THE FLATS – Matt Kuchar and Paul Haley II post strong starts to the PGA Tour season at the Fortinet Championship … J.T. Griffin and Tyler Strafaci, who just finished their 2022 seasons in Canada, tee it up in first stage of Korn Ferry Tour Q-School … More details below in this week’s Georgia Tech #ProJackets Report.
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HALEY II, KUCHAR START 2022-23 PGA TOUR SEASON STRONG
All seven of Georgia Tech’s PGA Tour members were in the field this week as the Tour began its 2022-23 season with the Fortinet Championship in Napa, Calif. Only two Yellow Jackets, Paul Haley II and Matt Kuchar, survived to the weekend but both finished tied for 12th place to begin the season in strong fashion.
Haley, making is first PGA Tour start since the Wyndham Championship in 2013, earned nearly twice the amount for his career-best finish ($140,667) as he did over 18 starts that season on the Tour. On Saturday, he recorded a 6-under 66, his career-low round (round recap here) in his 20th PGA TOUR start. He went a span of 3,315 days (9 years, 28 days) between the end of his last TOUR start (Sunday, August 18, 2013) and round one of the Fortinet Championship.
By contrast, Kuchar played the 510th event of his 23-year PGA Tour career, making the cut in 370 of those, and finishing in the top 25 in 213 of those, and went over the $55 million mark in career earnings. He ranks ninth all-time in official money on the PGA Tour.
Stewart Cink, the 2020 champion at this event, missed the cut along with Anders Albertson, Chesson Hadley, Richy Werenski and Vincent Whaley. The Tour takes this week off to conduct the Presidents Cup in Charlotte, N.C., and resumes next week with the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Miss.
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FATHER-SON CADDIE DUO OF STEWART AND REAGAN CINK CALL IT A DAY
As Stewart Cink made his way to the practice tee at the Fortinet Championship, he confirmed a change to begin the 2022-23 PGA Tour season – son Reagan is off the bag.
“He threw in his Jani-King towel,” Stewart Cink cracked.
It was here at Silverado Resort’s North Course that son Reagan subbed as his dad’s caddie at the 2020 edition of the tournament formerly known as the Safeway Open and guided his old man to his first victory in more than nine years. A few tournaments later, at the RSM Classic that November, they made it official as a permanent relationship. At the time, Reagan, an industrial engineering graduate of Georgia Tech, put on hold a technology product management job with Delta Airlines.
👀👀 It’s true! But fear not he’ll be back @NBCSports for Prez Cup and beyond. What an experience having son @RCinkk caddy the past two years! I’ll cherish those memories forever! https://t.co/m6b0wPvEyU
— Stewart Cink (@stewartcink) September 14, 2022
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SCHNIEDERJANS, GRIFFIN, STRAFACI CLOSE OUT CANADIAN TOUR SEASON
Luke Schniederjans, J.T. Griffin and Tyler Strafaci were among the top 60 players in the Fortinet Cup standings who qualified to play in the Fortinet Cup Championship, which took place last weekend at Deer Ridge Golf Club in Kitchener, Ontario.
Strafaci led the Tech contingent by tying for 13th place at 1-under-par 279 and finished 49th in the Fortinet Cup points standings. Schniederjans tied for 29th place in the event (283, +3) and finished the season 29th in points, while J.T. Griffin tied for 47th place in the tournament, and landed in 45th place in points.
“Did we just become best friends?!”@TyStrafaci & @NRay34 will play together for the 3rd consecutive day on Sunday after posting identical rounds of 69, 67, 69. They’re both T6.@FortinetCupChmp 🏆🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/CgpZjDbHnX
— PGA TOUR Canada – Fortinet Cup (@PGATOURCanada) September 17, 2022
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TRINGALE TIES FOR 12TH IN SECOND LIV SERIES START
Cameron Tringale has tied for 21st (Boston) and 12th in his first two starts on the LIV Golf Series, earning more than $500,000 total. After reaching the second stage of the FedEx Cup playoffs this year on the PGA Tour and earning more than $3 million in the 2022-23 season, Tringale made the move to LIV following the conclusion of the Tour Championship.
In last weekend’s event at Rich Harvest Farms outside of Chicago, Tringale shot 5-under-par 211. The 2022 LIV series has three events left to play, in Bangkok (Oct. 7-9), Jeddah (Oct. 14-16) and Miami (Oct. 27-30).
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GRIFFIN, STRAFACI ATTEMPT TO ADVANCE IN KORN FERRY Q-SCHOOL
J.T. Griffin and Tyler Strafaci, who spent the 2022 season North of the border playing Canadian tour events, are both attempting this week to climb the arduous ladder of Korn Ferry Tour qualifying school by competing in first-stage events.
Strafaci is in the field at Crown Colony Golf Club in Fort Myers, Fla., while Griffin is competing at Magnolia Grove-Crossing in Semmes, Ala.
Q-school consists of three stages. Players advancing past the 72-hole first stage, which is conducted at 12 sites around the country in September, compete in another 72-hole competition at one of five sites in October, with the survivors coming together Nov. 4-7 in Savannah, Ga., for the final stage of qualifying.
Recent Tech graduates Will Dickson and Ben Smith both competed in their first stage qualifier last week in Kannapolis, N.C., neither able to advance. Smith tied for 48th place, while Dickson tied for 52nd, with only the top 26 moving on to the next stage.
Korn Ferry Tour qualifying schedule and leaderboards
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OGLETREE OPENS UP ON LIV GOLF EXPERIENCE
Andy Ogletree, the former U.S. Amateur champion who played in the first LIV Golf event in London, says he was at “rock bottom” in his pro career before teeing it up in the curtain raiser of the controversial series.
Ogletree, 24, hopped on the Fire Drill podcast with Alan Shipnuck and Ryan French to discuss life in the professional ranks so far and why he decided to play in the first LIV Golf Tour event despite a barrage of criticism at the time.
The 2019 U.S. Amateur champion said at the point he was approached by LIV he was “super frustrated with golf”. He was not advancing in qualifiers to get into PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour events. His woes were exacerbated by injury, too.
He said he was travelling all over the country playing mini tour events “just to make ends meet” and he understood that it was “on him” as he was simply not playing well enough. But it wasn’t what he envisioned when he turned professional.
UPCOMING EVENTS
- PGA Tour: Sanderson Farms Championship • September 29-October 2, 2022 • Country Club of Jackson • Jackson, Miss. • Purse: $7.9M • FedEx Cup points: 500
- Korn Ferry Tour: Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament • November 4-7, 2022 • Landings Club-Marshwood Course • Savannah, Ga. • Purse: $480,000
- PGA Tour Champions: Pure Insurance Championship • September 23-25, 2022 • Pebble Beach Golf Links • Monterey Peninsula, Calif. • Purse: $2.2M
- PGA Tour Canada: 2022 season concluded
- Asian Tour: International Series Morocco • November 3-6, 2022 • Royal Golf Dar Es Salam • Morocco • Purse: $1.5M
- LIV Golf Series: LIV Golf Invitational Bangkok • October 7-9, 2022 • Stonehill Golf Club • Purse: $20M
- G Pro Tour: Colonial Classic • October 4-6, 2022 • Colonial Country Club • Thomasville, N.C. • Purse: $66,525
#PROJACKETS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Happy New Year! 2022-2023 here we come. pic.twitter.com/0sXPw6s4vY
— Chesson Hadley (@chessonhadley) September 14, 2022
**New Episode** with Jeremy Stone of Titleist. Check out the full episode and subscribe if you enjoy it. #CRS #podcast #golfBiz https://t.co/nm0ePrY9Ic pic.twitter.com/SZ4ExJBZ5P
— Roberto Castro (@cicioCASTRO) September 13, 2022
ICYMI: Episodes 7 and 8 of the Charlie Rymer Golf Show air tomorrow at 8 A.M on ESPN 2! See what @CharlieRymerPGA gets into here: https://t.co/7nAFJIcy7l. #MyrtleBeachGolf pic.twitter.com/7nxnwGLUgR
— Myrtle Beach Golf (@MyrtleBeachGolf) September 17, 2022
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: 239
YTD earnings: $8,760
KFT points ranking: 126
YTD earnings (KFT): $14,525
Career earnings (PGAT): $556,905
Career earnings (KFT): $929,956 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: 9
YTD Earnings (Champions): $1,258,156
Career earnings (Champions): $1,726,795
FedEx Cup points ranking: 173
YTD earnings (PGA Tour): $378,476
Career earnings (PGA Tour): $43,905,340 WILL DICKSON
Hometown: Providence, R.I.
Residence: Atlanta, Ga.
Turned pro: 2021
Years at Georgia Tech: 2017-21
Status: Developmental toursDid not play GPro Points ranking: 20
YTD Earnings (GPro): $4,797
Career earnings (GPro): $59,704
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: 61
YTD earnings (Champions): $356,865
Career earnings (Champions): $650,155
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: 143
YTD earnings: $628,066
Career earnings: $12,352,126 SHUN YAT HAK
Hometown: Hong Kong
Turned pro: 2013
Years at Georgia Tech: 2012-13
Status: PGA Tour ChinaDid not play GPro Tour points ranking: n/a PAUL HALEY II
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
Turned pro: 2011
Years at Georgia Tech: 2007-11
Status: PGA TourDid not play FedEx Cup points: 204
YTD earnings (PGA Tour): $9,160
KFT points ranking: 203
YTD earnings (KFT): $9,160
Career earnings (PGAT): $837,353
Career earnings (KFT): $1,098,205 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: 159
YTD earnings (KFT): $32,406
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: 109
YTD earnings: $1,469,667
Career earnings (PGAT): $60,228,357 CHRISTO LAMPRECHT
Hometown: George, South Africa
Turned pro: 2024
Years at Georgia Tech: 2000-24
Status: Korn Ferry TourDid not play KFT points ranking: 140
YTD earnings: $42,504
Career earnings (KFT): $42,504 ANDY MAO
Hometown: Johns Creek, Ga.
Turned pro: 2024
Years at Georgia Tech: 2020-24
Status: developmental toursDid not play GPro points ranking: 72
YTD earnings: $1,215 LARRY MIZE
Residence: Columbus, Ga.
Turned pro: 1980
Years at Georgia Tech: 1975-79
Status: PGA Tour ChampionsDid not play Schwab Cup points ranking: 112
YTD earnings: $10,863
Career earnings (Champions): $5,166,866
Career earnings (PGAT): $7,947,092 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: 34
YTD earnings (LIV): $2,432,833
Order of Merit (Asian Tour): 52
YTD earnings (Asian Tour): $20,300
Career earnings (LIV): $3,543,875 CHRIS PETEFISH
Hometown: Danville, Calif.
Turned pro: 2018
Years at Georgia Tech: 2014-18
Status: Korn Ferry TourDid not play KFT Points ranking: 162
YTD earnings (KFT): $20,239
Career earnings (KFT): $342,455
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: 43
YTD earnings (KFT): $227,620
Career earnings (PGAT): $233,065
Career earnings (KFT): $859,183 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: 121
YTD earnings (Americas): $4,736
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: 100
YTD earnings: $85,403
Career earnings (KFT): $651,113
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: 39
YTD earnings: $6,976 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: 56
YTD earnings (KFT): $172,746
Career earnings (KFT): $196,867 TYLER STRAFACI
Hometown: Davie, Fla.
Residence: Davie, Fla.
Turned pro: 2020
Years at Georgia Tech: 2016-20
Status: noneDid not play Fortinet Cup points: 219
YTD earnings (Canada): $789
Career earnings (PGAT Americas): $45,681
YTD earnings (GPro Tour): $1,112
Career earnings (PGA Tour): $21,111
Career earnings (Canada): $12,970 CAMERON TRINGALE
Hometown: Laguna Niguel, Calif.
Turned pro: 2009
Years at Georgia Tech: 2005-09
Status: LIV Golf/Asian TourDid not play LIV standings: 28
YTD Earnings (LIV): $2,727,625
YTD earnings (Asian Tour): n/a
Career earnings (LIV): $9,599,325
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 KFT points ranking: 55
YTD earnings (KFT): $65,960
YTD earnings (PGA Tour): $57,000
Career earnings (KFT): $632,504
Career earnings (PGAT): $6,765,035 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: 103
YTD earnings (PGA Tour): $1,474,033
Career earnings (PGA Tour): $4,119,842
KFT points ranking: 107
YTD earnings (KFT): $206,369
Career earnings (KFT): $350,642