NASCAR’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Takes on Two Kinds of Driving This Week in Las Vegas
This is the latest in a series of articles about how golf is the common thread of nearly every big event in Las Vegas, the Sports and Entertainment Capital of the World. See Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.
As a city and travel destination, Las Vegas is always going full throttle and this week several of its biggest sports draws are front and center.
On Wednesday, the Shriners Children’s Open held the MGM Resorts International Pro-Am at TPC Summerlin, complete with LPGA Tour player Lexi Thompson in the field.
Playing in the pro-am was NASCAR driver and 2023 Daytona 500 champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who is racing in the South Point 400 on Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. enjoys playing in PGA Tour pro-ams.
Brian Hurlburt/SI
It's a big week here. Among the other big events in Vegas besides the PGA Tour and NASCAR this week were Las Vegas Raiders vs. Green Bay Packers at Allegiant Stadium on Monday Night Football, the Vegas Golden Knights unveiling their NHL championship banner at T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in their season opener and the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces in the Finals against the New York Liberty at Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay. Oh, and U2 is headlining the new billion-dollar Sphere Las Vegas.
Despite his big race just a few days away, Stenhouse Jr. took time to tee it up. He's an avid golfer and plays in as many Tour pro-ams as his schedule will allow, as he enjoys pro-ams with the pros. In Wednesday’s round, he was paired with Las Vegas resident and former UNLV golf star Taylor Montgomery and two-time Shriners Children's Open champ Martin Laird.
“I use golf to relax and get away from the grind of our sport,” said Stenhouse Jr., a 3.5 handicap who plays out of Trump National in Charlotte, N.C. “It is always great to play with the pros, observe them and see what they do and how they do it at a high level. We get to play a lot of very good courses around the country because of our travel schedule, but to play in tournament conditions shows me how good the pros are and how they handle the fast the greens and Tour conditions.”
His attraction to the game is powerful, and he is continually on the journey to better golf.
“I love the challenge of golf and how you have to understand that you are never going to be perfect,” he said. “I always want to be better and I am continuing to improve, which I have been lately, so that is nice. But it seems like no matter what, something is always off, whether it be the driver, the wedges or putting. There is a reason I don't do this for a living: I can't put it all together.”
The Shriners Children's Open is celebrating 40 years this week; it debuted as the Panasonic Pro-Celebrity Classic in 1983, with an unofficial purse of $1 million. The mega-cash the pros are playing for these days began its evolution right here.
The PGA Tour in Vegas actually dates to 1953, while NASCAR and the Las Vegas Motor Speedway date to 1998. The success of both sports laid the foundation for the explosion of professional sports and events in Las Vegas.
Stenhouse Jr., the 2013 NASCAR Rookie of the Year, has raced in Las Vegas 16 times with a best finish of third in 2020. While walking the par-5 16th fairway, he described himself as a golfer and a racer.
“As a golfer, I am probably a little more conservative,” said Stenhouse Jr., a lefty. “A lot times I won’t go for a par-5 in two when there might be an opportunity because for me to score the best, laying up and hitting a wedge is probably the best route. In the race car, it is the opposite. I really go for it."
Yet he sees some similarities between his passion and profession
“Obviously in golf, you hit a shot, you have to hit the next one no matter what happened on the last shot,” he said. “If you hit a bad one, you must shake that off. For us in racing, it is kind of similar when it comes to different runs that we make or different laps that we have. You must move on and overcome adversity in both to be successful.”
Besides playing wonderful courses and watching the pros in action, Stenhouse Jr. also understands the importance of supporting the charities involved in PGA Tour events and enjoys giving back.
“What the Shriners Hospitals do all across the country for the kids is what this is all about,” he said. “It is cool to come out here and be a part of this tournament and help raise money and give back to those who really need it. It has been awesome to have the Shriners patients hitting golf shots with us on a few of these holes.
"They have made a few of us look bad, but it is terrific to see the smiles on their faces.”
Brian Hurlburt is the founder of www.LasVegasGolfInsider.com and can be followed @lasvegasgolfinsider on social media.