Lance Ten Broeck “Last call” has passed away. He was 67. He was 67.
Ten Broeck was born in Chicago and grew up as part of a golfing family. He played college golf at Texas. Ten Broeck qualified for the U.S. Open 7 times, and held the lead at 36 holes in the 2012 U.S. Senior Open. He was the quintessential traveler golfer. He played 14 tournaments or more in 12 seasons.
Ten Broeck told The Caddie Network that he didn’t feel confident enough. It’s difficult to be confident when you aren’t playing well. “And I stopped playing when I was bad at it.”
Jesper Parnevik, whose playing career was all but over, asked Ten Broeck to be his caddie in 1999. Ten Broeck’s new career began when they won the Wyndham Championship together in their first week. He caddied for Parnevik on four occasions, and also for Ernie Els Tim Herron, Richard S. Johnson, among others.
Lance Ten Broeck passed away at the age of 67. He was a long-time professional and then a caddie. He was known as “Last Call Lance,” and he had a charming personality who enjoyed a good drink as much as golf. RIP.
— Rich Lerner (@RichLernerGC) April 30, 2023
He made it a point to commit to caddying at events in the event that several players were to drop out, depleting the alternates’ list. This is exactly what happened at the 2009 Valero Open. Ten Broeck had no idea of his upcoming tee-time and he ordered eight happy-hour specials of a 22-ounce jug beer and sake for $6.50 the night before. Parnevik started at 7:25 am and Ten Broeck was told he had a tee-time in the afternoon when the round finished.
I didn’t even have pants or clubs. Ten Broeck said, “I had to go to the mall to purchase pants.” He still managed a respectable score of 71.
He shot 70 and beat his boss two strokes, but both missed the cut. Ten Broeck was tall enough to not need a stool in the kitchen. He borrowed clubs from Johnson, who is 5’7″ and complained that the clubs were too long, and the irons stiff. You can read all about it here in the ‘Hate To Be Rude’ column.
The following year, he repeated his feat near Cancun. He finished his loop 12 mins before his tee-time. It was impossible to warm up, let alone hit a putt or eat a lunch. He wore sneakers.
Ten Broeck said, “It was more enjoyable the last time.” “I played badly. “I didn’t make a single birdie.”
Later that year, when asked if he wanted to see if New Orleans would have a third chance at charm, where the players were disappearing like flies, he replied, “No man.” The excitement is gone.”
Lance Ten Broeck held the 36-hole lead at the 2012 U.S. Senior Open before finishing T-9.
An all-time nickname
Ten Broeck’s tendency to close bars earned him one of the greatest nicknames in golf. Ten Broeck once told the story about how his former caddie Jeff ‘Boo’ Burrell gave him the nickname while Ten Broeck played in the 1980 Pensacola Open.
Ten Broeck said to Craig Dolch in a Caddie Network article that Jeff used to place football bets and I would call them to the bookie. “He entered my hotel room on Sunday morning, and a man in a bartender’s uniform was sleeping on the ground. Jeff asked, “Who the hell is that?”
“I went to Rosie O’Grady’s last night and needed a ride back. I had to wait until last call to get a ride from the bartender. Jeff began calling me “Last Call Lance.”
Rich Lerner, Golf Channel’s tweeter, noted that “he loved to hang out as much as he loved golf.”
Ten Broeck only won one event in 1984, the Magnolia Classic. However, it was a non-official opposite-field tournament played during the same week that the Masters. Ten Broeck was a sparse player on the PGA Tour Champions from 2005. Ten Broeck had a chance to win the largest senior title in golf, the U.S. Senior Open 2012 after grabbing the 36 hole lead. However, he couldn’t maintain his pace on the weekend. He finished T-9.
