Trevor Werbylo jumped into a lake fully clothed last week, and it had nothing to do with fishing, skin diving or falling off a boardwalk.
It was a programmed celebratory plunge in Lake Charles, Louisiana, after which Werbylo was presented with a check for $135,000, his reward for winning the Korn Ferry Tourβs Lake Charles Championship.
So what if he ruined a good set of golf clothes? Werbyloβs quick emergence as one of golfβs rising names attracted sponsorship deals with Ralph Lauren, Footjoy, Titleist and Ping.
At this time a year ago, Werbylo was a force in Arizonaβs climb to its first Pac-12 championship since 2004. Since then, heβs played opposite Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm and Hideki Matsuyama in the PGA Tourβs $7 million Fortinet Championship, been awarded a sponsorβs exemption in Juneβs RBC Canadian Open β won last year by Rory McIlroy β and finished No. 1 at the Forme Tourβs 2021 championship.
βIβm soaking it all in,β Werbylo said Wednesday as he prepared for the ongoing Savannah Championship in Georgia. βItβs been a big jump for me, but I know Iβm getting closer to playing on the PGA Tour.β
The Korn Ferry Tour is golfβs equivalent of Triple-A baseball. You might say that Werbylo is like a 23-year-old ballplayer hitting .385, banging on the door of the big leagues. Those who finish in the Top 25 of the Korn Ferry Tourβs year-long points list will earn playing privileges on the 2023 PGA Tour.
βAt times I try to pinch myself at all of this,β says Roger Werbylo, Trevorβs father, retired from a career as a two-time state championship baseball coach at Canyon del Oro High School, and later, the man who coached Pima College to the 1992 NJCAA championship game. βTrevor has worked so hard for so long. He is just so determined.β
Werbylo is the No. 3 money-winner on the Korn Ferry Tour, $208,000, but last weekβs triumph at Lake Charles went beyond dollars and cents. It was a moment-in-time, a bond shared by father-caddy and son that will live forever.
After shooting 63-64 in the final two rounds, taking a two-shot lead, Trevor watched as Kim Seong-hyeon birdied 17 and 18 to force a playoff. Almost nothing in the three-hole playoff suggested Werbylo would prevail.
His approach shot on the second hole veered left, far behind the grandstands. Somehow, he chipped it over the obstacles to within 20 feet of the pin and made the putt to tie Kim. His father watched not in amazement β he has seen Trevor scramble with the best of golfers on any tour β but with pride.
βEach hole looked like he was done,β Roger says. βBut he wasnβt. You canβt tell him heβs done. Heβs not going to go away. He just scrambles so well.β
Werbylo made a 15-foot birdie putt on the third playoff hole to win. Typical of his low-key demeanor, he didnβt do a dance, bow to the crowd or point to the heavens.
βOh, I did a fist pump or two a few holes earlier,β he says. βI didnβt do anything crazy. Iβm not too emotional. But I have a great appreciation for what it takes to win. The competition out here is exceptional.β
Werbyloβs climb through the Forme and Korn Ferry tours hasnβt followed the predictable golf-prodigy, country-club routine of many of the gameβs leading names. When he won the Forme Tourβs Fuzzy Zoeller Classic last summer, his first professional victory in just his third event, it matched the number of victories Werbylo won at Arizona: 1.
When Werbylo began golfing, at 12, he did so at the Dorado Golf Club on east Speedway. Itβs a short, executive course with 10 par 3s and eight par 4s.
βWeβd buy weekly or monthly cards at Dorado that would allow Trevor to play several times a week for just a few dollars,β Roger Werbylo remembers. βWeβd drop him off and heβd play as long as he wanted. Heβd call me or my wife, Colleen, to come and get him when he was done. Some days heβd be there eight or 10 hours. He loved it.β
After that, the Werbyloβs took advantage of Tucsonβs historic Ricki Rarick junior golf program on the cityβs municipal courses. Trevor could play those five courses for $5 most afternoons. Itβs the same route followed by Werbyloβs Tucson predecessors on the PGA Tour: Rincon High Schoolβs Michael Thompson and Sahuaro High Schoolβs Rich Barcelo.
βWe couldnβt afford lessons or to pay fees at the big-name courses,β Roger says. βThe junior golf program in Tucson was just fabulous for Trevor.β
By the time Trevor was a freshman baseball player at Salpointe, following his fatherβs path, Roger kept hearing that his Tiger Woods-inspired son was better at golf than baseball.
βI can evaluate a baseball player but not a golfer,β Roger says. βPeople who knew golf would keep telling me, βHeβs really good.β So I went on what they said.β
Trevor Werbyloβs baseball career ended. He became an All-City golfer as a freshman and improved so much that Arizona coach Jim Anderson offered him a scholarship. Few, if anyone, predicted that Werbylo would finish his four years at Arizona with a career scoring average of 71.4, better than the UAβs PGA Tour regulars such as Rory Sabbatini, Ricky Barnes, Jim Furyk and Robert Gamez.
Werbylo is essentially self-taught, which is almost unheard of in pro golf He doesnβt employ a swing coach.
He has taken a different kind of advice from his aunt, five-time LPGA Tour champion Cindy Rarick, a former Sahuaro High School standout.
βI take lessons from the way Cindy lives, how to live a successful life,β Trevor says. βHer work ethic is amazing; sheβs up early every morning and is very productive. She gives me advice on the mental side of the game, and how to create relationships with sponsors and those involved in the operation of each golf tournament.β
Roger Werbylo caddied for his son at Lake Charles last week and will do so a few more times during the remaining five months of the Korn Ferry Tour season. But unlike many caddies, there is no talk of strategy between the Werbylos.
βI never talk golf with Trevor on the course,β his dad says. βI canβt give him advice anyway. He pretty much doesnβt need advice. I started golf late in life; I play for $99 a month at Forty Niner Country Club. Iβm just there for moral support, cleaning off his clubs.β
Roger Werbylo drove back to Tucson after Sundayβs victory in Louisiana. Trevor flew to Georgia His caddy this week is D.J. Niichel, a former golfer at CDO and a graduate of West Point, who will fill in for a few weeks until his sister, Dani, Trevorβs fiance, wlil become his permanent caddy.
βDani is completing her masterβs degree at the UA,β says Trevor. βShe was my caddy when I played in the PGA Tour event in California last year. Weβre getting married in December; we work together on the golf course. I am really looking forward to playing a full year on Tour. Itβs so motivating; this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. Itβs a dream come true.β