Mario Lemieux’s son, Austin, will make his debut on the PGA Tour this week at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship after making it through the final qualifier last week.
He shot 66.
The numerical irony is not lost on Austin, who said Wednesday his parents will be there in person as he makes his first start on the PGA Tour (he shot 78-68 to miss the cut in an event in Florida on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2024) and looks to test his mettle against some of the best in the world.
“My game was good enough to get through (the) qualifier. I felt like it's been trending in the right direction for some time now. It's just going to be a great experience for me to come out here and compete with these guys and see if my game's good enough for the time being,” Lemieux told reporters Wednesday in Bermuda.
Lemieux said he arrived Sunday and has played nine holes each day in order to get prepared as well as he can for Port Royal Golf Course. The weather is set to be a huge factor this week, with high winds and some rain in the forecast.
Lemieux, 30, still plays as an amateur golfer. He said he has been sharpening his skills playing the Minor League Golf Tour in Florida, including notching a victory on the circuit.
The qualifier for the Bermuda Classic was just his second-ever attempt to qualify for a PGA Tour event.
There were four golfers who made it through to the final field. Adam Long was the medalist after an 8-under 64. Lemieux earned his way in alongside Willlie Mack III and Canadian Matt Anderson – the trio all shot 6-under.
“I wasn't too nervous going into that (qualifier), tried to learn from my past experience of my first (one) being a little too nervous. Just went out there and things kind of started rolling for me, got a few under par early and just stuck with it,” Lemieux said.
Lemieux played hockey in college at Arizona State University but didn’t find much success, finishing as a redshirt sophomore in the 2019-20 campaign. There are plenty of solid golfers who currently play in the NHL (Senators forward Shane Pinto, for example, is a plus-handicap and played the PGA Tour Americas event in Ottawa this summer), and Lemieux said while the two sports are “extremely different,” there are some similar movements.
“I find that good hand-eye coordination helps a few times around the greens. And certainly, when I was younger, just learning how to hit a ball that wasn't moving,” Lemieux said. “With hockey it was just getting out there, making a good play or getting a hit, obviously that got you in the game, but golf's a little bit different.
“Just get a few good swings under your belt and take it in stride.”
Lemieux, who started playing golf at age eight, said hockey was – no surprise – his first love, but golf quickly took over. He said his driving is the best part of his game and that his iron play has been steadily improving. Over the years, he said he’s learned more about shot-making around the greens, while his putting is also solid.
“I feel like the all-around game is there and hopefully it can show up this week,” said Lemieux.
Lemieux, who has signed up for PGA Tour Qualifying School with a hope of making his way through the three stages to potentially earn a full card, will tee off Thursday at 7:52 a.m. ET, alongside star-in-waiting Luke Clanton and Neal Shipley, who is also from Pennsylvania. It’ll be a comfortable grouping in a less-than-comfortable setting for Lemieux.
But Lemieux said he’s hoping that he’ll be able to push through the nerves of his big debut and put a couple of good scores on the board.
“I feel better here this week. A lot quieter. A lot less nerves. And I feel prepared,” Lemieux said. “We’re just going to go out there and try my best and learn from this experience.”
