DETROIT (WXYZ) — Nate Lashley has gone wire-to-wire and won the Rocket Mortgage Classic with a score of 25-under. This is his first PGA Tour win and comes on the heels of him barely making the tournament on Wednesday.
Lashley, 36, led the tournament at the end of every round. After Saturday, he had a massive six-stroke lead on the entire field.
Before the win, Lashley sat at No. 132 in the FedExCup standings and was ranked No. 352 in the World Golf Rankings. On Wednesday, Lashley found out he was getting into the tournament as an alternate after failing to get in during a qualifier on Monday.
Doc Redman finished tied for second, with Rory Sabbatini and Wes Roach tied for third. Six players finished tied for fifth place, including Jackson, Mich. and Oakland University grad Brian Stuard.
Lashley is in his second season on the PGA Tour, reaching the highest level of golf after a long road that included tragedy , selling real estate and playing in the PGA Tour's minor leagues.
After watching Lashley play in a tournament for the University of Arizona in 2004, his parents and girlfriend died in a plane crash in Wyoming. Rod and Char Lashley along with Leslie Hofmeister, all of Scottsbluff, Nebraska, were missing for three days before their bodies and the wreckage were found near the 13,780-foot Gannett Peak.
