Georgia Tech #ProJackets Golf Report

THE FLATS – Cink, Duval, Kuchar competing in Open Championship’s historic return to Royal Portrush … Jackets go 7-for-7 in cuts made at the John Deere Classic, while Cameron Tringale shares 54-hole lead … more in this week’s #ProJackets Report.

Georgia Tech’s most veteran PGA Tour players are participating in golf history this week, traveling to Northern Ireland this week to play the 148^th Open Championship, which returns to the country for the first time in 68 years.

It is the 10^th anniversary of Stewart Cink’s 2009 victory over Tom Watson at Turnberry, and 18 years since David Duval ascended to the top of the golf world at the height of his career with his 2001 triumph at Royal Lytham and St. Anne’s.

Matt Kuchar, playing in his 15^th Open Championship and exempt into the field by virtue of his No. 13 ranking in the world, has finished in the top 10 each of the past two years at Royal Birkdale and Carnoustie. He led The 146th Open at Royal Birkdale with five holes to play, but Jordan Spieth’s spectacular finish snatched away a first Major title from a player who has had four top eight finishes in the Masters since 2011 and seven further major top 10s, plus a bronze medal on golf’s return to the Olympics in 2016.

With two victories and eight top-10 finishes this year on the PGA Tour, Kuchar sits atop the FedEx Cup points list and is facing his closest two competitors, Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy, for the first time since the U.S. Open in June. He prepped for this season’s final major last week at the Scottish Open, where he tied for 20^th place (-16).

Cink, playing in his 21^st Open, tied for 24^th last year at Carnoustie and has finished 30^th or higher four times since his 2009 victory. He will always be remembered as the man who prevented 59-year-old Tom Watson becoming the oldest-ever winner of a major title at The Open at Turnberry in 2009. Three behind with a round to go, Cink birdied the final hole from 16 feet before Watson bogeyed it to fall into a tie. He then dominated the four-hole play-off, winning it by six strokes, for the high point of a career which has brought five Ryder Cup caps, most recently in 2010, and four winning Presidents Cup appearances.

Only recently returned to action following a long layoff to heal an ailing back, Cink made the cut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and the John Deere Classic the last two weeks.

Duval, playing his 23^rd Open Championship, won the title in his sixth try in. He closed with rounds of 65 and 67 at Royal Lytham and St. Annes and came from seven shots off the lead at the halfway mark to his first major victory by a three-stroke margin. He was America’s leading money winner three years earlier and the following season twice took the world No.1 spot away from Tiger Woods, made his Ryder Cup debut and also became only the third player to score 59 on the PGA Tour – and the first to do it with a final hole eagle to win the tournament. He has 11 top-10 finishes in majors.

Duval prepped last week by competing in and serving as an unofficial host of the inaugural TPC Colorado Open on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Kuchar’s playing trio for the first two rounds includes Jon Rahm of Spain and American Patrick Cantlay. Duval is paired for the first two rounds with Zach Johnson of the United States and Corey Connors of Canada, while Cink will compete with South African Rory Sabbatini and Inchoon Hwang of Japan.

PGA Tour:  Meanwhile, many of Georgia Tech’s other PGA Tour players are in Kentucky for the Barbasol Championship, where FedEx Cup positioning is becoming critical with three events remaining in the regular season. The top 125 in points following the Wyndham Championship Aug. 1-4 in Greensboro, N.C., not only advance to the playoffs, but keep their PGA Tour playing privileges for 2019-20.

Matt Kuchar currently sits atop the points list, and the player holding that position at the end of the Tour Championship in Atlanta (Aug. 22-25) receives a $15 million prize. An additional $10 million bonus, called the Wyndham Rewards top 10, will be split among the players who finish 1 through 10 following the Wyndham Championship.

Currently, Chesson Hadley (No. 70), Cameron Tringale (No. 97) and Richy Werenski (No. 122) are the only other Yellow Jackets currently inside the top 125. Roberto Castro, who regained his PGA Tour card with a standout regular season on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2018, sits at No. 134.

Tringale, who has finished outside the top 125 the least three years but regained his card in the Korn Ferry Tour finals, has jumped 23 spots in the last three weeks, tying for fifth at the Rocket Mortgage Championship, 42ns at the 3M Open and 16^th at the John Deere Classic, combined to score 42-under-par. The three-time All-American, who won an ACC title as a freshman, shared the 54-hole lead last weekend at the John Deere Classic in an attempt to win his first PGA Tour event, but fell back with a finishing 73.

Castro moved up 10 spots last weekend with a tie for 26^th at the John Deere Classic, and has broken 70 in his last eight rounds.

Leaderboard thru 54 holes @JDClassic:

T1. @CamTringale -16
T1. @AndrewLGolf
T3. @BHaasGolf -15
T3. @ACSchenk1
T5. Nick Watney -14
T5. @Dylan_Frittelli
T5. @RyanMoorePGA
T5. @VaughnTaylorPGA
T9. @ChrisStroudPGA -13
T9. @RogerSloan87
T9. @Lucas_Glover_ pic.twitter.com/qjDKgCzdJY

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 13, 2019

🎯@CamTringale is attacking pins on Moving Day.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/tw6Lq2mvSA

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 13, 2019

Three weeks until the #WyndhamRewardsTop10 are final.

Current standings:
1. Matt Kuchar
2. @BKoepka
3. @McIlroyRory
4. @XSchauffele
5. @GaryWoodland
6. Patrick Cantlay
7. @DJohnsonPGA
8. @Paul_Casey
9. @JustinRose99
10. @RickieFowler pic.twitter.com/w59xGkU5Br

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 15, 2019

Kuuuuuuuch 🗣️

He gave the fans plenty of opportunities to cheer on Day 1 of the #ASIScottishOpen: https://t.co/SB6GeHpyCE pic.twitter.com/blwySGNaYk

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) July 12, 2019

Korn Ferry Tour (formerly Web.com Tour):  With four events remaining in the regular season, Vincent Whaley remains the only former Yellow Jacket in position to earn a PGA Tour card for 2018-19, sitting at No. 18 in Korn Ferry Tour points after missing the cut at least weekend’s TPC Colorado Open event. The top 25 in points at the end of the regular season are awarded PGA Tour privileges for next season, while the top 75 maintain their status on the Korn Ferry Tour and play in the Finals. Paul Haley II, who finished 70^th last weekend, sits at No. 62 on the points list.

Nicholas Thompson, who tied for 44^th in Colorado, ranks No. 105, while J.T. Griffin is No. 107.

Elsewhere:  Larry Mize tied for 52^nd place (293, +13) at the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship last weekend in Akron, Ohio, and stands 78^th in Charles Schwab Cup points … Chris Petefish got a start on the MacKenzie Tour (PGA Tour Canada) last week and tied for 57^th at the Osprey Valley Open (283, -5). Petefish has also made three starts on the Korn Ferry Tour this year, making two cuts … James Clark picked up his first paycheck as a pro last week at the GPro Tour’s Kannapolis Open, tying for 22^nd and earning $1,047 at a course he played as a collegian, the Club at Irish Creek.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• Majors:  The Open Championship • July 18-21, 2019 • Royal Portrush Golf Club • Royal Portrush, Northern Ireland • Purse: $10,750,000 • FedExCup Points: 600
• PGA Tour:  Barbasol Championship • July 18-21, 2019 • Keene Trace Golf Club • Nicholasville, Ky. • Purse: $3,500,000 • FedExCup Points: 300
• Web.com Tour:  Pinnacle Bank Championship • July 18-21, 2019 • The Club at Indian Creek • Omaha, Neb. • Purse: $600,000
• PGA Tour Champions:  The Senior Open Championship • July 25-28, 2019 • Royal Lytham and St. Anne’s • Lancashire, England • Purse: $2,000,000
• Mackenzie Tour:  HFX Pro-Am • July 18-21, 2019 • Oakfield Golf and Country Club • Halifax, Nova Scotia • Purse: $200,000
• PGA Tour China:  Guangzhou Open • July 20-23, 2019 • Nansha Golf Club • Guangzhou
• All Pro Tour:  Colbert Charity Classic • July 17-20, 2019 • Colbert Hills Golf Club • Manhattan, Kan. • Purse: $125,000
• SwingThought Tour:  Tanglewood Golf Club • July 26, 2019 • Clemmons, N.C.
• G Pro Tour:  Greenville Open • July 16-18, 2019 • Brook Valley Country Club • Greenville, N.C.