Why Hayden Buckley was watching Hurricane Ian ahead of Sanderson Farms Championship
All Hayden Buckley could do was attempt to keep his thoughts centered.
The Tupelo High School product teed off at 7:11 a.m. Thursday morning at the Sanderson Farms Championship and attempted to clear his mind. Now a resident of Fort Myers, Florida., Buckley had spent the previous night watching videos and news coverage depicting the damage caused by Hurricane Ian, which made landfall in Florida on Wednesday as a Category 4 storm.
Early Thursday, more than 2.6 million Floridian homes and businesses were without power. Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno told CNN at least five deaths had been confirmed in his county, which includes Fort Myers.
Because Buckley lives inland, he believes his home was spared from the flooding.
"We are very lucky," he said Thursday. "But there's a lot of people that weren't so lucky, so hopefully everybody got to safety. I might go back next week or the next just depending on the schedule. Hopefully, when I go back, they're starting to rebuild."
The psychological challenge facing Buckley — playing a round of golf amid the chaos and uncertainty created by the disaster — was a significant one.
Growing up in North Mississippi, he said he's never experienced a hurricane and its fallout before.
"Me and my fiancé were talking about it yesterday, and we just hope everything is there," he said. "We've got some great neighbors that take care of our house when we're gone. It is tough. But I think I did a good job of just focusing on what I can when I'm out there."
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Buckley shot a 1-under-par 71 in his first round at the Country Club of Jackson Thursday morning.
He birdied two of the course's three par-5 holes, playing even through the front nine and finishing the back nine at 1 under.
The conditions Thursday morning were unusually cold, with the temperature in the mid-50s when Buckley began his round. Buckley said he told his caddie that the first nine holes could make or break his tournament as they waited for more warmth.
"It was tough in the morning," he said. "The ball wasn't going as far. Honestly, the first shot I hit, I couldn't even see the flag with the sun rising.
"It's always tough being first or second off on cold mornings, but I got through the front nine fine. I got up and down a lot. I just didn't hit a lot of fairways. Really to just hit a few fairways and shoot 1-under is a good day."
Buckley played at the Country Club of Jackson countless times growing up, he said, and he'll rely on that familiarity as he looks to make a push up the leaderboard with the benefit of a 12:06 p.m. tee time for his second round on Friday.
Before the focus turns back to golf, though, Buckley has some calls to make.
"Now I'll make a few calls to the neighbors and make sure everybody is okay and just hope everybody is doing well," he said.
David Eckert covers Southern Miss for The Hattiesburg American. Contact him at deckert@gannett.com or on Twitter @davideckert98.
This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Hayden Buckley tees off after Hurricane Ian impacts Fort Myers, FL home
