THE FLATS – Stewart Cink ties for 12th at the Masters, earning himself a trip back to Augusta National in 2022 … Luke Schniederjans achieves status on the Mackenzie Tour in Canada … More below in this week’s Georgia Tech #ProJackets Report.
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CINK PLAYS SOLIDLY THROUGHOUT AT THE MASTERS
Veteran PGA Tour pro Stewart Cink, with his son Reagan on his bag, enjoyed a fruitful week at Augusta National Golf Club, firing a 2-under-par 286 over the 72 holes to tie for 12th place at The Masters. The seven-time winner on the PGA Tour had earned his spot in the field by winning the Safeway Open last fall, and his finish at Augusta earned him a return trip for his 20th appearance in 2022.
Cink, now 47 years old, has had a better finish at The Masters only twice before, placing 10th in 2006 and tying for third in 2008. He surpassed $40 million in career PGA Tour earnings in the process. He shot an opening 74, but came back with a 69 on Friday to make the cut, then finished 72-71 on the weekend. He was the oldest player among those to finish under par.
Matt Kuchar, playing his 14th Masters, and Larry Mize, playing his 38th, as well as amateur Tyler Strafaci, were not able to make it to the weekend.
Cink and Kuchar are among the past champions who will tee it up this week at the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, S.C. Cink won the tournament in 2000 and 2004, while Kuchar took home the trophy and the plaid jacket that goes to the winner in 2014. Chesson Hadley and Richy Werenski also return to action this week.
Watch Cink’s round 2 of 69 in under three minutes
A Grateful Cink has his son on the bag
Stewart Cink on his memorable first Masters week
The Cink player-caddie pairing: It’s a blast
Letter from Augusta: Golfing at the Masters a generation game for the Strafaci family
Just try to get smile off Tyler Strafaci’s face after tough opening round
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KUCHAR GOES REVERSE ARMLICK WITH NEW PUTTER
A new putting stroke resulted in a significant putter shift for Matt Kuchar at the Masters. Kuchar opted to try a stroke in which he arm-locked the putter to his right arm instead of his left, and he needed a new putter to accommodate the shift.
Kuchar visited Bettinardi’s Tinley Park, Ill., headquarters during the week of the BMW Championship last August and has been testing different heads, shaft angles and such since. Bettinardi’s design team and tour director, David Kubiak, have worked on the concept of right arm-lock with Kuchar for several months, experimenting with several head shapes and loft/lie angles.
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OGLETREE SIDELINED BY HIP SURGERY
Five months ago Andy Ogletree was sitting alongside Dustin Johnson in Butler Cabin as low amateur of the Masters Tournament.
On Tuesday, two days before the start of another Masters, Ogletree, now professional, announced that he recently underwent hip surgery. He is expected to miss several months, according to his surgeon, Dr. Benton Emblom of The Hip Center at Andrews Sports Medicine in Birmingham, Alabama.
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KORN FERRY TOUR RESUMES IN LAS VEGAS
Four Yellow Jackets – J.T. Griffin, Paul Haley II, Seth Reeves and Ollie Schniederjans – are in the field this week for the Korn Ferry Tour event in Las Vegas, the MGM Resorts Championship at Paiute Golf Resort.
Reeves currently holds the highest ranking among the former Tech players in the field at No. 22, with Haley at No. 29 and Schniederjans at No. 39. The top 25 in points at the end of the regular season will receive PGA Tour cards for 2021-22.
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ELSEWHERE
Luke Schniederjans achieved partial status on the MacKenzie Tour (PGA Tour Canada) last weekend when he tied for fifth place at the tour’s qualifying school event at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Ga. The 2020 Tech graduate, who has two PGA Tour starts under his belt, shot 68-66-67-72 for a 7-under-par total of 273. Schniederjans is exempt through the first half of the Mackenzie Tour season, though the tour has one more qualifying even tto come in early June, and the regular-season schedule has not yet been announced. James Clark and Drew Czuchry fell short of qualifying, tying for 40th and 53rd, respectively.
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#PROJACKETS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
The 12th hole @TheMasters has plenty of defense against the golfer, but I didn’t expect this!! pic.twitter.com/BLvl8yITQt
— Stewart Cink (@stewartcink) April 10, 2021
Been such an enjoyable week figuring out the @TheMasters puzzle with @RCinkk on the bag! Gonna be an awesome challenge this weekend! pic.twitter.com/9Zpj5ZQaKA
— Stewart Cink (@stewartcink) April 10, 2021
The score may not reflect it, but this was the greatest experience of my life. Thank you to Augusta National for an amazing week! 🙏🏻@themasters | #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/LFNiMxXNot
— Ty Strafaci (@TyStrafaci) April 10, 2021
Round one ✅ Working toward a better day in paradise tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/uZX7CVyJbW
— Ty Strafaci (@TyStrafaci) April 9, 2021
Life is full of tests and challenges. Bring it on 👊🏼 https://t.co/oPiXJ6J762 pic.twitter.com/VNF9dmvPOz
— Andy Ogletree (@andy_ogletree) April 6, 2021
Wait, Kuchar is arm-locking against his TRAIL arm now? When did this happen? pic.twitter.com/gVDK42rTiW
— LKD (@LukeKerrDineen) April 8, 2021
UPCOMING EVENTS
- PGA Tour: RBC Heritage • April 15-18, 2021 • Harbour Town Golf Links • Hilton Head, S.C. • Purse: $7,100,000
- Korn Ferry Tour: MGM Resorts Championship at Paiute • April 16-18, 2021 • Paiute Golf Resort – Sun Mountain Golf Club • Las Vegas, Nev. • Purse: $600,000
- PGA Tour Champions: Chubb Classic • April 16-18, 2021 • Tiburon Golf Club • Naples, Fla. • Purse: $1,600,000
- All Pro Tour: Fore the Kids • April 14-17, 2021 • Brownwood Country Club • Brownwood, Texas • Purse: $130,000
- G Pro Tour: St. Augustine Classic • April 13-15, 2021 • The Palencia Club • St. Augustine, Fla.
- SwingThought Tour: ST 19 Stonebridge Golf Club • April 14-16, 2021 • Stonebridge Golf Club • Charlotte, N.C.
PLAYER PLAYER LAST WEEK DATA ANDERS ALBERTSON
Hometown: Woodstock, Ga.
Turned pro: 2015
Years at Georgia Tech: 2011-15
Status: PGA TourDid not play FedEx Cup points ranking: n/a
YTD earnings: n/a
Career earnings (PGAT): $512,187
Career earnings (KFT): $915,431 STEWART CINK
Hometown: Florence, Ala.
Residence: Duluth, Ga.
Turned pro: 1995
Years at Georgia Tech: 1991-95
Status: PGA Tour/PGA Tour ChampionsDid not play Schwab Cup points ranking: 17
YTD Earnings (Champions): $152,086
Career earnings (Champions): $620,725
FedEx Cup points ranking: 155
YTD earnings (PGA Tour): $67,645
Career earnings (PGA Tour): $43,526,864 WILL DICKSON
Hometown: Providence, R.I.
Residence: Atlanta, Ga.
Turned pro: 2021
Years at Georgia Tech: 2017-21
Status: Developmental toursGPro Tour
Sanctuary Championship
T-10
67-71--138 (-6)GPro Points ranking: 18
YTD Earnings (GPro): $3,792
Career earnings (GPro): $58,699
Points ranking (KFT): 193
YTD earnings (KFT): $4,538
Points ranking (FET): 154
YTD earnings (FET): $2,571 DAVID DUVAL
Hometown: Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Residence: Denver, Colo.
Turned pro: 1993
Years at Georgia Tech: 1989-93
Status: PGA Tour ChampionsDid not play Schwab Cup Points ranking: 79
YTD earnings (Champions): $18,276
Career earnings (Champions): $311,556
Career earnings (PGAT): $18,983,931 J.T. GRIFFIN
Hometown: Wilson, N.C.
Residence: Marietta, Ga.
Turned pro: 2011
Years at Georgia Tech: 2007-11
Status: Korn Ferry TourDid not play Fortinet Cup points: n/a
YTD earnings (Canada): n/a
Career earnings (Canada): $29,836
Career earnings (KFT): $187,056 CHESSON HADLEY
Hometown: Raleigh, N.C.
Turned pro: 2010
Years at Georgia Tech: 2006-10
Status: PGA TourDid not play FedEx Cup points ranking: 114
YTD earnings: $191,297
Career earnings: $11,915,296 SHUN YAT HAK
Hometown: Hong Kong
Turned pro: 2013
Years at Georgia Tech: 2012-13
Status: PGA Tour ChinaDid not play Fortinet Cup points: n/a
YTD earnings: n/a
Career earnings: ¥251,305 PAUL HALEY II
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
Turned pro: 2011
Years at Georgia Tech: 2007-11
Status: PGA TourDid not play FedEx Cup points: 202
YTD earnings (PGA Tour): $9,160
KFT points ranking: 119
YTD earnings: n/a
Career earnings (PGAT): $837,353
Career earnings (KFT): $1,078,795 CONNOR HOWE
Hometown: Ogden, Utah
Residence: Atlanta, Ga.
Turned pro: 2023
Years at Georgia Tech: 2018-23
Status: PGA Tour CanadaDid not play KFT points ranking: 146
YTD earnings (KFT): $4,050
Fortinet Cup points ranking: n/a
YTD earnings (Canada): $n/a MATT KUCHAR
Hometown:
Lake Mary, Fla.
Residence: Sea Island, Ga.
Turned pro: 2000
Years at Georgia Tech: 1997-2000
Status: PGA TourDid not play FedEx Cup points ranking: 175
YTD earnings: $70,125
Career earnings (PGAT): $58,828,816 LARRY MIZE
Residence: Columbus, Ga.
Turned pro: 1980
Years at Georgia Tech: 1975-79
Status: PGA Tour ChampionsDid not play Schwab Cup points ranking: n/a
YTD earnings: n/a
Career earnings (Champions): $5,154,323
Career earnings (PGAT): $7,947,092 NOAH NORTON
Hometown: Chico, Calif.
Residence: Atlanta, Ga.
Turned pro: 2021
Years at Georgia Tech: 2017-21
Status: Developmental toursDid not play Points ranking (GPro): n/a
YTD earnings (GPro): n/a ANDY OGLETREE
Hometown: Little Rock, Miss.
Residence: Roswell, Ga.
Turned pro: 2020
Years at Georgia Tech: 2016-20
Status: Asian TourDid not play LIV standings: 46
YTD earnings (LIV): $476,625
Order of Merit (Asian Tour): 52
YTD earnings (Asian Tour): $20,300
YTD earnings (LIV): n/a
Career earnings (LIV): $1,038,250 CHRIS PETEFISH
Hometown: Danville, Calif.
Turned pro: 2018
Years at Georgia Tech: 2014-18
Status: Korn Ferry TourDid not play KFT Points ranking: 123
YTD earnings (KFT): $5,850
Career earnings (KFT): $328,065
Career earnings (PGA Tour Canada): $21,118 SETH REEVES
Hometown: Duluth, Ga.
Turned pro: 2014
Years at Georgia Tech: 2010-14
Status: Korn Ferry TourDid not play KFT points ranking: 112
YTD earnings: $13,250
Career earnings (PGAT): $649,622
Career earnings (KFT): $639,368 LUKE SCHNIEDERJANS
Hometown: Powder Springs, Ga.
Residence: Alpharetta, Ga.
Turned pro: 2020
Years at Georgia Tech: 2016-20
Status: MacKenzie Tour/Forme TourDid not play Fortinet Cup points: n/a
YTD earnings (Canada): n/a
Career earnings (Canada): $46,844 OLLIE SCHNIEDERJANS
Hometown: Powder Springs, Ga.
Turned pro: 2015
Years at Georgia Tech: 2011-15
Status: Korn Ferry TourDid not play KFT Points ranking: n/a
YTD earnings: n/a
Career earnings (KFT): $553,500
Career earnings (PGAT): $3,879,653 BEN SMITH
Hometown: Novi, Mich.
Residence: Atlanta, Ga.
Turned pro: 2022
Years at Georgia Tech: 2018-22
Status: developmental toursDid not play GPro points ranking: 6
YTD earnings: $2,595 ROSS STEELMAN
Hometown: Columbia, Mo.
Residence: Atlanta, Ga.
Turned pro: 2023
Years at Georgia Tech: 2021-23
Status: Korn Ferry TourDid not play KFT points ranking: 18
YTD earnings: $85,619
Career earnings (KFT): $109,740 TYLER STRAFACI
Hometown: Davie, Fla.
Residence: Davie, Fla.
Turned pro: 2020
Years at Georgia Tech: 2016-20
Status: noneDid not play Fortinet Cup points: T-47
YTD earnings (Canada): n/a
Career earnings (PGAT Americas): $45,681
YTD earnings (GPro Tour): $1,112
Career earnings (PGA Tour): $21,111
Career earnings (Canada): $12,970 NICHOLAS THOMPSON
Hometown: Coral Springs, Fla.
Turned pro: 2005
Years at Georgia Tech: 2001-05
Status: Korn Ferry TourDid not play KFT points ranking: n/a
YTD earnings: n/a
Career earnings (KFT): $922,294
Career earnings (PGAT): $5,729,551 CAMERON TRINGALE
Hometown: Laguna Niguel, Calif.
Turned pro: 2009
Years at Georgia Tech: 2005-09
Status: LIV Golf/Asian TourDid not play LIV standings: 40
YTD Earnings (LIV): $747,000
YTD earnings (Asian Tour): n/a
Career earnings (LIV): $7,018,898
Career earnings (PGAT): $17,310,004 RICHY WERENSKI
Hometown: South Hadley, Mass.
Turned pro: 2014
Years at Georgia Tech: 2011-14
Status: Korn Ferry TourDid not play FedEx Cup points ranking: 162
KFT points ranking: 21
YTD earnings (KFT): $56,680
YTD earnings (PGA Tour): $57,000
Career earnings (KFT): $508,233
Career earnings (PGAT): $6,756,075 VINCENT WHALEY
Hometown: McKinney, Texas
Residence: Alpharetta, Ga.
Turned pro: 2017
Years at Georgia Tech: 2013-17
Status: PGA TourDid not play FedEx Cup points ranking: 139
YTD earnings (PGA Tour): $102,780
Career earnings (PGA Tour): $2,748,589
Korn Ferry Tour points ranking: 119
YTD earnings (KFT): $20,415
Career earnings (KFT): $263,392