The first time Florida State golf coach Trey Jones saw Seminoles senior Seath (pronounced “Seth”) Lauer in action, he was a long, lanky 15-year-old playing in the Junior Amateur at Winged Foot in New York.
“The player I’d gone there to recruit had a bad attitude,” Jones said as he stood above the 18th green at The Honors Course on Friday afternoon, a few minutes after Lauer had helped lead the ‘Noles to a quarterfinal win over Texas Tech in the NCAA Championship.
“So I started watching Seath. Now remember, it’s August in New York. It’s hot and humid. But here was Seath wearing a black shirt, black pants and a blue (North) Carolina hat. I thought, ‘How will I ever get this kid away from UNC?'”
Then again, whether Jones knew it or not, Lauer had been breaking against the grain for years. After all, he painted his bedroom in Huntington, Ind., Carolina Blue instead of Indiana Hoosier Red.
“I love basketball in general,” he said. “But I really love North Carolina basketball. Especially anything to do with Michael Jordan. I even got in trouble once for wearing a UNC hat into the (FSU) athletic complex. They weren’t very happy about that.”
But Seminoles fans everywhere were surely ecstatic over Lauer draining a 25-foot birdie putt on the Honors’ 18th hole to ice FSU’s victory Friday.
It may not have been Jordan’s game-winning shot against Georgetown in the 1982 NCAA title game or his NBA playoff buzzer-beater over Cleveland’s Craig Ehlo, but it kept alive the Seminoles’ hopes for their first-ever NCAA title just a few weeks after winning their first Atlantic Coast Conference title.
“I really hadn’t hit a putt outside of five feet all week,” said the 6-foot-4 Lauer, who rooms with FSU quarterback Christian Ponder. “So when that ball was about halfway to the hole, I thought, ‘This one’s got to go in.'”
Now the Seminoles are in this morning’s semifinal round against Augusta State, which also has not won a national championship. The winner will face the Oregon-Oklahoma State victor Sunday for the national championship.
“We’re just trying to make all the Seminole supporters proud,” Lauer said.
As the FSU captain, he has made Jones exceptionally proud all season.
“On the course, his strength is his ball striking,” the coach said. “But at practice Seath doesn’t socialize. At workouts he leads by example. He makes everybody want to follow him because he’s working harder than they are.
“You saw some of that leadership today. He was two down right out of the gate, but it didn’t faze him one bit. He chipped away at it. And once he got the lead, he didn’t give it back. He’s the guy who can handle that situation.”
If that sounds like someone discussing Jordan’s basketball gifts, Lauer couldn’t be happier. He writes the number 23 — Jordan’s number — on every golf ball he plays. And though he’s become a big fan of that other No. 23, current Cleveland Cavalier LeBron James, he’s thrilled that James is switching to No. 6 next season.
“The NBA should retire No. 23 forever,” Lauer said. “Michael’s the original. There should never be another 23 on any team in the NBA. Never again.”
Once this tournament ends, most seniors in Lauer’s position might never again see the inside of a classroom. He is already pondering PGA Qualifying School later this year, and before that he intends to spend some vacation time along Florida’s Gulf coast.
But he will graduate in August with a degree in social science. Asked why he chose social science, Lauer grinned and said, “So I could play golf.”
Now he plays it at least one more day, methodically filling up The Honors Course holes with No. 23 balls.
Said Jones, his affection for Lauer obvious: “He’ll make a great coach one day.”
But in golf … or basketball?