Georgia Tech #ProJackets Golf Report

THE FLATS – Stewart Cink qualifies for U.S. Open, joins Matt Kuchar and Paul Haley II in field … Haley qualifies for U.S. Open and earns top-5 PGA Tour finish in the same week … Cink finishes third in his PGA Tour Champions debut … Andy Ogletree and Cameron Tringale finish in top 10 of LIV Golf DC event … Professional plans for Ross Steelman and Connor Howe set through PGA Tour University ranking … More details below in this week’s Georgia Tech #ProJackets Report.

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CINK JOINS KUCHAR, HALEY II IN U.S. OPEN FIELD

Eleven current and former Georgia Tech golfers competed at six different sites Monday to qualify for the 123^rd U.S. Open, but only PGA Tour veteran Stewart Cink same away with one of the coveted spots by tying for third place at the final qualifying event in Columbus, Ohio.

A day after tying for 60^th place at The Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio, Cink claimed one of the 11 spots available at Brookside Golf & Country Club and The Lakes Golf & Country Club. The eight-time PGA Tour winner posted rounds of 68-67 and made it through with a stroke to spare at 9-under-par 135.

The 50-year-old Cink, who made his PGA Tour Champions debut two weeks ago, will play in his 24^th U.S. Open. Cink was among 45 players trying to qualify for the U.S. Open, to be played June 15-18 at Los Angeles Country Club. Roughly 45 percent of the 156-man field have to qualify.

“I just love playing in majors,” said Cink, a former British Open champion. “I’m a one-trick pony, and you can’t be a one-trick pony if you can’t do your trick. I’ll keep trying to qualify forever.”

Cink joined Matt Kuchar, who qualified as one of the top 60 in the Official World Golf Ranking, and Paul Haley II, who made it through a final qualifier in Dallas, Texas a week ago.

Of the former Yellow Jackets not to qualify, PGA Tour pro and 2017 graduate Vincent Whaley came the closest, missing by one stroke at Springfield, Ohio, where five spots were available. Chesson Hadley (Durham, N.C), Andy Ogletree (Ball Ground, Ga.), Cameron Tringale (Summit, N.J.) and Richy Werenski (Toronto, Ontario) also did not qualify.

Browse U.S. Open final qualifying results

Stewart Cink has earned another trip to the U.S. Open at age 50. Cink first qualified for the U.S. Open in 1996. He turned 50 a month ago and loves playing the majors so much he says he’ll trying to… https://t.co/sLUyExS4uV

— Regional_News (@LG_Regionalnews) June 6, 2023

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HALEY QUALIFIES FOR U.S. OPEN, EARNS CAREER-HIGH FINISH ON PGA TOUR

Dallas, Texas, native and sponsor exemption Paul Haley II, who sat T96 after an opening-round 73, followed with rounds of 68-66-67 and posted his career-best result, a tie for fifth place at 6-under-par at the Charles Schwab Challenge. It was his 39^th start on the PGA Tour (previous best: T12/2022 Fortinet Championship). Haley recorded seven birdies in the final round, the most by any player

Haley’s performance at the Charles Schwab event came just days after the 2011 ACC Champion successfully qualified via Sectional Qualifying for the 2023 U.S. Open on Monday.

Charles Schwab Challenge leaderboard

Paul Haley II with a fantastic birdie chip in on 13 at the @CSchallengeFW! 💥

(via @PGATOUR, CBS)pic.twitter.com/vId6prLHbt

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) May 28, 2023

It was quite a week for @PaulHaleyGolf – Qualified for @usopengolf Monday, birdied 7 holes in his final round (including this hole-out) to finish 5th at Charles Schwab Challengehttps://t.co/sWt05Zm3Km

— Georgia Tech Golf (@GTGolf) May 29, 2023

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CINK FINISHES 3RD IN CHAMPIONS TOUR DEBUT

Stewart Cink turned 50 on Sunday and made his debut on PGA TOUR Champions at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Fields Ranch East in Frisco, Texas, where he finished third.

It was an easy decision for Cink, an eight-time winner on the PGA TOUR. He wasn’t qualified for this week’s Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, some 47 miles away via State Highway 121. So why not see a new course and some old, familiar faces?

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Cink said Tuesday. “The pro-am today was the first time I’ve seen this course and it’s amazing. I’m really impressed. It’s set up well and I think it will be a fun challenge. It’s kind of Erin Hills-ish. I’d say it’s a cross between Southern Hills and Erin Hills. Call it Southern Erin.”

The course is new, so everyone will be getting a first look. What Cink is more familiar with is the competition, albeit a little while since he has seen many of them.

He has kept in touch with the likes of friends Billy Andrade, Joe Durant and David Toms, but they haven’t come across each other on the course in a handful of years.

“Some of these guys have been my buddies forever, so to be able to play practice rounds with them and have lunch and sit around and talk, that’s gonna be awesome,” Cink said. “I just can’t overstate how much joy there is in being able to have a sunset in your career like this one.

“I still like to grind, I still like to play and compete, the daily pursuit of being my best. But this grind is different. It’s more jovial. The PGA TOUR has become such a business.”

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KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship leaderboard

Shot of the day 👏@stewartcink aces No. 13 at the @seniorpgachamp 🎯 pic.twitter.com/AKOJZ3k8mO

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) May 27, 2023

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OGLETREE, TRINGALE BOTH FINISH TOP 10 IN LIV D.C. EVENT

Andy Ogletree and Cameron Tringale each turned in career-high finishes in their LIV Golf tenures when the series played in Washington, D.C., last week. Ogletree tied for sixth place with a 7-under-par score of 209 at Trump National Golf Club, and Tringale tied for ninth place at 6-under-par 210.

Ogletree, a two-time winner in the Asian Tour’s International Series, will next compete in that series in August in the United Kingdom. He picked up a $613K check, while Tringale has earned nearly $3 million in 2023.

LIV Golf leaderboard

 

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DICKSON TIES FOR FIFTH ON GPRO TOUR

Will Dickson finished in solo fifth place last week at the Kannapolis Open at The Club at Irish Creek in North Carolina. Dickson finished at 14-under for the tournament, three shots behind winner Matt Sharpstene.

The former Moses Brown star fired rounds of 65, 66 and 68 in the three-day event. For his efforts, Dickson took home just over $4,000.

Dickson got off to a hot start in round three, birding four of the first six-holes. He made three straight birdies from holes four to six. However, the rest of the round was a rollercoaster. Dickson bogeyed the ninth to turn at three-under par.

On the back side, he bogeyed the 11th hole, birdied the 13th, bogeyed the 16 and birdied the 17th to shoot 68.

It was Dickson’s second straight top-5 finish on the GPro circuit, having tied for second at the Huntsville Open a month earlier.

GPro Leaderboard

Will Dickson Finishes 5th at G-Pro Tour’s Kannapolis Open https://t.co/DWuY7kRjMe #golfnewsri

— GolfNewsRI (@golf_ri) June 3, 2023

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STEELMAN FINISHES 4^TH IN FINAL PGA TOUR UNIVERSITY RANKING

Ross Steelman capped his collegiate career with a T2 finish at the 2023 NCAA Championship, where he held the 18-, 36-, and 54-hole leads, and finished No. 4 in the final PGA Tour University rankings. The finish earned him fully exempt Korn Ferry Tour membership for 2023, as well as an exemption to final stage of 2023 PGA Tour Q-School, where the top five finishers and ties earn PGA TOUR cards, and the ability to accept unlimited PGA TOUR sponsor exemptions for the remainder of 2023 and 2024.

Steelman delivered the winning point in both rounds of match play at the 2023 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship, helping Georgia Tech win its first conference title since 2019, and the clinching point in the Jackets’ semifinal win over North Carolina at the NCAA Championship.

Steelman played two and a half seasons at his hometown University of Missouri (2019-21) and two seasons at Georgia Tech (2021-23), earning both his collegiate wins and a 2021 All-Southeastern Conference Second Team honor at Missouri, and a 2023 All-ACC honor at Georgia Tech. He qualified for match play at the U.S. Amateur in 2021 and 2022.

Meanwhile, Connor Howe was No. 18 in the final PGA Tour University ranking, which solidified his status on PGA Tour Canada for 2023, for which he had already qualified in April. The All-ACC performer earned fully exempt membership on PGA Tour Canada for 2023, as well as an exemption to second stage of 2023 PGA Tour Q-School, and conditional status through the Latin America Swing of the 2024 PGA Tour Americas season.

Both players earned their bachelor’s degrees from Tech on May 5.

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That winning moment 🏆@GTGolf | #ACCMGOLF pic.twitter.com/yO5s60evbD

— The ACC (@theACC) April 24, 2023

UPCOMING EVENTS

• PGA Tour:  RBC Canadian Open • June 8-11, 2023 • Oakdale Golf & Country Club • Toronto, Ontario • Purse: $9M • FedEx Cup points: 500
• Korn Ferry Tour:  BMW Charity Pro-Am • June 8-11, 2023 • Thornblade Club • Greer, S.C. • Purse: $1M
• PGA Tour Champions:  American Family Insurance Championship • June 9-11, 2023 • University Ridge Golf Club • Madison, Wis. • Purse: $2.4M
• PGA Tour Canada:  Qualifying Tournament USA Canada • June 6-9, 2023 • Crown Isle Resort & Golf Club • Courtenay, British Columbia
• Asian Tour:  International Series England • August 17-20, 2023 • Colt House • United Kingdom • Purse: $2M
• LIV Golf Series: Valderrama, Spain • June 30-July 2, 2023 • Real Club Valderrama • Valderrama, Spain • Purse: $25M
• G Pro Tour:  Colonial Classic • June 13-15, 2023 • Colonial Country Club • Thomasville, N.C. • Purse: $66,525

#PROJACKETS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

 

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A win in his hometown.@chessonhadley earned his first #KornFerryTour win at the 2013 @UNCHealthChamp, helping propel him to earning his @PGATOUR card.#TOURVault pic.twitter.com/cYM2dhBYeK

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) May 31, 2023

Happy 40th anniversary @CMNHospitals! You ROCK!!!! Join me in supporting children’s hospitals and the 12 million kids treated every year. #ChangeKidsHealth #ChangeTheFuture pic.twitter.com/Tdrhnj0q3L

— Charlie Rymer (@CharlieRymerPGA) June 1, 2023

32 years today married to this amazing lady. It’s been an amazing adventure. I love you Saint Carol. pic.twitter.com/eOt2pdfxKQ

— Charlie Rymer (@CharlieRymerPGA) June 1, 2023