Oct. 28 — Derek Bayley is back in Pullman, living in the same apartment complex he occupied as a student-athlete at Washington State University, wearing Cougar golf polos and moving from many hours at the picturesque Palouse Ridge Golf Club.
No, he’s not in his ninth year of eligibility like Miami tight end Cam McCormick, whose long career includes a redshirt year, four seasons shortened significantly by injuries and an additional COVID-related year .
Bayley returned to his old stomping grounds to embrace a career change as a first-year assistant coach for the men’s program under Dustin White.
Bayley’s decision wasn’t easy. He was definitely interested in coaching, but he also hoped his ailing shoulder would allow him to continue playing professional golf. (A bad shoulder doesn’t really reflect how much he’s been through with two surgeries, an ongoing and recurring dislocation, but more on that later, including winning a tournament after his shoulder moved in greeting another competitor).
Bayley’s credentials are impeccable. A two-time Idaho state champion at Lakeland High in Rathdrum, WSU’s career-best scoring average when he graduated in 2018, followed by a few years of professional golf, including a PGA Tour event.
White, promoted from assistant to head coach for Bayley’s final two seasons as a Cougar, sent Bayley a text message, followed by a phone call and a job offer with seven days to decide.
Bayley, 28, talked about it with everyone in her circle.
“One thing I’ve known in my life is trying to get the ball in the hole faster, so I took the whole week off,” he said. “The decision was just whether it was the right time to step away from the professional side and move on to something different. The first six days I was 50-50. But first and foremost I’m looking for signs. “
A distinct signal pointing to Pullman came from former longtime Manito pro Steve Prugh, an important instructor in Bayley’s high school development.
“That was my last conversation,” Bayley said, “and frankly, it was the conversation I got the most out of (with) Steve’s experience as a player and his transition to the teaching side .”
Bayley helps the Cougars, who recently completed a strong fall season with junior Sam Renner winning back-to-back individual titles at Wisconsin and Oregon. Renner capped the fall with nine straight under-par rounds, including a 5-under 67 at Madison and a pair of 4-under 67s at Corvallis.
Breaking down swings and offering technical advice isn’t Bayley’s specialty. He always relied more on his sensations. Among other tasks, he helps formulate WSU’s strategy for different courses, seeking to maximize birdie opportunities and minimize stress on the course.
“He’s not afraid to go out and light the fire,” Bayley said of Renner. “One thing I told him about continuing to have an offensive mindset is one of the best things I was taught: You can never go too low.”
Bayley speaks from experience. As a junior at WSU, he posted a memorable 13-under 59 at MeadowWood en route to an eight-shot victory at the 2016 Rosauers Open. He shot a 9-under 62 at Indian Canyon en route to the Rosauers title 2018.
He couldn’t cash the $22,000 first-place checks as an amateur, but his 54-hole total of 27 under at MeadowWood remains the tournament record.
Bayley has seen a lot of North and South America on various professional tours. Like most pros trying to make it to the PGA Tour, he’s been through ups, downs and everything in between.
He turned professional in early 2019 and quickly made it through the PGA Tour Latin America and PGA Tour Canada qualifying schools. He ultimately lost his playing card on both tours and was unable to get it back at the Q school.
“I didn’t play very well,” Bayley said. “There was a mental hurdle on these tours, you had to get out of the mindset of trying to make the cut. The last six events I missed the cuts because I was in the state of mind to do the weekend.”
Bayley has participated in several tours, including with Outlaw (Arizona) and Dakotas. He won the 2020 Reno Open with birdies on his last two holes. That victory came with $15,000 and a spot in the PGA Tour’s Barricuda Championship.
Bayley just missed the cut.
“Great week,” he said. “I ended up missing the cut by one (in the Stableford Modified Score). Again, the mental hurdle of thinking about making the cut. That’s something I struggled with at first of my career. It took me a while to get over it.”
Shoulder problems, aside from his first few professional seasons, have been with him since he dislocated his shoulder diving for a loose ball in basketball as a junior at Lakeland. He played the spring golf season before undergoing surgery that sidelined him for his senior year of football.
Bayley’s shoulder broke out several times while playing for the Cougars and it resurfaced over the past three years, leading to a second surgery in 2022. He had been recovering for five months when he had a setback “which more or less opened the door to a dislocation”. after dislocation.”
He completed two qualifying school rounds at the 2023 PGA Tour Americas (previously the separate Canada and Latin America tours) in May.
“I couldn’t swing anymore,” Bayley said. “Trying to play professional golf with a torn Iabrum is really a lose-lose. It’s just a matter of time before something happens.”
Unfortunately, he was right. He rehabilitated diligently for months and competed in the Idaho Open in Boise in September. After hitting his approach shot on the sixth hole, he flagged down a friend on a nearby hole and dislocated his shoulder.
It took him about 20 seconds to get his shoulder back into place. He completed the hole and decided to test his shoulder with practice swings on the seventh tee. He fabricated a swing – an abbreviated backswing at about 60 to 70 percent of normal power – and decided to complete the front nine.
He made birdie, birdie, birdie and thought, “Well, I’m not stopping now.”
Bayley completed all 18 holes and also played well in the second round the next day. However, the day before the final, he woke up at 4 a.m. in pain as his shoulder was out of place.
“Super scary,” Bayley said. “Now it’s happened six or seven times in my sleep” even when wearing a harness/brace.
Bayley stuck with her makeshift swing in Boise and remarkably won the tournament in a playoff. The party didn’t last long. His car was packed because he planned to go to Arizona, but his shoulder problems redirected him to North Idaho to see doctors.
He knows another “more serious” surgery is ahead due to damage from a torn labrum and frequent dislocations.
“That’s part of the conversation that needs to happen,” Bayley responded when asked if he was done playing professionally. “Can I play in the future? We will have more detailed conversations about what it will look like after (the operation).”
He hasn’t closed the door on professional golf, but his focus is on the WSU golf team.
“My No. 1 priority has changed,” Bayley said. “For the last five years, my No. 1 priority was getting to the next level, the Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA Tour. Now my No. 1 priority is helping this program get to the next level and my priority professionalism has taken a step backwards.”
