for Fortinet Championship tee time

As Taylor Lowe completed his round at Monday’s Fortinet Championship qualifier, the full-time golf professional thought ahead to some impending logistical challenges.

Lowe works at Wildhorse Golf Club in the Sacramento region, and he had an estimated 15 or 20 lessons on the books across the next five days.

The 30-year-old signed for an 8-under 64 in the qualifier at El Macero CC, then went about rearranging those lessons.

Lowe successfully qualified into his first TOUR-sanctioned event, earning one of four available spots in the Fortinet Championship. He was joined at 8 under by Fresno State alum Alex Lee; Aaron Baddeley and Seung-yul Noh survived a 6-for-2 playoff at 7-under 65.

As Lowe sat in his car after the qualifier, he reflected on the journey to this point. The beauty of a PGA TOUR Monday qualifier is that it gives players of a variety of backgrounds and circumstances a chance to compete against the world’s best. Often the roster of four qualifiers is comprised of full-time touring pros – a mix of conditional TOUR pros, Korn Ferry Tour members, developmental tour pros and the like.

Sometimes Monday qualifying delivers on its everyman premise. This marked such an occasion.

Lowe typically plays golf just once or twice a week – his day-to-day responsibilities include doing inventory in the golf shop at Wildhorse GC, giving lessons, working in the shop and making the schedule.

The California native was an avid junior golfer but suffered injuries in his late teens, and college golf took a backseat. He graduated from Sonoma State, where he played one semester as a walk-on but did not qualify for a tournament.

“If you look it up online, you won’t see my picture on the roster or anything,” Lowe said. “I was hacking it up, but I got to practice with the team. I was on the team; I could’ve qualified to play in the events, but I never played well enough to do that.”

Lowe didn’t play competitive golf between the ages of 21 and 26. He spent time selling wine, then began working in the cart barn at El Macero – of all places – at age 23.

He pulled out carts, picked the range, then worked his way into the shop and gave occasional lessons. Then his high school buddy Charlie Klein’s family purchased Wildhorse GC, and he “cruised over there.”

How does Lowe explain his game ascending from college golf benchwarmer to TOUR event qualifier? He credits acclaimed golf instructor and social media presence George Gankas.

“I just watched George Gankas on Instagram; I’m not kidding,” Lowe said. “Growing up, taking some golf lessons here and there, I was swinging a certain way. And then I watched some videos of George Gankas on Instagram like five years ago and started playing a lot better.”

Easy as that. Lowe channeled his local knowledge at El Macero CC to the tune of seven birdies and an eagle, against a single bogey. This came after successfully advancing through last week’s pre-qualifier, where he carded 3-under 69 at Yolo Fliers Club to earn a tee time Monday.

He carried his own bag Monday, and he’s not yet sure of his caddie plans for the week. But he’ll figure it out, just as he’ll figure out his teaching schedule. The membership of Wildhorse GC is behind him.

“My phone is vibrating a bunch right now,” he said appreciatively. “They’re all congratulating me.”

From there, it was off for a well-deserved celebratory IPA, and two days of preparation into his PGA TOUR debut.

“If you’re playing good, you know you can do it,” Lowe said. “You definitely visualize and all that stuff … but I’m still in shock. It’s definitely surreal for sure.”

Here’s a capsule look at the four qualifiers for this week’s Fortinet Championship …

Taylor Lowe (64)

Age: 30
Hometown: Davis, California
Alma mater: Sonoma State
PGA TOUR starts: 0

Notes: Full-time golf professional at nearby Wildhorse GC … Graduated from Sonoma State in 2014 with a degree in business administration and management … Spent nearly three years at El Macero CC in guest services and as an assistant golf professional before moving to Wildhorse GC in 2017 … Cites Jordan Spieth and Kevin Kisner as pros he admires … Drink of choice is a “double or triple IPA.”

Alex Lee (64)

Age: 25
Hometown: San Francisco, California
Alma mater: Fresno State
PGA TOUR starts: 0

Notes: Made nine birdies Monday against one bogey … Held conditional Korn Ferry Tour status in 2022, making two starts … Graduated from Fresno State in 2019 with a communications degree; garnered All-Mountain West Conference honors in 2018 and 2019 … Attended 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach as a fan, following Fresno State alum Nick Watney.

Aaron Baddeley (65, advanced through 6-for-2 playoff)

Age: 41
Hometown: Lebanon, New Hampshire (raised in Australia)
Alma mater: N/A
PGA TOUR starts: 476
Cuts made: 282
Best PGA TOUR finish: Win (2006 RBC Heritage; 2007 WM Phoenix Open; 2011 Genesis Invitational; 2016 Barbasol Championship)

Notes: Made seven birdies Monday and kept a clean card … Finished T4 at Fortinet Championship in October 2018 as a Monday qualifier ... Holds TOUR Past Champion status after failing to improve status via Korn Ferry Tour Finals. Earned fully exempt 2023 Korn Ferry Tour status via “floor of five” category in Finals … Long renowned as one of the game’s premier putters … Recently began working with putting coach John Graham, who also works with Justin Thomas … Split time between the PGA TOUR (13 starts) and Korn Ferry Tour (11 starts) last season.

Seung-yul Noh (65, advanced through 6-for-2 playoff)

Age: 31
Hometown: Gangwon-do, South Korea
Alma mater: Korea University
PGA TOUR starts: 208
Cuts made: 123
Best PGA TOUR finish: Win (2014 Zurich Classic of New Orleans)

Notes: Made two eagles and five birdies Monday against two bogeys … Holds TOUR Past Champion status after failing to improve status via Korn Ferry Tour Finals … Made 13 cuts in 22 TOUR starts last season. Best finish was T30 at Butterfield Bermuda Championship … Fulfilled mandatory two-year military obligation in South Korea between 2017 and 2019.