Oct. 28—Derek Bayley is back in Pullman, living in the same apartment complex he did as a Washington State University student-athlete, wearing Cougar golf polos and spending plenty of hours at scenic Palouse Ridge Golf Club.
No, he’s not in his ninth year of eligibility like Miami tight end Cam McCormick, whose protracted career has included a redshirt year, four seasons significantly cut short by injuries and an additional COVID year.
Bayley has 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 an easy one. He was absolutely interested in coaching but also held out hope his ailing shoulder might permit him to continue playing professional golf. (Ailing shoulder doesn’t really capture how much he’s dealt with from two surgeries, one pending and recurring dislocations, but more on that later, including winning a tournament after his shoulder popped out of place waving hello to a fellow competitor).
Bayley’s credentials are impeccable. Two-time Idaho state champion at Lakeland High in Rathdrum, WSU’s best career scoring average when he graduated in 2018, followed by a handful of years playing professional golf, including one PGA Tour event.
White, promoted from assistant to head coach for Bayley’s final two seasons as a Cougar, texted Bayley, followed by a phone call and a job offer with seven days to decide.
Bayley, 28, talked it over with everybody in his inner circle.
“I’ve known one thing in my life and that’s trying to get the ball in the hole faster, so I took the full week,” he said. “The decision was just a matter of if it’s right time to step away from the pro side and transition into something different. The first six days I was 50-50. But I’m all about looking for signs.”
One distinct signal pointing toward Pullman came from former longtime Manito pro Steve Prugh, an instructor prominent in Bayley’s development during high school.
“He was my last conversation,” Bayley said, “and quite 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 of it.”
Bayley is all-in assisting the Cougars, who recently concluded a solid fall season with junior Sam Renner claiming back-to-back individual titles in Wisconsin and Oregon. Renner capped the fall with nine consecutive under-par rounds, including a 5-under 67 in Madison and a pair of 4-under 67s in Corvallis.
Breaking down swings and offering technical advice isn’t Bayley’s specialty. He’s always relied more on feel. Among other duties, he helps formulate WSU’s strategy for different courses, seeking to maximize birdie opportunities and minimize on-course stress.
“He is not afraid of going out and lighting a place on fire,” Bayley said of Renner. “One thing I said to him to keep having an offensive mindset is one of the best things I was taught — you can never go too low.”
Bayley speaks from experience. When he was 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 fired a 9-under 62 at Indian Canyon on his way to the 2018 Rosauers title.
He couldn’t cash the $22,000 in first-place checks as an amateur but his 54-hole total of 27 under at MeadowWood remains the tournament record.
Bayley saw a lot of North and South America on various pro tours. Like most pros trying to make it to the PGA Tour, he went through highs, lows and everything in between.
He turned pro early in 2019 and quickly made it through PGA Tour Latin America and PGA Tour Canada qualifying schools. He eventually lost his playing card on both tours and wasn’t able to regain them at Q school.
“I didn’t play great,” Bayley said. “There was a mental hurdle on those tours of getting outside the mindset of trying to make the cut. The last six events I missed cuts because I was in the mindset of let’s make the weekend.”
Bayley has teed it up on several tours, including the Outlaw (Arizona) and the 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 narrowly missed the cut.
“Awesome week,” he said. “Ended up missing the cut by one (in the modified Stableford scoring). Again, the mental hurdle of thinking about making the cut. It’s something I struggled with early in my career. It took me a while to get over it.”
Shoulder issues, aside from his first few pro seasons, have been with him since dislocating his shoulder diving for a loose ball in basketball as a Lakeland junior. He played the spring golf season before having surgery that sidelined him for his senior year of football.
Bayley’s shoulder flared up a few times when he played for the Cougars and it resurfaced the last three years, leading to a second operation in 2022. He was five months into recovery when he had a setback “that more of less opened the door to dislocation after dislocation.”
He made it through two rounds of qualifying school at 2023 PGA Tour Americas (previously the separate tours in Canada and Latin America) in May.
“Couldn’t swing anymore,” Bayley said. “Trying to play pro golf with a torn Iabrum is a lose-lose really. It’s just a matter of time before something happens.”
Unfortunately, he was right. He rehabbed diligently for months and entered the Idaho Open in Boise in September. After hitting his approach shot on the sixth hole, he casually waved to a friend on a nearby hole and dislocated his shoulder.
It took about 20 seconds to put his shoulder back into place. He finished the hole and decided to test his shoulder with practice swings on the seventh tee. He manufactured a swing — abbreviated back swing at roughly 60-70% of normal power — and decided to finish the front nine.
He went birdie, birdie, birdie and thought, “Well, I’m not stopping now.”
Bayley finished the 18 holes and also played well in the second round the following day. However, the night before the final round, he woke up in pain at 4 a.m. with his shoulder out of place.
“Super scary,” Bayley said. “Now, it’s happened six or seven times in my sleep” even when he wears a harness/brace.
Bayley stayed with his makeshift swing in Boise and remarkably won the tournament in a playoff. The celebration didn’t last long. His car was packed because he planned on driving to Arizona but his shoulder problems rerouted him to North Idaho to consult with doctors.
He knows another “more serious” surgery is upcoming because of the damage caused by a torn labrum and frequent dislocations.
“That’s part of the conversation that needs to be had,” responded Bayley, when asked if he’s done playing professionally. “Can I play in the future? We’ll have more detailed conversations what it looks like after (surgery).”
He hasn’t closed the door on pro golf, but his focus is on WSU’s golf team.
“My No. 1 priority has changed,” Bayley said. “For the last five years, my No. 1 priority was to get 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 professionally priority has taken a step back.”
