MINNEAPOLIS — Royce Lewis already has one win this offseason.
Lewis and recently retired outfielder Aaron Hicks made up Team Twins at the recent Capital One MLB Open at Shadow Creek golf tournament, and they finished first with 78 points over the two-day event, which used a modified stableford scoring system.
Lewis, who said he doesn’t play a great deal of golf, was happy to let Hicks carry the load. They finished five points ahead of the Rangers team of Phil Nevin and Jerry Hairston Jr.
“I realized pretty quick that I’ve just got to go for it because this guy [Hicks] is going to do a lot of the work,” Lewis said. “So I just started chipping right at it, and if it went in, great. And if it didn’t, he was going to make up for it and win us the hole.”
Hicks is recognized as one of the best golfers anywhere in baseball, and in fact was asked on MLB Network about the possibility of joining the Senior Tour at some point down the road.
“I think that would be fun,” he said. “I think that would be a fun thing to move towards. The Senior Tour is full of past major winners, and the competition is only going to get better. I think it would be fun. If I had the opportunity to do that, be able to play with guys that I’ve seen play for a long time, I think it would be fun.”
For Lewis, the event marked a bit of a turning point in his offseason. He said he doesn’t generally play a lot of golf, but he played about once a week before the tournament. Now that it’s in the rearview, he’s turning his attention to 2026. He said he began hitting this week.
“I’ve been playing a little bit more,” he said, “because I knew we had this tournament and I was like, ‘I can’t look bad on TV, man!’ But I’ve been playing mostly four times a year. I play once a month in the offseason. As of late I was playing once a week just trying to get ready for this. But now that we’ve won, I don’t have to do very much. I don’t have to play golf. I can start hitting again. I’m looking forward to getting back on the grind of baseball.”
The win comes with a $100,000 charitable contribution to the causes of choice of the two players. Hicks said he will direct his money to the PitCCh In Foundation, founded by CC Sabathia. Lewis said he was not sure but that he would likely contribute to a children’s cancer organization. He regularly gives time and money to NEGU, one such organization.
The tournament was telecast Tuesday evening, but more extensive coverage will appear on MLB Network on Saturday at noon CT.
