Georgia Tech #ProJackets Golf Report

THE FLATS – Stewart Cink, Matt Kuchar and Tyler Strafaci reppin’ the Yellow Jackets this week at Torrey Pines … Chesson Hadley disappointed in late slide at Congaree but puts himself in position to make FedEx Playoffs … Seth Reeves and Paul Haley II keep rolling on the Korn Ferry Tour, remain in top 25 … More below in this week’s Georgia Tech #ProJackets Report.

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CINK, KUCHAR, STRAFACI COMPETING IN U.S. OPEN

Georgia Tech’s two most veteran PGA Tour pros, Stewart Cink and Matt Kuchar, and its most recently-turned-pro alumnus, Tyler Strafaci, are in the 156-player field to compete in the 121^st United States Open Championship which begins Thursday at Torrey Pines Golf Club in San Diego, Calif.

Cink earned his first U.S. Open start since 2017 by winning twice this year on the PGA Tour, the Safeway Open last fall and the RBC Heritage this spring. The 47-year-old Cink is making his 21^st U.S. Open start overall, and has come the closest to victory at the U.S. Open of any Yellow Jacket since Bobby Jones with his third-place finish in 2001. He tied for 14^th at Torrey Pines in 2008.

Kuchar, currently 96^th in the FedEx Cup race for 2021, makes his 19^th U.S. Open start, getting into the field by coming in among the top 60 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Having tied for sixth in 2010 for his best effort, Kuchar tied for 48^th the last time the U.S. Open was held at Torrey Pines.

Strafaci is in the field by winning the 2020 U.S. Amateur Championship, the second straight year a Yellow Jacket has accomplished that. It is his second U.S. Open start after having qualified for the 2018 championship at Shinnecock Hills Golf club, where he missed the cut. Strafaci made the cut in his first PGA Tour start as a pro two weeks ago at the Memorial.

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HEART-BREAKING FINISH FOR HADLEY AT CONGAREE

Since his victory at the 2014 Puerto Rico Open as a rookie, Chesson Hadley has had runner-up finishes in the fall of 2017 and 2018 but had failed to notch up a top-10 in 2020 or 2021 when he turned up at Congaree. In fact, he’d missed 12 of his last 14 cuts, including the last five straight.

So to say his four-shot 54-hole lead at the Palmetto Championship at Congaree was a surprise was certainly an understatement. A couple of early fourth round bogeys could’ve been early killers, but Hadley battled on and through 15 holes he found himself with a two-shot lead and on the verge of a drought breaking win. But he bogeyed the final three holes to erase a two-stroke lead in finish with a 75 and a tie for second place at 10-under-par.

• Chesson Hadley on closing 75 at Congaree (Golf Channel)
• Hot putting has Georgia Tech grad Hadley in lead at Congaree Golf Club

Still, Hadley made a 40-spot jump in the FedEx Cup points standings to No. 111 and had a chance to secure a spot in the playoffs come August with some continued good play. His next start will be the Travelers Championship in two weeks.

Hadley was the only one of four Yellow Jackets – Vincent Whaley, Richy Werenski and Roberto Castro also competed – in the field to make the cut at Congaree.

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REEVES, HALEY CONTINUE TO ROLL ON KORN FERRY TOUR

Seth Reeves and Paul Haley II each logged another strong performance on the Korn Ferry Tour at last weekend’s BMW Charity Pro-Am in South Carolina and held their positions inside the top 25 of the tour’s points standings, keeping them in position to earn PGA Tour cards as the regular season heads into its final seven events.

Reeves posted a tie for 13^th with a 16-under-par score of 269 to remain 21^st in points, while Haley tied for 20^th at 15-under-par 270 to hold at 22^nd. Ollie Schniederjans also tied for 20^th to stay at No. 39.

After missing 14 cuts in 27 events around a win and a third-place finish, Reeves has begun to play more consistently, making four straight cuts with only two rounds over 70 in his last 16. Since February, Haley has made 10 cuts in 12 events with four finishes of 11^th or better.

They move on to this week’s Wichita Open along with Anders Albertson and Nicholas Thompson, who missed the cut last weekend. Chris Petefish, who has partial status on the Forme Tour (U.S.-based series for Canadian Tour members), received an exemption into the Wichita Open, while Luke Schniederjans earned one of eight spots available through Monday qualifying (survived a 5-for-1 playoff) and will compete alongside them.

In related news, the Korn Ferry Tour announced that its purses are set to increase over the next two years, reaching $1 million by 2023.

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ELSEWHERE

Larry Mize tied for 48^th (218, +2) at last weekend’s American Family Insurance Championship in Madison, Wis., remaining at No. 67 in the Charles Schwab Cup.

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#PROJACKETS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

What did Chesson Hadley do after ‘giant dumpster fire’ finish at Palmetto Championship? He went to Bojangles. https://t.co/xWZsNRYGE5

— Golfweek (@golfweek) June 14, 2021

Couple things:

Giant dumpster fire of a finish yesterday. Not worried about it. I’m better for it. I’ll do better next time.

It’s time to put to bed the name “Nana” for my putter. It sounds terrible.

Had @Bojangles on the way home yesterday. It’s way better than bogeys.

— Chesson Hadley (@chessonhadley) June 14, 2021

Chris Petefish tees it up next week at KFT Wichita Open benefiting KU Wichita Pediatrics. Thank you ⁦@Korn_Ferry⁩ for giving Chris this opportunity. It will be great to be back at Crestview CC!! ⁦@GTGolf⁩ pic.twitter.com/pCTY3kk2yy

— Course of Action Golf (@jrgolfplanners) June 10, 2021

The Course Record show is on Apple Podcasts – SUBSCRIBE – On Ep. 3 we talk to Jane Geddes about playing golf in a bubble, how to be successful in many walks of life, and what working at the @WWE is like! https://t.co/eo2LUUKqxa

— Roberto Castro (@cicioCASTRO) June 12, 2021

Enjoying the podcast @cicioCASTRO is doing. Cool insight into the business side of golf. Check out The Course Record Show pic.twitter.com/U4HYRJm6Yf

— Andy Ogletree (@andy_ogletree) June 11, 2021

.@CharlieRymerPGA is going solo on this episode of Balls in the Air! He sat down to give us his hot takes on:
– U.S. Women’s Open
– The Memorial Tournament
– Golf in general

Listen ➡️https://t.co/2NQPMze3Eu#BallsintheAir #MyrtleBeachGolf

— Myrtle Beach Golf (@MyrtleBeachGolf) June 9, 2021

UPCOMING EVENTS

• PGA Tour:  U.S. Open • June 17-20, 2021 • Torrey Pines Golf Course (South) • San Diego, Calif. • Purse: TBD
• Korn Ferry Tour:  Wichita Open • June 17-20, 2021 • Crestview Country Club • Wichita, Kan. • Purse: $600,000
• PGA Tour Champions:  Bridgestone Senior Players Championship • June 24-27, 2021 • Firestone Country Club • Akron, Ohio • Purse: $3,000,000
• Forme Tour:  L&J Golf Championship at Jennings Mill • June 23-26, 2021 • Jennings Mill Country Club • Athens, Ga. • Purse: $115,000
• All Pro Tour:  Supreme Lending Championship • June 16-19, 2021 • Indian Springs Golf Club • Broken Arrow, Okla. • Purse: $130,000
• G Pro Tour:  Greensboro Open • June 15-17, 2021 • Bryan Park Golf Club • Greensboro, N.C. • Purse: $72,100
• SwingThought Tour:  ST 30 Tanglewood • June 16-18, 2021 • Tanglewood Golf Club • Winston-Salem, N.C.

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