Golfer from Mahomet hopeful after U.S. Open berth, Korn Ferry performance

Luke Gannon is back in Springfield, where his first trip to the U.S. Open began.

But the 25-year-old golfer’s career has been filled with having to prove himself and scratching out his own opportunities. Even the U.S. Open appearance — a chance of a lifetime for most golfers — wasn’t a sure thing.

Gannon, who lives in Mahomet, made Friday’s cut in the Memorial Health Championship at Panther Creek Country Club and shot a 2-over-par 73 on Saturday. He sits at 3-under 210 after three rounds.

Humble beginnings

The Wichita, Kansas, native didn’t pick up the sport until he was a freshman at Wichita Heights High School but was a quick study. He had just one Division-I offer and he accepted, to Southern Illinois. He worked as a custodian and found jobs to get him by financially.

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Gannon helped get SIU its first two Missouri Valley Conference championships in 2016 and 2019.

After college, he moved to Mahomet, near where his wife, Ellyn, grew up in Monticello. That helped Gannon find more time and opportunities to play golf.

“I was working part-time in Wichita when I played so I wasn’t able to play a lot,” Gannon said. “Once we moved to Mahomet, I could play full time. That’s pretty much why (they moved, in March 2021).”

Gannon’s experience was a lot of mini-tour stops and tried to gain entry into PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour events through Monday qualifying rounds.

He earned conditional status on the PGA Tour Canada circuit but missed a cut in June in British Columbia. Last year, he earned a spot through Monday qualifying in the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic then got a sponsor’s exemption for this year’s tournament, held annually in Silvis, outside of East Moline. He missed the cut both times.

During the 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour season, he made the field in three tournaments: his native 2020 Wichita Open, the 2020 Lincoln Land Championship — what is now the Memorial Health Championship — and the Veritex Bank Championship in Texas. He missed all three cuts.

On Friday, he successfully made his first Korn Ferry cut with rounds of 3-under 68 on Thursday and a 69.

“To make the cut was big going forward,” Gannon said.

What an experience

Springfield has been kind to Gannon. Not only was this year’s tournament the site of his first professional tournament made cut, but in May, he advanced out of local U.S. Open qualifying at Illini Country Club. Another Wichita golfer, Sam Stevens won the qualifier at Illini. Stevens and Gannon are quite familiar with each other. Stevens, 26, is just a year older than Gannon and the two played at competing Wichita-area high schools.

“He was always the best player (at Heights),” Stevens said of Gannon. “We were in the same league and I played with him a handful of times in high school. It’s cool that he’s gone on and he’s gotten a lot better since high school — we both have, obviously.”

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Stevens went to the U.S. Open sectional qualifier in Springfield, Ohio, and advanced to the U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts — just outside of Boston. Gannon missed the cut at the Royal Beach Victoria Open in Victoria, British Columbia. He was scheduled to fly down to the U.S. Open sectional at The Olympic Club in San Francisco. Though money was tight and he didn’t think he could afford it, he wouldn’t be able to get a refund on his travel and lodging so he went.

And it led to the chance of a lifetime.

“I went and played the Canada event and missed the cut and California isn’t cheap to travel and stay, so I almost didn’t go but I did,” Gannon said. “I couldn’t cancel my hotel and plane ticket so I decided to go and The Olympic Club is pretty cool. I went and played another good tournament — experience to play and a good course — and I happened to qualify (for the U.S. Open).”

He didn’t make the cut at the U.S. Open, but Stevens said that experience might already be paying dividends.

“I always thought he’s had a really good game,” Stevens said. “I think for me and for him both, just the experience of being at the U.S. Open is something — I know he didn’t play as well as he wanted to. It gives you a lot of confidence going forward.

“And obviously he came right back out, qualified for this and made the cut. He’s Monday’ed in a number of times to PGA Tour events and Korn Ferry Tour events but I think this is the first cut he’s made so that probably gives him a little more confidence too and I fully expect him to keep getting better and be out here sooner rather than later.”

Gannon went 76-80 at the U.S. Open. Even he knows it’s an incredible journey.

“I started playing later in high school, like 14 in freshman year — which is pretty late nowadays for kids trying to do this — and if you would’ve told me I would’ve qualified for the U.S. Open when I was 25, I wouldn’t have believed it,” Gannon said.

He said the first time he drove to the course, the enormity of it all hit him.

“Big time,” Gannon said. “When I went there Sunday for the first practice round and you drive through the backwoods to get to the player parking and there are just massive grandstands everywhere and you’re like, ‘Wow, this is different.’ Definitely an awe factor.”

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Looking for a full-time spot

Gannon's fortunes have always improved with every new step taken. He went from a kid just beginning the sport with little experience to a Division-I athlete. He went from a 76-average golfer as a freshman to 72 by the time he was a senior.

And now, with Jimmy John’s and Titleist as sponsors, he can focus on golf full time. It’s something that he’s never had the luxury to do.

"Jimmy John’s, some guys in Champaign hooked me up with that,” Gannon said. “It definitely helps in the back of your mind. Financially, this is not a cheap deal and obviously prices aren’t getting cheaper. It’s tough if you’re struggling on the mini tours or on the Monday grind. It adds up pretty quickly.”

But for all the missed cuts and the unsuccessful Monday qualifying rounds, he knows he’s on the right track. He knew that before the U.S. Open, but that just affirmed it.

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“I’ll definitely keep at it and that definitely gives you more motivation to go back,” Gannon said. “It’s not like I went from college to the PGA Tour and fell back. I started at the very bottom on the mini-tours and the Monday qualifiers. Playing full time on this tour would be great too. So I appreciate (the journey) quite a bit.”

Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, ryan.mahan@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Memorial Health Championship: Mahomet golfer sees reason for optimism