Surprise Farmers Insurance Open contender admits that his ‘mind’s not really here’
Orlando Ramirez
They say that overthinking on the golf course can lead to poor play … but what if you’re not even thinking about golf? Perhaps the best way to tee off is to have so much clutter clouding your judgment that you just whack the ball and don’t give it a second thought. Two eagles, six birdies and just one bogey later, Justin Lower may have found a PGA Tour life hack: have twins on the way.
It’s only been one round, sure. However, Lower, who didn't get into the Farmers field until Sunday because of Jimmy Stanger's withdrawal, had an impressive start at Torrey Pines, going nine under on the easier North Course on on Thursday, sitting one back of leader Justin Rose. The PGA Tour journeyman, with 13 top-10 finishes in 126 starts, lost his tour card last year (in a pretty emotional state) and now has a real chance to make some money. It’ll be needed with all of the diapers, blankets and tummy time toys on the way.
"If I'm being really truthful with everyone, my mind's not really here," Lower told reporters after shooting 63. "My wife is 34 weeks pregnant with twins and I'm just trying to get home on Monday, honestly, to try to help everything out as much as I can.
“Luckily, we have family close and everything. She's going through it right now. Life's about to get real if it wasn't real already."
Lower and his wife, Janise, already have a 3-year-old girl, so they’ve been through this before, but they’re a few weeks away from tripling their child total. Playing golf sounds like a breeze, at this point.
Justin Lower and his wife Janise meet on the 18th green after the final round of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in 2021
James Gilbert
“It's just a lot,” Lower continued. “We have a 3-year-old right now as well. Life's coming at us really quick. And then obviously, like on my side, first year in a while without full status, I would say, a little uncertainty there. Yeah, it's just kind of the way it is. Just trying to take it one day at a time.”
Along with the incoming twins, Lower has also been working with new swing coach John Scott Rattan. With (most likely) 54 holes left to play, Lower will have a chance to show off what he’s been working on, and hopefully keep up his stellar start on the Torrey Pines greens.
Perhaps the most important part of the California trip for Lower will be sleep. Not just to be in good shape for the Farmers but to store some up before he goes back home.
“I'm trying to catch up on sleep while I'm here while they're back home in Ohio,” he admitted. “Because I know I'm going to be probably pretty sleep deprived in the next one to three months, who knows when the babies show up. Yeah, I'm really just trying to take it as slow as I can and as day by day, shot by shot, whatever you want to call it.”
