Former Lobo Carson Herron wins PGA Tour qualifier in sudden death playoff

It was about noon when Carson Herron wrapped up his round, a six-under 66 at Pinnacle Country Club. The New Mexico graduate promptly signed his scorecard, packed up his things and left for the house he was staying at just down the road in Milan, Illinois.

To be clear, he didn’t think he would be coming back. But there was a chance. And if Herron was, in fact, going back — for a playoff, that is — he needed to decompress.

So, with a small pond out back, he fished.

“Caught a bunch of bass,” he deadpanned.

Over the next few hours, Herron caught something a little better. The former UNM golfer won a three-for-one playoff to qualify for this week’s John Deere Classic (Thursday through Sunday at TPC Deere Run in Illinois), grabbing the last of four spots to secure his PGA Tour debut.

Herron just completed his fifth and final season — winning twice — with the Lobos. Playing in Monday’s qualifier was simply a way to gain experience for other events down the road, he said.

Now? Herron is set to play in the tournament he grew up watching his dad, four-time PGA Tour winner Tim Herron, play in.

“It was super fun,” said Herron, a Deephaven, Minnesota native. “It was only a five-and-a-half hour drive from home, and I’d always come and watch him play. He had some success there, and he really liked it … It was exciting just to come play here and see if I could make it.”

Playing in his first-ever Monday qualifier — how players without tour status or sponsor exemptions make it into events — Herron shot a 66 to launch himself toward the top of the leaderboard. But on a day where scores ran low at Pinnacle, he didn’t think he’d advance: after all, Herron held the fourth and final qualifying spot. Just one score — one stroke — would bump him out.

But as Herron cast lines, scores started rolling in. Blake McShea of Wendell, North Carolina carded a 66. Michael Johnson of Birmingham, Alabama did the same.

With the possibility of a playoff looming, Herron went back to the course. Scores kept coming in. Herron went through his pre-round routine thinking the fewer players out there, the lower the odds somebody goes lower than six-under — and if somebody did, “it’s all right,” he said.

In the end, he was right. Nobody was better. Herron, McShea and Johnson started play for the final spot in a sudden death playoff around 6 p.m. local time, Herron admitted he was “really nervous,” even when he found himself in good position after two shots and McShea and Johnson in the woods on the first hole, a par-5.

Then either McShea or Johnson — he wasn’t sure who — chipped in for birdie. “Which was a shock,” he said. “You didn’t really expect that.”

But Herron steadied himself for a birdie. Then he made a par on the second hole. The nerves were still there, but one shot could change everything.

On the par-3 third playoff hole, Herron did just that, flushing his tee shot to within two feet of the cup. He felt all the nerves, all the excitement one putt could hold on his walk to the green.

By the time Herron tapped in to win, it was around 7 p.m. For the first time in his life, he is set to play in a PGA tour event.

Had that sunk in?

“It means a lot,” Herron answered. “Everyone works really hard nowadays to play the best golf they can. Everyone’s working really hard, so it’s just getting out there and continuing to push yourself to go lower and compete because it’s not always going to go your way. But when it does, just cherish it and continue to learn and have fun.”