Josh Schrock
May 27, 2025
Michael La Sasso’s journey to becoming an NCAA champion starts with the work of the course.
Getty Images
Miss Ole Michael La Sasso knew the extent of his last round of Omni La Costa in Carlsbad, California, in the final round of the NCAA solo tournament Monday.
La Sasso struggles to sleep under his two-shot lead on Texas A&M Senior Phicaksn Maichon. Borrowing tickets to the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont, the 2026 Masters and possibly with many PGA Tour sponsor invitations online, La Sasso abandoned the night before his biggest round of his life.
By the time La Sasso boarded the tee on Monday, Maichon had opened with the back-to-back birdie to eliminate La Sasso’s lead. La Sasso starts from the back nine and he also starts with two birdies, but encounters a series of dooms. There was a mud ball that caused the bogey in 13th place, and then inserted the lie, causing double bogey in 15 and 17. He was two shots when he turned.
However, the past could have destroyed La Sasso, causing him to spiral and crashed down, and the Rebels’ junior high school star steadily stabilized himself, demonstrating the spiritual perseverance needed to win the championship.
La Sasso lost 22 pounds after a tough spring and summer due to the stomach virus in the SEC Championship. His 191-time tie for American amateurs follows. Ole Miss coach Chris Malloy and assistant coach Emerson Newsome advised La Sasso to work with the performance coach to carry out his psychological approach and emotions. This season, the work paid off with great returns, with La Sasso winning twice and reaching the NCAA title in nine top 13.
“You know, kind of like a level head, knowing we’re just playing golf,” La Sasso said through Tod Leonard of Golf Digest. “No need to go too far. Golf is golf at the end of the day, and that’s what I want to tell myself.”
Gravel display.
La Sasso birds 4 and 6, who bounced three times in the driveway at La Sasso’s Tugged Tee Shot and then returned to Fairway, got some lucky bounces. The birdie in sixth place was La Sasso’s final round, bringing him to 11. In front of him, Maichon threw two shots and sent nine off to make La Sasso’s goal clear to hit the trophy. On the seventh hole, Lhasaso’s T-shirt shot landed next to the bunker rake that his Ole Miss teammate missed. He flew the second shot on the green but headed up and down toward PAR and then drove into the House to release the final 72 rounds and become the second player in Ole Miss Program history to win an individual title, joining Braden Thornberry.
It is this victory that perfectly encapsulates La Sasso’s journey to Oxford, Mississippi.
“I’ve struggled a lot in person for the past two years since I’ve been to Ole Miss,” La Sasso said through the golf channel’s Brentley Romine. “And I feel like I’m a really tough guy.”
La Sasso’s victory helped Ole Miss finish eighth and last place in the team’s game. They will face No. 1 seed Arizona State in the quarterfinals, La Sasso at the anchor against Suns Devil star Preston Summerhays.
The victory also means La Sasso won’t have to fly to Columbus next Monday to compete in the U.S. Open qualifiers. Instead, he can play in the Arnold Palmer Cup and then play in Oakmont. La Sasso will also be attending Rocket Mortgage Classic later this summer.
As an NCAA champion, there are many opportunities now. If it weren’t for the journey he went through and the help of Malloy and Newsome, then La Sasso wouldn’t have had the opportunity to show up.
“[I’m] La Sasso told Golf Channel how he grew up last year. “I can’t thank Coach Malloy and coach Emerson for everything they did – it’s all they did for me and how I mature.”
La Sasso’s biggest obstacle Monday at Omni La Costa is not the fundamentals of shaking or shaking caused by nerves. To win the NCAA individual championship, Lhasasu had to conquer the endless enemies of golf. The man who beat him last summer. The one between his ears. Talks with his coach stimulated the fall journey. The fruit of this labor finally reached 1,884 miles of Oxford on the Pacific Coast.
;)
Josh Schrock
Golf.comEdit
Josh Schrock is a writer and journalist at Golf.com. Before joining golf, Josh was an insider of Chicago Bears in NBC Sports. He has previously reported 49 people and fighters in the NBC Sports Bay area. Josh, an Oregon native and UO alum, spent time hiking with his wife and dogs, pondering how ducks will be sad again and trying to become half-mature. For golf, Josh will never stop trying to break the 90s and never lose Rory McIlroy’s major drought will end (update: he did). Josh Schrock can be contacted at josh.schrock@golf.com.
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