Last season, James Nicholas stood third alternate for the Korn Ferry Tour’s LECOM Suncoast Classic as competition drew near.

He knew the first two alternates had been on-site at Lakewood National GC outside Sarasota, Florida, so he opted not to make the trip.

Turns out, those first two alternates left prior to the opening round. Nicholas would have gained tournament entry, an important opportunity considering his conditional Korn Ferry Tour status.

The sequence of events stung, but Nicholas made a pact with himself.

“I was like, ‘I’m never going to let that happen again,’” Nicholas said. “If there’s a chance that I’m going to be first alternate, I’m there. So that was my mindset.”

Nicholas stayed true to himself at this week’s AdventHealth Championship.

The Yale alum is again a conditional Korn Ferry Tour member, and starts have been sparse in 2022 – he had only gained entry into one prior field, the Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard in February. He carded rounds of 79-61 in Bogota and missed the cut.

When the initial AdventHealth Championship field was released last Friday, Nicholas stood 18th alternate. After falling short at the Monday qualifier, he flew home Tuesday, then received word Wednesday evening that he was seventh alternate. Soon thereafter, he received word that the six alternates ahead of him on the list would not make the trip to Kansas City. He was suddenly first alternate.

The story was just beginning for Nicholas, who was at home outside New York City, watching his beloved New York Rangers take on the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“They’re like, ‘You’re first alternate if you want to come,’” Nicholas said. “I’m like, ‘Yeah.’ Looking at flights, driving patterns … I’m looking at trains, driving routes, maybe drive to Chicago and then fly early-morning to get to Kansas City.”

Nicholas could not find a path to traverse to Blue Hills CC in time for morning-wave competition, but his self-pact meant he would do whatever it took to give himself the opportunity, even if just for a potential withdrawal among the afternoon wave of participants. He applied frequent-flyer miles to an 8:25 a.m. ET flight from New York’s LaGuardia airport to Kansas City, slated to arrive at 10:47 a.m. CT. With the afternoon wave beginning at 12:05 p.m. CT, he had a window.

There was a catch. Upon arriving at his departure gate in New York, announcements were sparse. His flight had been delayed, ultimately leading to nearly an hour and a half in delays. The distance between the Kansas City airport and Blue Hills CC was 37 miles.

With minimal options, Nicholas opted to stay the course and hope for things to break his way. As he boarded his flight, he turned off his phone and opened a book, “How Champions Think” by Dr. Bob Rotella.

“Get in the right mindset in case I get in, so I’m ready to go,” Nicholas said. “I read ninety pages. A lot of good content.”

As the plane began its descent toward Kansas City, Nicholas turned on his phone and was quickly greeted with approximately 75 text messages. As it turned out, Korn Ferry Tour veteran Eric Cole had withdrawn from the 12:15 p.m. CT tee time. Nicholas had the spot – if he could make it.

“I’m like, ‘This is going to be pretty tight,’” Nicholas said of his mentality. “I canceled my rental car, because there was no chance I could get my clubs. I needed to go right from the plane to the car. Eric Cole’s caddie came to the airport to pick me up; the flight attendant made an announcement, ‘Can you please stay in your seats so that somebody can make their tee time?’ Everyone’s cheering me on, ‘Go! Go!’”

Nicholas opted to leave his clubs at the baggage carousel, heading right for the car. The initial ETA was 12:15 p.m. CT, representing the slimmest of margins. Various thoughts were racing through his mind.

“I don’t have my golf clubs, shoes, visor, golf balls,” Nicholas said. “Anything. I’m thinking through my head, ‘Do I need to get range balls? Do I need to get shoes?’ As we’re driving, 12:15 turns into 12:13. We end up getting here to the course at 12:12, just in time to change my shoes and get ready for the first tee shot.”

Nicholas had coordinated equipment with Korn Ferry Tour staff; the Blue Hills CC golf professional had offered his clubs for Nicholas’ use in the opening round. The clubs were waiting on the first tee box.

Nicholas ran into fellow Korn Ferry Tour pro Theo Humphrey in the parking lot, who lent Nicholas his driver for the round – “He’s like, ‘Hey, you need anything?’” Nicholas said. “I knew his driver had a similar shaft.”

Nicholas arrived at the tee on time and striped his opening tee shot down the fairway. The rest of the round didn’t go as planned, as he opened in 4-over 76 as he struggled to control his distances with his borrowed irons.

He retrieved his clubs from the airport Thursday afternoon. After a somewhat normal night of sleep at a friend’s house Thursday, and a standard Friday warm-up routine, he made the turn of his second round in 1-under, within striking distance of the cut line.

Fatigue eventually set in, though, and he signed for a 2-over 74. His 6-over total was short of the number needed to advance to weekend competition.

A whirlwind experience, all for a net zero Korn Ferry Tour Points accrued for his troubles.

Following Friday’s second round at Blue Hills CC, he was asked if he would go through the experience all over again. He did not hesitate to answer in the affirmative.

“In this game, all you need is a chance,” Nicholas reflected. “There are so many kids back home wishing they had a chance.

“There’s going to be one coming down the road at some point … the next chance I get, I’m going to take, and hopefully that one turns out right.”

Nicholas proceeds to Chicago and will attempt to Monday qualify for next week’s NV5 Invitational presented by Old National Bank.

He’ll remember that through his actions this week, he stayed true to himself. That’s a powerful thing.