PGA Championship Review: Inside Look at Michigander Ryan Lenahan

By Robert McIntyre

    Ryan Lenahan is a husband, father of three – and 2- time PGA Championship competitor – a Walnut Creek Country Club Pro in South Lyon, top-rated golf instructor, insanely good at karaoke, and way down the list… my former assistant coach at Grosse Pointe South High School.  

    About 15 years ago the foursome of Ryan Lenahan, John, Pat and myself took the tee at Devil’s Ridge GC in Oxford Michigan.  Pat and I were to take on John and Ryan.  A simple $5 Nassau with a standard press option.  This meant that there was $5 on each of the front 9, back 9 and overall 18.  If a team was losing they could “press” (eliminate the deficit and double the bet).  

    Simple enough. The thing is, it was all a practical joke.

    At the time Ryan had attended PGA Tour Q-school, set course records, played in some events on smaller tours, etc.  Pat knew none of this. He was clueless. Completely in the dark as Ryan hit his tee shot greenside on Hole 1.  It was a 300-plus yard par 4.  A look of seamlessly blended amazement and concern was laid as a foundation in Pat’s expression.  And it was going to get worse.  Birdie on 2 ... press.  Eagle on 3 ... press.  “Would you shut the .… up!” was stated numerous times.  Press.  On 7 tee I had pressed four times ($5 to $80 per bet) and Pat’s systolic pressure had to be well over 170.  

    And then the firecrackers.  

    Neither John nor Ryan take responsibility, and nobody condones throwing lit firecrackers behind a player teeing off, but the timing was flawless.  Right at the top of my backswing they exploded, and Pat completely lost it.  A fountain of expletives and accusations was met with laughter and explanations.  

    “He’s a pro.  No really, Ryan is a professional golfer.  There is no bet,” we exclaimed.  As you can imagine it took a few minutes/years for Pat to see the humor.

    Why this story?  Ryan has done dozens if not hundreds of interviews in late April /early May.  In them all he comes off as good natured, relatable and appreciative for his opportunities.  Why, because he is all of those things.  A couple of days before he left for the PGA Championship at Aronimink we talked about a podcast he was doing later.  

    His wife had a meeting thus leaving him home with his sons during the live feed.  His sons are 10, 7, and 4. We laughed about the probability of a random truck or dinosaur making it on camera.  There were numerous other issues associated with competing in a major that Ryan takes in stride.  The best part is that Ryan takes these challenges like he’s riding a rollercoaster.  Even the parts of the ride you don’t like are great.

    Ryan has a different situation than most of the top names on the PGA Championship leaderboard.  No personal chef, manager, agent, trainer, etc. Ryan flies coach. Coming back from the 58th PGA Professionals Championship at Bandon Dunes, which earned his ticket to Aronimink, he sat row 40 center on Delta.  

    Finding reasonable housing for himself and his family at Aronimink is more difficult than it may seem.  By my calculations it was going to run him in the neighborhood of $16,000.  He’s going to have to give quite a few lessons to cover that.  Meals, transportation, and a caddie.  Ryan met his caddie only a couple of weeks before teeing off.  

    Finding sponsors.  When you think about it, there are only nine places for a golfer to advertise sponsors and that’s if you want to look like you are a NASCAR driver.  Call it $5000/sponsorship is a max of $45,000.  Is that taxable?  All of this and more is thrown into a soup.  Here comes the important part.  Ryan is the guy who genuinely appreciates the whole meal.  Soup included.

    Nobody expected a miracle in May at Aronimink.  Ryan did not make the cut.  However, Aronimink was not the only goal.   Ryan will soon travel to County Kildare and the K Club for the PGA Cup, to be captained by Lansing’s John Lindert, president emeritus of the PGA of America.  A two-year spot on the PGA Cup team now awaits him.   Ryan is deep breathing rarified air for sure.  He has come a long way from Grosse Pointe North High School and the University of Nebraska golf teams.  

    Let’s review.  Ryan is a loving husband and father.  It is difficult to explain or describe how important his family is to him.  He is ridiculously accomplished in his field and has worked for every achievement and opportunity.  The day job is great.   His character is grounded and good natured.  And it’s worth saying twice, a jaw dropping karaoke talent.   

    Ryan Lenahan is living the dream.