Three years ago this week, Rob Rashell was at North Carolina’s Pinehurst Resort, playing in the United States Open golf tournament. It was a week-long whirlwind of terrific memories with a nice paycheck at the end, making it one of the best golf experiences of Rashell’s life.
And this week he gets to do it again.
Rashell, a Lake Stevens native, gets another chance at one of golf’s biggest prizes when he tees off at the 108th annual U.S. Open, scheduled for the South Course at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego.
The tournament begins today and continues through Sunday.
“I’m just as excited as I was the last time,” said the 32-year-old Rashell, a 1994 graduate of Lake Stevens High School.
In 2005, Rashell shot rounds of 74, 72, 73 and 74 at Pinehurst No. 2. That gave him a 13-over-par total of 293, which tied him for 42nd and earned him $26,233.
“I was amazed at the amount of energy and the amount of atmosphere that’s around a championship like that,” said Rashell, recalling his earlier Open experience. “You go through so much and you’re trying to do well, and at the end of the week I was amazed at how tired I was. Not physically tired as much as mentally drained.
“I had such a great experience at Pinehurst, and I’m looking forward to more of the same (this week). I love the fact that I’m going out to test my game under the most difficult conditions and against the best players in the world. That’s something I’d love to do on a weekly basis,” he said.
Rashell spent the 2005 season on the PGA Tour, but failed to earn enough money to keep his tour card. He ended up on Arizona’s Gateway Tour in 2006, and he returned in 2007 and again this year.
Since 2005 he’s been making fixes to his swing, including an adjustment to his swing plane, all with advice from his brother Mark Rashell, the director of golf at Mukilteo’s Harbour Pointe Golf Course. Rob sends videos by mail to his brother, who responds with critiques.
“Sometimes you have to get a little bit worse before you get better,” Rob Rashell said. “And the last couple of years I really felt I needed to learn what was going on (with the swing). I needed to go through some growing pains and try to make it better.”
In recent weeks, Rashell’s hard work and his willingness to endure the uncertainty of change has been paying off in a big way. He won two of his last four Gateway tournaments and had top-five finishes in the other two, giving him over $60,000 in earnings for those four weeks. He sits atop the tour’s money list for the season with $103,572.
In addition, he earned his spot in this week’s Open at a June 2 sectional qualifier at Emerald Valley Golf Club in Creswell, Ore. With 27 golfers competing for two Open berths, Rashell shot scores of 69 and 71 for a 4-under-par total of 140 to nab the second spot. He was two strokes behind winner Nick Taylor, a member of the University of Washington golf team, but three strokes better than the trio of golfers tied for third.
“I think I still have a long ways to go,” Rashell said, “but I’m on the right path, which is great. The results are showing, too, which is very encouraging.”
Playing on the Gateway Tour in 2007, Rashell earned around $90,000. A decent income, although the first $40,000 of that went to pay for entry fees at the season’s tournaments.
He’s been making money, in other words, but not the kind of big paydays associated with top players on the PGA Tour. And that disparity has forced him to be both prudent financially and patient emotionally.
“I think I could probably go do other things (for a career) and make a living and be happy,” Rashell said. “But I don’t know if I’d be as fulfilled and as challenged. I love the challenge of playing. I love that it’s not easy to do. And I love chasing after something where you need to work hard.
“I see a bunch of guys (on the PGA Tour) who have cracked through at different points in their careers. You just don’t know when that’s going to come, and the only thing you can do is keep improving. … I know I can play and I believe in myself. Obviously it’s more difficult some times than others, but I’ve hung in there pretty well. And I’m still looking to accomplish quite a bit more.”
Rashell is delighted for this week’s opportunity, during which he’ll be sharing fairways with some of the top names in golf. But he doesn’t expect to be wide-eyed by either the environment or the competition.
“It’s a U.S. Open,” he said, “but I’m going to go out there to play and compete. And I’m not afraid to set my goals and expectations up there.
“It’s a brutal golf course and a hell of a test, but if you’re around par at the end of the week, you’ve got a great chance to win. And if I play good golf, I could possibly get up there and contend.”
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