Georgia Tech #ProJackets Golf Report

THE FLATS – Cameron Tringale and Andy Ogletree are fan favorites in China … Richy Werenski, Vince Whaley and Paul Haley II all make the cut in Puerto Rico … Seth Reeves has his best Korn Ferry Tour finish in more than a year … more details below in this week’s Georgia Tech #ProJackets Report.

HONG KONG FEELING LIKE HOME FOR TRINGALE, OGLETREE

LIV Golf will be teeing off in China for the first time ever this week, but a handful of players on the Saudi-funded upstart tour will need no introduction.

Among them are Cameron Tringale, who has already reached fan-favorite status over in southeast Asia ahead of this week’s LIV Golf Hong Kong at Hong Kong Golf Club. Tringale has played in Malaysia numerous times, and the California native hasn’t been shy on the road.

“It’s very flattering, for one,” Tringale said on Thursday (local time) of the support he has received in the area. “I’m perplexed as to why there’s such popularity here. I’ve always enjoyed my trips here. I find the culture and the people just very friendly, so I try and reflect that when I’m here and say hello.

Andy Ogletree made a name for himself on the Asian Tour, picking up three titles during the International Series. He won at Egypt in 2022 and prevailed at Qatar and England in 2023, using his success on the tour as a jumping-off point to reach LIV.

“I’m super thankful for the Asian Tour and all that they provided for me, giving me somewhere to play, giving me somewhere to show the world what I can do,” Ogletree said. “To be on LIV Golf now is super rewarding, and I’m so thankful for the guys hitting next to me to push me every day to keep getting better and better.”

Hong Kong feeling like home for Cameron Tringale, Andy Ogletree#CameronTringale #AndyOgletreehttps://t.co/iezOWptYkn

— Gamebag Golf (@gamebag_golf) March 7, 2024

DUVAL FEELS LIKE HE’S A TWO-TIME MAJOR CHAMPION

Considering his affection for The PLAYERS, it’s perhaps no surprise which side of the ‘fifth major’ debate David Duval comes down on.

“Oh, it’s a major,” he insists. “There’s not a question in my mind about that. I mean, it is played on arguably the best tournament course in the world, it has the best field, the best depth, the biggest variance of conditions – to win that championship is a huge accomplishment.

“We all know it’s a major. Certainly, in my mind, I’m a two-time major champion, it’s as simple as that.”

The triumph landed Duval the single biggest payday of his career – a cheque for $900,000. He can’t help but laugh when it’s pointed out to him that this year’s champion will take home $4.5 million.

“I mean, we always played for a lot of money but, nowadays, the guys are playing for staggering amounts,” he says. “There’s obviously a lot of debate about where prize money is at and where it should be. That’s not really for me to say. But you know, when I won the money list in 1998, I earned just under $2.6 million. That’s less than you get for winning some tournaments now.

On the 25th anniversary of his @THEPLAYERS win, David Duval tells us:

🏆 Why the event is “certainly” a major
🐯 Why he wasn’t scared of peak Tiger
💰 His unusual worry about the $$ in the game

And that’s just for starters… https://t.co/l8vUUfMV8a

— bunkered (@BunkeredOnline) March 11, 2024

One of my favourite victories at the #ThePlayers …#DavidDuval in ‘99 with the two shot victory that took him past #TigerWoods as world no 1 on the same day his dad won on the Champions Tour.

A pretty good day.

pic.twitter.com/EJdlOvqTVj

— EatandSleepGolf (@EatandSleepGolf) March 11, 2024

OGLETREE BELIEVES HE AND HY-FLYERS ON THE VERGE OF GREAT THINGS

There are not many times in a professional golfer’s career when failing to win means popping open the champagne, but Andy Ogletree’s performance at the Hong Kong Open was one of those rare occasions.

The 25-year-old did not even finish in the top 10 when he broke open a bottle of bubbly last November, but coming 12th sealed last year’s International Series order of merit title, paving the way for him to join Phil Mickleson’s HyFlyers GC team.

Ogletree is back at Hong Kong Golf Club this week, as the team competition makes its debut in the city and said the Fanling course was “a special place” for him.

“Yeah, I’ve never been more excited to finish 12th in a golf tournament in my entire life,” he said. “This is the place that officially got me on to LIV Golf for this season, I’m happy to be back, and looking forward to the week for sure.”

More from South China Morning Post

A dream come true. 🙂@Andy_Ogletree grew up idolizing @PhilMickelson, now he’s playing for the captain of the HyFlyers. 🫡 pic.twitter.com/nx1c39ptGy

— HyFlyers GC (@HyFlyers_GC) March 5, 2024

COMPETITION ROUNDUP FROM LAST WEEKEND

PGA Tour

All three Yellow Jackets to tee it up in Puerto Rico last week made the cut and played on the weekend. Vince Whaley and Richy Werenski each tied for 18^th place at 13-under-par 275, with Whaley moving up to No. 134 on the FedEx Cup points standings.

Werenski, who has conditional status on the PGA Tour made his 2024 debut after competing in three Korn Ferry Tour events. Paul Haley II also made his 2024 debut after playing two Korn Ferry Tour events and tied for 58^th.

Matt Kuchar and Chesson Hadley represent Georgia Tech in The Players Championship this weekend in Ponte Vedra, Fla.

PGA Tour leaderboard

*****

Korn Ferry Tour

Seth Reeves and Connor Howe both made the cut at last weekend’s Astara Chile Classic in Santiago, Reeves tying for 39^th place and How tying for 66^th. Reeves posted his best finish since a tie for 31^st in February of 2023 with a 9-under-par score of 279 that included a closing 65. Howe has made the cut in successive weeks.

Ross Steelman, who took last weekend off and sits No. 14 in the Korn Ferry Tour points standings, and Chris Petefish did not advance to the weekend.

The tour takes this week off before resuming in Savannah, Ga., Apr. 4-7.

Korn Ferry Tour leaderboard

*****

PGA Tour Champions

An uncharacteristic sloppy finish at the Cologuard Classic by the usually steady Stewart Cink awoke a host of contenders behind him on Sunday, reigniting a frenzied race for the famed Conquistador helmet that has been awarded to the winner in Tucson since 1968.

With a door newly opened after Cink made a staggering triple-bogey 7 at the par-4 13th – where Cink deposited a wedge approach from the fairway into the desert – Joe Durant was the man to step through, shooting 4-under 67 to finish at 13-under 200, collecting his first PGA TOUR Champions title since 2021.

Cink, at 50, a relative newcomer to the PGA TOUR Champions, recently became a grandparent for the first time, but he will have to wait a bit longer to be a first-time winner among the 50-and-over set. His undoing began on the 13th; he hit his tee shot in the fairway but missed the green to the right with a wedge on his approach. Making triple, a tailspin to the finish started there. Even with a closing birdie, Cink played his final nine holes in 4-over 39 en route to a final-round 73.

PGA Tour Champions leaderboard

Stewart Cink on Joe Durant’s victory 👏

Joe is one of my best friends for a long, long time. There’s a lot of guys out here I like, but if I had to pick one guy that I had to lose to … I know I lost to more than just Joe, but I would pick Joe Durant because he is awesome.

I… pic.twitter.com/juYqWepLuS

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) March 11, 2024

*****

LIV Golf Series

Andy Ogletree tied for 29^th place at 5-under-par 205, while Cameron Tringale tied for 34^th place at 4-under-par 206 in last weekend’s event in Hong Kong. Their Hy-Flyers team finished 12^th among the 13 teams with a collective 16-under-par score.

The Hy-Flyers are tied for 12^th place in the season standings in the LIV Golf Series, while Tringale is 40^th and Ogletree is tied for 46^th individually.

LIV leaderboard

UPCOMING EVENTS

• PGA Tour: The Players Championship • March 14-17, 2024 • TPC Sawgrass • Ponte Vedra, Fla. • Purse: $25M • FedEx Cup points: 700
• Korn Ferry Tour:  Club Car Championship • April 4-7, 2024 • The Landings Golf and Athletic Club • Savannah, Ga. • Purse: $1M • KFT points: 500
• PGA Tour Champions:  Hoag Classic • March 22-24, 2023 • Newport Beach Country Club • Newport Beach, Calif. • Purse: $2M
• PGA Tour Americas: Bupa Championship • March 21-24, 2024 • PGA Riviera Maya • Tulum, Mexico • Purse: $225K • Fortinet Cup points: n/a
• Asian Tour/International Series: International Series Macau • March 14-17, 2024 • Macau Golf and Country Club • Macau, China • Purse: $2M
• LIV Golf Series: Miami • April 5-7, 2024 • Trump National Doral Golf Course • Doral, Fla. • Purse: $20M
• GPro Tour: Heritage Open • March 27-29, 2024 • Heritage Oaks Golf Club • Brunswick, Ga. • Purse: $68,125

#PROJACKETS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Go @stewartcink !@CologuardGolf @ExactSciences
That ribbon looks good! pic.twitter.com/NDHaQ8NH5Z

— Charlie Rymer (@CharlieRymerPGA) March 9, 2024

Really cool to see that my friend and fellow @GTGolf alum @stewartcink hung a 9 under 62 on the board to lead 1st round of the @CologuardGolf Stewart’s family has been dealing with cancer for 8 years with his wife Lisa. She’s cancer free now and so am I!!!! I got a chance to… pic.twitter.com/imeUp05sQz

— Charlie Rymer (@CharlieRymerPGA) March 9, 2024

 

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