After avoiding slow-play penalty at NCAAs, Michael La Sasso looking to win individual title

USA Today

25-05-2025

After avoiding slow-play penalty at NCAAs, Michael La Sasso looking to win individual title
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Drone flyover video of Omni La Costa North Course par-3 12th hole
Omni La Costa is hosting the NCAA mens and womens golf championships for a second year in a row. The North Course features a long par-3 12th hole.
CARLSBAD, Calif. — On Monday, Michael La Sasso will play the biggest round of his life.
The junior at Ole Miss holds the 54-hole lead at the 2025 NCAA Men's Golf Championship, sitting at 11-under 205 following three rounds of stroke play at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa. He's looking to become Ole Miss' second individual NCAA champion, following in the footsteps of Braden Thornberry, who accomplished the feat in 2017.
And for La Sasso, his relationship with Thornberry has been critical to his strong play this week. The duo played golf together a couple weeks ago, and Thornberry told La Sasso the postseason was going to be the most fun he would ever have.
"I can say I'm having an absolute blast out here," La Sasso said Sunday. "I know he talks about (his win) all the time back home. So if I can add that to my belt tomorrow, I think it would be the coolest thing ever."
La Sasso has the lead heading into Monday's round, looking for the biggest win of his career. And it would come with plenty of benefits if he's able to hold on down the stretch.
He would earn an exemption into the U.S. Open at Oakmont next month. A likely exemption into the 2026 Masters. Additionally, he would all but lock up his spot on the 2025 U.S. Walker Cup team, set for this September at Cypress Point, which is about seven hours north of Omni La Costa.
As for added pressure? La Sasso says not so fast.
"I kind of take the mentality golf is golf, you know, one shot at a time," he said. "You can say this is a bigger stage, but it's no different than if you were to go play with your buddies back home on a weekend. You can put excess pressure on yourself if you want to. Me personally? Not really.
More: NCAA Men's Golf Championship live updates: Which teams are going to make first cut?
"Golf is golf at the end of the day. So just kind of, I keep doing my thing, and, you know, just allowing myself to be confident out there. I don't really think much differently about it."
La Sasso shot 2-under 70 on Sunday, but the most exciting part of the round was in the scoring tent after. His group was given warnings twice about slow play after the fourth and 13th hole checkpoints, and NCAA officials held a roughly 10-minute discussion with his group in the scoring tent to determine whether to penalize La Sasso, who received multiple bad times, and one of his playing partners, Oklahoma State's Preston Stout.
In the end, neither received penalties after a lengthy discussion along with the third member of the group, Illinois' Max Herendeen.
"I might pick it up a little bit tomorrow," La Sasso joked.
Last year, Virginia's Ben James received a one-shot penalty for slow play and finished tied for second, one shot out of a playoff with eventual winner Hiroshi Tai.