You don't just accidentally shoot a 60. It's not like stubbing your toe and suddenly finding yourself fluent in Swedish. Yet, Michael La Sasso, the young American who decided to hitch his wagon to the LIV Golf rocket ship – a decision that, let's be honest, felt a bit like investing in a Blockbuster Video franchise in 2010 – has gone and done it. A 60 at LIV Golf Indianapolis, a score dotted with ten birdies and a frankly absurd eight pars, suggests the golf gods, in their infinite and often baffling way, sometimes toss a bone to the fellas who like to gamble on the road less traveled.
Speaking of the bizarre magic that turned a decent day into something bordering on miraculous, La Sasso offered a classic understated gem. "Pretty good, I'd say," he chirped, as if he'd just found a slightly cleaner golf ball. He let slip a chat with his coach the night before, where he’d mumbled something along the lines of, "I wasn't that far off yesterday." This nonchalant self-belief, combined with a few putts that finally decided to stop playing hard to get, resulted in an eleven-shot swing and a number that’d make most seasoned pros stare into their single malt and question their life choices.
La Sasso, who apparently set some kind of scoring record at the University of Mississippi with a 69.48 average – sounds respectable, I guess – has proven he can play. His jump to LIV, ditching a Masters invite for what we're told was a stack of cash bigger than my student loan debt, was a statement. While the league's future still reads more like a speculative fiction novel than a sports almanac, La Sasso’s performance is a much-needed jolt, reminding us of the actual talent swimming in those murky waters.
He’s been pretty honest about the LIV experience so far, calling it a "harder tour to adjust to." Apparently, the dizzying variety of grass types and the constant jet lag are like tiny, annoying gremlins whispering sweet nothings of despair in his ear. But with the seasoned pros on his team offering a hand and a willingness to "chip away at it," La Sasso seems to be finding his footing. It turns out, even when the universe throws you a curveball made of weird grass and too many plane tickets, a good eye on the ball and a few putts that actually go in can still lead to, in his own words, "pretty good" results.