Greenville's Eassy steps up big for eventual BMW Charity Pro-Am champ
Greenville's Evan Eassy just finished his freshman year playing golf at Belmont Abbey in North Carolina.
However, the biggest tournament he was involved in this spring wasn't as a player but, instead, as a caddie.
He was the emergency replacement for eventual BMW Charity Pro-Am winner Austin Smotherman's caddie Zach Williamson on Thursday (Carolina Country Club) and Friday (Thornblade Club) when Williamson was too ill to work. It was a random connection as Eassy and Smotherman had never met.
Smotherman made sure to heap praise on the former Mauldin High golfer Eassy after claiming his second Korn Ferry Tour win Sunday at Thornblade, giving a nod to Eassy's familiarity with the two courses played as comforting and emphasizing how smoothly things went.
Williamson returned to Smotherman's side for rounds three and four as Smotherman won the tournament at 25-under par.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Washington Post
23 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Jon Rahm: Smaller fields make top 10s easier at LIV Golf
OAKMONT, Pa. — Two-time major champion Jon Rahm comes into the U.S. Open off another top 10 at LIV Golf, which is nothing new. The Spaniard has never come in lower in the 20 events he has finished since joining the Saudi-backed league at the start of last year. Is that a big deal?


Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Reading ends Notre Dame (Hingham)'s Division 2 girls' lacrosse dynasty with stunning semifinal upset
Reading (20-3) held a 7-3 halftime advantage and after senior Molly Trahan scored with 8:10 remaining in the third quarter for a five-goal cushion, the lead seemed insurmountable. Then the reigning champs began the comeback. Goals by Ani Woodard, Adelaide Gannon, and Caroline Haggerty, who netted two, made it 8-7 with 8:59 to play. Related : Both teams called timeouts in the next five minutes with Notre Dame coach Meredith Frank McGinnis imploring her team — which was without North Carolina-bound All-American midfielder Emma Connerty, who suffered a knee injury earlier this season — to play with confidence, but the score remained the same. Each time Notre Dame (19-4) challenged, it was met by a wall of red defenders as the Rockets choked off the Cougars' offense. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Much like the field hockey team that calls Victory Field home, Reading forced turnovers and won nearly every 50-50 ball. Advertisement 'The defense played lights out. Addy [Mathews] played lights out in net and we did a great job shutting down their offense so they really couldn't generate a whole lot,' said Reading coach Rachel Moore. 'Every goal that they got they had to work their tails off to get.' Trahan finished with three goals, while Abby Shanahan, Quinn Donahue, Megan Shanahan (2 goals), and Lily Rodgers contributed. Advertisement The Rockets lost in the state semis in 2023 and in the state quarters last spring. But Friday they'll play for a state title. Walpole 14, Westwood 6 — In need of its best performance of the season, the Timberwolves didn't disappoint. Senior Caitlyn Naughton scored four goals and took part in every draw control for second-seeded Walpole, helping the unit finish 11 for 18 in a wire-to-wire victory over No. 3 Westwood to return to the D2 state final. Walpole (24-1) turned up the heat in the third quarter, stretching a 4-3 lead into an 11-5 advantage. 'It's the best performance we've had all year,' Walpole coach Mike Tosone said. 'Our ride is pretty relentless. If you're asking me what I think happened, I think that might be it.' Related : Emily Hagan and Sophia Fruci netted three goals apiece for the Timberwolves; Fruci, who added two assists, led the team with 5 points. The Wolverines (21-4) suffered their worst setback of the season after losing their first three games by a combined five goals. 'We worked very well together,' Naughton said. 'Our defense has never looked this good, it really came out on top today.' Walpole will be vying for its first state title in its fifth appearance, having lost in the final in 2016, 2017, 2018, and last season vs. Notre Dame (Hingham). Rather than a rematch with the Cougars, however, the Timberwolves will be facing Reading after the Rockets toppled NDA in the other semifinal. 'We're very motivated, our team has a lot of motivation from last year,' Naughton said. 'Coach has never won a state championship. We're really fired up.' Advertisement Globe correspondent Jake Levin reported from Weymouth.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Jon Rahm: Smaller fields make top 10s easier at LIV Golf
Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, right, laughs with Shane Lowry, of Ireland, as they walk on the 18th green during a practice round ahead of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) Xander Schauffele hits from a bunker on the 14th hole during a practice round ahead of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) Dustin Johnson tees off on the 13th hole during a practice round ahead of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) Jon Rahm, of Spain, pauses for a drink on the 12th hole during a practice round ahead of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) Jon Rahm, of Spain, tees off on the 13th hole during a practice round ahead of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) Jon Rahm, of Spain, tees off on the 13th hole during a practice round ahead of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, right, laughs with Shane Lowry, of Ireland, as they walk on the 18th green during a practice round ahead of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) Xander Schauffele hits from a bunker on the 14th hole during a practice round ahead of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) Dustin Johnson tees off on the 13th hole during a practice round ahead of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) Jon Rahm, of Spain, pauses for a drink on the 12th hole during a practice round ahead of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) Jon Rahm, of Spain, tees off on the 13th hole during a practice round ahead of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — Two-time major champion Jon Rahm comes into the U.S. Open off another top 10 at LIV Golf, which is nothing new. The Spaniard has never come in lower in the 20 events he has finished since joining the Saudi-backed league at the start of last year. Is that a big deal? Advertisement 'I would happily trade a bunch of them for more wins, that's for sure,' said Rahm, who has two LIV victories but has yet to win this year. 'But I keep putting myself in good position.' One of the criticism of LIV is the 54-man fields over 54 holes, especially with a half-dozen or more considered past their prime and several unproven young players. Rahm delivered some context on his streak. 'Listen, I'm a realist in this case,' he said. 'I've been playing really good golf, yes, but I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't easier to have top 10s with a smaller field. That's just the truth, right? Had I been playing full-field events, would I have top 10 every single week? No. But I've been playing good enough to say that I would most likely have been inside the top 30 every single time and maybe even top 25.' Advertisement He considered that impressive, and he figures most of those would be top 10s. Rahm tied for eighth last week in Virginia without ever having a serious chance of winning over the final few holes. He said against a full field, he doubts that would have been a top 10. 'I think winning is equally as hard, but you can take advantage of a smaller field to finish higher,' he said. 'As much as I want to give it credit personally for having that many top 10s, I wouldn't always give it as the full amount just knowing that it's a smaller field.' DeChambeau and LIV Bryson DeChambeau says the contract he signed to join Saudi-funded LIV Golf is up next year and he's already looking ahead to a new one. Advertisement 'We're looking to negotiate end of this year, and I'm very excited. They see the value in me. I see the value in what they can provide, and I believe we'll come to some sort of resolution on that,' DeChambeau said Tuesday. 'Super excited for the future.' LIV contracts are confidential and there has been ample speculation whether the Public Investment Fund will shell out the kind of signing bonuses that helped lure players away from the PGA Tour in 2022. Meanwhile, unification with the PGA Tour and LIV Golf appears at a standstill as PIF officials want any future to include team golf. 'I think that LIV is not going anywhere,' DeChambeau said. Advertisement He said Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the PIF governor behind the rival league, 'has been steadfast in his belief on team golf, and whether everybody believes in it or not, I think it's a viable option.' DeChambeau believes LIV is going in the right direction and referenced the indoor tech-infused TGL as having teams making money. 'I believe there is a sustainable model out there,' he said. 'How it all works with the game of golf, who knows? But I know my worth.' Xander and YouTube Xander Schauffele might spend less time on his phone than anyone, usually only scrolling through the news. A few weeks ago at the Memorial, during a rapid-fire series of random questions, he was asked who he would take with him on 'The Amazing Race' reality show. Advertisement 'What's 'The Amazing Race,'' he asked. So when he was told about Tommy Fleetwood's latest venture with YouTube and asked if he would considering doing something like that, Schauffele replied, 'Is that like a serious question?' But he has spent time on YouTube for a reason. Schauffele made his U.S. Open debut in 2017, the year after the Open at Oakmont. What better way to check out the course than watching a U.S. Open at Oakmont? 'I watched some of the '16 coverage on YouTube. I would have watched it on any platform that would have been provided, but I watched some of that coverage there just to see sort of how guys were hitting shots and how the ball was reacting,' Schauffele said. Advertisement Turns out that wasn't his first experience on YouTube. 'I've been in dark places where I've looked up swing tip things on YouTube as well, trying to make sense of it, just like every golfer has. I'll confess to it,' he said. "I'm luckily not there anymore, which is probably healthy for myself and my family. 'Yeah, there's a lot on there, I can tell you that much.' Rory and his driver Rory McIlroy expressed concern about his driver after badly missing the cut in the Canadian Open, his last tournament ahead of the U.S. Open. He said he worked at home over the weekend and realized he was using the wrong driver. And he was coy about which one he was using, suggesting that people could always go to the range to find out for themselves. Advertisement McIlroy got plenty of attention with his driver when it was leaked at the PGA Championship that his driver did not pass inspection. It's a common occurrence, and testing takes place randomly at every major. Scottie Scheffler also had to change drivers after his didn't pass the test. He wound up winning by five shots. So was that a problem for McIlroy at the PGA Championship? 'It wasn't a big deal for Scottie,' McIlroy said. 'So it shouldn't have been a big deal for me.' The best honorary member Dustin Johnson had not played Oakmont since the won the U.S. Open in 2016. That's not to say he hasn't been back to the fabled club. Oakmont Country Club honors its major champions by offering them honorary membership. Advertisement Johnson went back a few years later for the honor, going to a dinner and getting his green jacket (he got the more famous green jacket a few years later at the Masters). Honorary membership has its privileges that Johnson doesn't use. 'I'm probably their favorite member because I never come,' he said. Oakmont need not to be offended. Johnson was asked how many clubs he had honorary membership and he didn't bother counting. 'Quite a few,' he said. 'And I don't use very many, either.' ___ AP golf: