Georgia Tech #ProJackets Golf Report

THE FLATS – Matt Kuchar gets runner-up finish as four Jackets play the weekend at Valero Texas Open … Stewart Cink and Larry Mize repping Tech in The Masters this week … Will Dickson gets Korn Ferry tee time and makes the cut in Savannah … More details below in this week’s Georgia Tech #ProJackets Report.

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CINK AND MIZE CARRY TECH BANNER AT THE MASTERS

Georgia Tech is always present at The Masters in some form. From the memory of Bobby Jones as the founder of the event to Larry Mize’s thrilling chip-in to win the 1987 Masters over Greg Norman.

Mize is back this year for his 39^th appearance as a former champion, and Stewart Cink made the field for the 20^th time based on his victory at the RBC Heritage last spring.

Cink enters his 20th Masters coming off his finest season on the PGA Tour in more than a decade. With his son Reagan on the bag, Cink, 48, captured his first victory since the 2009 Open Championship at the 2020 Safeway Open, earning an invitation to last year’s Masters, where he finished T12. His spot in the 2022 Tournament already secured, Cink won the following week at Hilton Head for his eighth career PGA Tour victory. Father and son are both graduates of Georgia Tech, and Stewart resides in the Atlanta area. His best Masters finish was a T3 in 2008.

• Golfweek: How Stewart Cink preps to play the Augusta National greens

Augusta native Mize won the 1987 Masters in unforgettable fashion by chipping in from 140 feet on No. 11, the second playoff hole, to prevail over Greg Norman after Seve Ballesteros had been eliminated on the first extra hole. Mize, 63, opened the 2020 Masters with a 2-under 70, his lowest round at the Masters since 2009. He is making his 39th appearance as a competitor. As a teenager, he worked the leader board at the third hole.

• Mize nearing the end of Masters’ run as famous chip will never be duplicated – Atlanta Journal-Constitution
• Matt Kuchar to miss Masters Tournament for first time since 2009 – Flurry Sports

35 years ago: One of the most iconic finishes in Masters history. Mize, an Augusta native, was four years removed from his last win and found himself in a sudden-death playoff with two legends of the game, Greg Norman and Ballesteros. On the first extra hole, Ballesteros fell out of the playoff by three-putting. So the second time around, Norman, one year after completing the “Saturday Slam,” stood in the way of Mize’s dream. But on the par-4 11th, that dream would come true as Mize holed a 140-foot chip for birdie, throwing his club in the air and running in circles as Norman watched in disbelief.

Masters: Larry Mize on 1987 winning chip – ‘it looked good, I was just frozen watching it’ https://t.co/4T3K4bevPj pic.twitter.com/RIo1gO97V2

— Scotty Dog Golf Ltd (@scottydoggolf) April 4, 2022

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KUCHAR FINISHES RUNNER-UP AT VALERO TEXAS OPEN

Four Yellow Jackets played the weekend at the Valero Texas Open last weekend in San Antonio, and Matt Kuchar made a strong bid to capture his 10^th PGA Tour win but fell a couple of strokes short.

Making his 500^th career PGA Tour start, Kuchar instead posted the 14^th runner-up finish of his career, posting an 11-under-par score of 277 to tie for second two strokes behind winner J.J. Spaun. The performance elevated him 60 spots to No. 44 in the FedEx Cup points standings for 2021-22.

Without a victory since the last Masters Tournament and sitting outside the top 50 in the Official World Ranking, however, Kuchar needed to win in San Antonio to earn an invitation to the year’s first major tournament. Kuchar had competed in the last 12 Masters and in 49 of the last 50 major tournaments.

Outside of Kuchar, Vincent Whaley helped himself the most in terms of FedEx Cup ranking, tying for 29^th place at 6-under-par 282, finishing strong with an eagle at the 18^th hole for a final-round 69. He sits No. 99 in the FedEx Cup standings.

Richy Werenski tied for 48^th place, and Chesson Hadley tied for 53^rd in San Antonio. After missing the cut in six straight events, Werenski has now made the cut in three of his last four, finishing as high as 21^st at the Valspar Championship.

Not in the masters field this week, Whaley, Werenski and Hadley have the week off and will return to action next week at the RBC Heritage.

PGA Tour Leaderboard

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DICKSON MAKES BANK IN FIRST KORN FERRY START

Will Dickson paced the field at Monday qualifying, carding 7-under 65 at Forest Heights CC, to secure a tee time for last week’s Club Car Championship in Savannah, Ga. He made good on the chance, making the cut and tying for 31^st place overall (3-under-par 285) to earn his first Korn ferry Tour check.

Dickson, who resides in Atlanta, is playing his first full season as a professional golfer, having made history in Rhode Island by winning four consecutive high school state titles before coming to Georgia Tech.

Anders Albertson, who sits 56^th in Korn Ferry Tour points, and Paul Haley II, at No. 15, both missed the cut.

Korn Ferry Tour leaderboard

Will Dickson Vaults 15 Spots to Finish 31st in Korn Ferry Tour Debut https://t.co/4czGUrJaMT @will_dicksongt #golfnewsri

— GolfNewsRI (@golf_ri) April 3, 2022

UPCOMING EVENTS

• PGA Tour:  The Masters Tournament • April 7-10, 2022 • Augusta National Golf Club • Augusta, Ga. • Purse: n/a • FedEx Cup points: 600
• Korn Ferry Tour:  Veritex Bank Championship • April 13-16, 2022 • Texas Rangers Golf Club • Arlington, Texas • Purse: $750,000
• PGA Tour Champions:  Clubcorp Classic • April 22-24, 2022 • Los Colinas Country Club • Irving, Texas • Purse: $2,000,000
• PGA Tour Canada:  Q-School USA West 2 • April 5-8, 2022 • Soboba Springs Golf Club • San Jacinto, Calif. • Purse: tba
• All Pro Tour:  Gateway Buick GMC Classic • April 12-15, 2022 • Bridges at Firewheel • Garland, Texas • Purse: $130,000
• G Pro Tour:  Sanctuary Open • April 12-14, 2022 • Sanctuary Golf Club • Waverly, Ga.
• SwingThought Tour:  ST2 Rivertowne Country Club • April 13-14, 2022 • Rivertowne Country Club • Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
• Florida Elite Golf Tour:  Florida Elite Tour Championship • April 4-5, 2022 • Golden Bear Club at Keenes Pointe • Windermere, Fla. • Purse: $15,000/1^st place

#PROJACKETS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

“Did you hear about the story?” @StewartCink recaps one of the more unexpected surprises of the 2021 #RBCHeritage.

(Hint: Get your 🧢’s while you still can!) pic.twitter.com/Ngta59cWMN

— RBC Heritage (@RBC_Heritage) March 29, 2022

Fighting for the weekend.@Seth_Reeves buries it from the bunker ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/fOmcmyxTjO

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 1, 2022

Lying to @TigerWoods @andy_ogletree did it…at @TheMasters… in Butler Cabin of all places…

A freaking story for the ages @MattAdamsFoL 👇🤣 pic.twitter.com/e3JEAFOi6I

— Domenic Scarano (@DomFOL) March 2, 2022

Master Tip 1️⃣: from a pro golfer: Get the putt started on line. #TylersGolfTips #Golf #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/b8HG1k6Las

— EarthLink (@EarthLink) April 4, 2022

Got to Augusta last night. Looking forward to my work this week with @westwood1sports

Feeling bad for friends and patrons with tickets for Tuesday and Wednesday. The weather, she don’t look so good. But you never know….

Have a great week everybody!!!!

— Charlie Rymer (@CharlieRymerPGA) April 4, 2022

So cool to be in full production on Season 2 of #charlierymergolfshow !

New shows coming soon!!!!!

KP you ROCK!!!!!! Really enjoyed our time together. https://t.co/aBruGcF8tZ

— Charlie Rymer (@CharlieRymerPGA) March 31, 2022

David Duval. Through the years. pic.twitter.com/IyCyzTVUEQ

— GOLFTV (@GOLFTV) March 31, 2022