Man of the People
Tour pro spotted grinding at muny range after struggling at Riviera
When the PGA Tour is in town, you might expect to see a tour player or a caddie out and about—probably grabbing food or maybe even buying the essentials at a pharmacy, like we saw Justin Thomas doing at CVS during the first episode of the Netflix docuseries.
One of the last places you might expect to see a tour pro is at the range of a muny … in the middle of a tournament at one of the world’s best courses down the street.
That’s what patrons of the historic Rancho Park Golf Course were treated to on Thursday when Danny Lee arrived. Lee had just fired an opening-round 5-over 76, so expectedly, the former U.S. Amateur champion wanted to work on his swing after the morning round. Except he didn’t elect to hit balls at Riviera Country Club—one of the nicest clubs in America. He showed up to the muny course down the road … which feature mats.
We kind of get it if you’re Lee. He was one of the first groups off on Thursday, meaning a bunch of players from the afternoon wave were likely still warming up for their rounds when his morning was completed. Riviera also has one of the tightest ranges you’ll see on the PGA Tour. So we suppose Lee didn’t want to wait around for a spot on the range. And maybe if he was struggling big time, he didn’t want all the eyes on him.
Or maybe Lee is someone who respects history, and knows Rancho Park played host to the Los Angeles Open in the 1950s and ’60s. As one person on Twitter said, he was shocked Lee was able to get a bay at Rancho Park at that time of day.
Turns out, it’s tough to find anywhere to hit balls in Los Angeles—whether you’re a tour pro or not.