‘The end of a chapter:’ DeLaet moves on to next challenge

Green was the colour when Graham DeLaet played golf — and not just when it came to putting surfaces.

The 40-year-old Weyburn product told The Green Zone on Wednesday that he felt support from Saskatchewan fans throughout his pro career.

“There were (Saskatchewan Roughriders) jerseys everywhere, all the time,” said a chuckling DeLaet, who announced his retirement from the PGA Tour on Tuesday.

“I went to Kuala Lumpur one time and it was like 36 degrees Celsius with 100 per cent humidity (so it felt like) it was almost 50 degrees. There was nobody watching the golf tournament — nobody — and we come up over this hill on a par-4 and there’s two people in these green shirts that I could see from a mile away. I’m like, ‘No way.’

“I looked at my caddie and said, ‘Those are Riders jerseys.’ We got up there and I’m like, ‘What are you guys doing outside right now? It’s 50 degrees.’ They were like, ‘We’re in Kuala Lumpur. We thought we’d come watch you play.’ It extended all over the world, so I appreciate it.”

DeLaet first picked up a golf club when he was three years old in Moose Jaw. He honed his craft after moving to Weyburn, spending his summers at the course.

“It was basically from when I was 12 or 13,” he said. “I was the kid that was dropped off at the golf course in the morning and picked up by his parents after work.

“I spent all day out there, playing 36 or 54 or 45 holes, not really ever practising but just playing with a couple buddies in town. Then a lot of times, (I was) playing with my dad when he got off work, playing a quick nine holes before we headed back.

“I just lived at the golf course in the summers and loved it and that’s where my love for the game grew.”

DeLaet eventually got a scholarship from Boise State University, where he was named all-conference four times. He was a member of Canada’s amateur team until 2006 and won the Saskatchewan men’s amateur title in 2005 and ’06.

He turned pro in 2006 and made his debut on the PGA Tour in 2010. As a rookie, he posted three top-10 finishes on Tour.

During his career, he played in 186 PGA Tour events, posted 33 top-10 finishes and earned more than $11 million.

He played on the International team in the Presidents Cup in 2013, and also represented Canada in the 2008 and ’09 World Cups and in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

One event stands out over all the others.

“My favourite thing in my trophy case is my invitation to the Masters,” said DeLaet, who missed the cut in his only appearance at Augusta National, in 2014. “My wife framed it for me right after I got it. That one’s pretty special …

“It’s a wave of emotions to play a course that’s so special and has so much history. To be in the Masters tournament, it’s a pinch-yourself moment and definitely one of the highlights of my career.”

DeLaet battled back issues for much of his career. Ultimately, that injury prompted him to retire from the Tour.

He recounted how he would require a warmup in the gym and physio before every round and then treatment after the round as well.

“That was on the good weeks, so on the bad weeks, it was literally just trying to get my body in whatever shape I could to make it playable,” DeLaet said. “Looking back, I probably pushed it too hard a few too many times when I was really, really in pain, had stuff like sciatic pain driving down my leg and it was hard to walk upstairs and up slopes.

“In hindsight, it would have probably been better to just back out those weeks and give my body a rest. But we’re all competitors out here and it’s all we know. And sometimes it’s hard to take a back seat and take care of your body instead of just pressing forward and trying to fight through it.”

DeLaet hasn’t played in a PGA Tour event since November of 2020, so he knew the end of his career was approaching. Now that it’s over, he’ll do analysis on TSN golf telecasts and spend more time with his wife and their two kids.

“I’m at peace with it now …,” he said of his decision to retire. “It’s just the end of a chapter for me and I’m moving on.

“I’m excited about what’s next, but I definitely left it all out there and it’s all that I could really do. It would have been nice to get one win before it was all said and done, but it wasn’t from a lack of effort.”