Second of two golf columns.

I must begin this column with a correction, a mea culpa. In my last column, about golfer Keegan Bradley who was born in Woodstock and spent his early years there, I declared that he was the “most prominent and accomplishment sports figure from Vermont on the national or international stage.”

That statement is not the problem. Keegan, 38, has had a remarkable year of success in 2024, building on a solid career on the PGA Tour. He has been named the Captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 2025, a singular honor.

The offending column states at its conclusion that Bradley is “arguably the best golfer ever to come out of this region.” That statement is inarguably untrue.

It might have been true had I added one small word after “best” and before “golfer”— that word is “male.” The best, most accomplished golfer from Vermont, and indeed the region, was born here in Middlebury in 1956:

Patty Sheehan.

Patty is one of the greatest female golfers in the history of the game. She won 35 LPGA tournaments in her career, including the U.S. Women’s Open twice (1992,’94) and four other major championships. She qualified for the LPGA Hall of Fame with her 30th Tour victory in 1993 and was selected for the World Golf Hall of Fame that same year. In 1987, she was one of eight “Athletes Who Care” selected as the Sportspersons of the Year by Sports Illustrated for her work with abused women.

She has lived much of her life in the West, principally Nevada (Reno), since moving there in 1968 from Middlebury with her family after her dad, Bobo Sheehan, retired as ski coach at Middlebury (and Olympic ski coach in Italy in 1956). With her longtime partner Rebecca Gaston, she raised two adopted children in Reno who are now in their twenties and out of college.

A terrific skier as a child in Vermont, Patty transferred that passion to golf in her student days at Wooster High School in Reno and at the University of Nevada and San Jose State University, winning multiple amateur championships.

Which brings us to another Vermont golfer who, like Keegan Bradley, has had a terrific 2024 season, and like Patty Sheehan, is in the midst of a remarkable career as a junior and amateur golfer:

Lucas Politano.

Lucas is a 17-year-old senior at Otter Valley Union High School and might be the best golfer of any age in Vermont. He won the Vermont State Amateur Championship (golfers of all ages!) at the Burlington Country Club in July in a two-hole playoff against three other golfers.

This win qualified him to play in the U.S. Amateur at the legendary Hazeltine (Minn.) National Golf Club against the top amateurs of all ages.

The 2024 Vermont High School championship is being contested this week, again at Burlington Country Club. Lucas posted the lowest score both last year and in 2022. As a freshman in 2021, he lost by one shot. His Otter Valley team has won two of the last three championships.

Here are some of the highlights of Lucas’s remarkable summer:

• In May, he finished second in the Spring Classic at the Manchester Country Club against the top amateurs of all ages in Vermont.

• He finished ninth in the Adam Scott Junior Championship in Florida with junior golfers (18 and under) from all over the world.

• At the New England Junior PGA Championships in Harvard, Mass., he won the tournament playing the best junior amateurs in New England.

• He made the cut at the National Junior Championship at the Congressional Country Club outside Washington, D.C., finishing 32nd in a field of over 300 players.

Keep in mind, Lucas has been playing against junior players older than he. Ranked fifth among junior golfers in the Northeast (and third in his class of 2025), he will turn 18 next June. He has just started his senior year at Otter Valley (the Politanos live in Brandon). You’ll find him on the Otter basketball team this winter.

It’s not surprising that Lucas is the Club Champion at the Ralph Myhre course in Middlebury, where his dad, Paul, is the head professional and assistant coach of the men’s and woman’s golf team at Middlebury College.

He comes from a golf family. His mom, Erika, won the 2009 Vermont Mid-Amateur Championship and his sister Mia, a senior at Middlebury College and member of the women’s golf team, won the Vermont Women’s Amateur two years ago.

He has twin siblings two years older. Thomas is a sophomore at SUNY Delphi, majoring in Golf and Turf Management. Elana, an all-round athlete, is studying psychology at St. Lawrence University, her dad’s alma mater.

Paul is justly proud of Lucas’s play: “It’s thrilling, a great adventure. He played in three major junior championships!” He appreciates especially that Lucas’s nature is “even-keeled, even-tempered. It’s great to hear from other players’ parents that they love his demeanor and attitude.”

As a golf pro, Paul’s summers are quite occupied. He credits Erika for making it all work. As a school counselor, she has her summers largely free, so she does most of the planning and scheduling for Lucas’s tournament play.

“The last couple of summers on the road,” she said, “have been hard at times. But we’ve been to such beautiful places, competing against the best young players in the world.”

Lucas has chosen to study and play golf next year at Rutgers University. “It felt right as soon as I stepped on campus: ‘This is where I want to be.’ I stayed with some of the kids on the team and thought I would fit in well. I really like the coaches.”

Rutgers is one of the 17 schools in the Big Ten Conference, which now includes major universities from Rutgers in New Jersey across the country to UCLA and USC on the West Coast. It’s likely Lucas will see the USA in his college golf experience.

Keegan Bradley, we should note, stayed in the East and played college golf at St. John’s in New York.

Perhaps Vermonter Lucas Politano is the legatee of his Vermont predecessors Keegan and Patty.

We’ll see. Good luck, Lucas!

—————

Karl Lindholm can be contacted at [email protected].

When Boston College takes on Virginia Tech next week in another road test, it will be in front of a sellout crowd at Lane Stadium.

The Hokies have sold out six games already this season, and have now added their conference bout with BC to that list. All 65,000-plus seats will be filled as the Eagles look to rebound from a hard loss at Virginia 12 days prior.

This game will be played in an awkward window for Boston College, as the team is on bye this week, but drew the Thursday night matchup with VT leading up to the October 17 bout. The game will serve as the Eagles’ third ACC matchup and will provide a chance for the team to get back above .500 in conference play.

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The Penguins (0-0-1) will hit the road for their first away game of the season, facing off against the Red Wings (0-0-0) in Detroit. The puck is set to drop at 8:00 PM.

The hosts wrapped up last season with a 41-32-9 record, totaling 91 points and finishing fifth in the Atlantic Division. They had an impressive run midseason that put them in contention for a playoff spot, but a seven-game skid near the end dashed those hopes. Although Detroit rallied to win four of their final six games, they ultimately fell just short of postseason qualification.

Meanwhile, the visitors posted a solid 3.09 goals per game average last season, but their offense faltered in the opener, leading to a scoreless shutout loss as they suffered a tough 6-0 loss to the Rangers on Wednesday. Pittsburgh was trailing 3-0 by the end of the first period, down 4-0 after the second, and let in two more goals in the third to close out the lopsided game. The Penguins were outshot 41-29, logged 23 hits, and went 0-3 on the power play.

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Detroit Red Wings vs Pittsburgh Penguins: Date and puck-drop time

The Detroit Red Wings will take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in a highly anticipated NHL game on Thursday, October 10, 2024, at 7:00 pm ET/ 4:00 pm PT, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.

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National TV Channel: SN 1

Local TV channel: SN-PIT, BSDET

Streaming service: ESPN+

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Detroit Red Wings vs Pittsburgh Penguins team news

Detroit Red Wings team news and players to watch

Lucas Raymond, Dylan Larkin, and Alex DeBrincat powered Detroit’s top two lines with a combined 91 goals and 117 assists, while the rest of the offense made significant contributions as well. Patrick Kane and J.T. Compher chipped in with 39 goals and 56 assists, and defenseman Moritz Seider added nine goals and 32 assists from the blue line to boost the team’s scoring. Despite a potent offense, goaltending remains an area of concern, with Ville Husso expected to take on the primary role in net.

Pittsburgh Penguins team news and players to watch

For Pittsburgh, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin led the attack with a combined 69 goals and 92 assists on the top line last season. They’ll be missing the firepower of Jake Guentzel, who notched 22 goals and 30 assists last season, and will look to Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson to continue generating chances from the back, with a combined 21 goals and 86 assists from the point. In goal, Tristan Jarry steps in as the main starter, eager to prove he can anchor the defense with consistent performances all season.

Detroit Red Wings vs Pittsburgh Penguins head-to-head record

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