Georgia Tech #ProJackets Golf Report

THE FLATS – Matt Kuchar advances in the FedEx Cup playoffs and will play in the BMW Championship this week … Vincent Whaley becomes the newest Yellow Jacket to earn a PGA Tour card … more in this week’s Georgia Tech #ProJackets Report.

Three former Yellow Jackets competed last weekend in The Northern Trust, the first stage of the 2019 FedEx Cup playoffs, but only Matt Kuchar has moved on, despite missing the cut. The top 70 on the FedEx Cup points list continue on to this week’s BMW Championship at Medinah Country Club, and the top 30 after the BMW come to Atlanta for the season-ending Tour Championship.

Kuchar, who shot 70-73 last weekend, dropped only one spot in the FedEx Cup race to fourth. With two wins and eight top-10s this season, he is sitting at his highest position since finishing a career-best second in the 2010 FedEx Cup. He led the race for most of the season before being overtaken at the Open Championship and WGC-FedEx St. Jude Classic by Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy. Kuchar is 667 points behind Koepka, 461 behind Patrick Reed, who won The Northern Trust, and 357 behind Rory McIlroy. Each FedEx Cup event offers 2,000 points to the winner.

Chesson Hadley’s season came to end after finishing tied for 43^rd place at The Northern Trust and finishing the year at No. 80 on the FedEx Cup list. Cameron Tringale, who was forced to retain his PGA Tour privileges the last two years by competing in the Korn Ferry Tour finals, made the playoffs for the first time since 2016, but missed the cut at The Northern Trust and finished No. 101 in the FedEx Cup race. Tringale began June outside the top 125 but had four top-20s in his last six starts, and had a pair of top-10 finishes this season.

Whaley Claims Final PGA Tour Card After Missing Cut

Meanwhile, Vincent Whaley became the latest Yellow Jacket to earn a PGA Tour card, finishing No. 25 in Korn Ferry Tour points despite missing the cut in the final regular season event, the WinCo Foods Portland Open. The 2017 Tech graduate, a rookie on the Korn Ferry Tour this season, earned the final PGA TOUR card after waiting 48 hours to see if his 761 points would ultimately be enough.

“Honestly, I probably had the worst two days of my life trying to figure it out, doing the math and being a complete psychopath,” said Whaley. “It was a horrible two days, but it worked out … I’m just really happy right now. This is a dream since I started playing golf, to make it onto the PGA TOUR.”

Whaley made 14 cuts in 22 events in 2019, including three top-10 performances.

The 25 TOUR card earners will carry over Points to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, where positions on the Priority Ranking list, used to set TOUR fields each week, will be finalized. The three-event playoff begins this weekend in Columbus, Ohio.

Paul Haley II, who missed the cut the last two weekend, fell to No. 76 on the points list and missed by one position of making the Korn Ferry Finals – the top 75 join with PGA Tour members who finished No. 126-200 in FedEx Cup points and can regain their status through the finals. Nicholas Thompson, who tied for 24^th in Portland, finished at No. 93, while J.T. Griffin (T-60 at Portland) finished No. 115.

What’s Next

An additional 25 PGA Tour cards will be awarded following the conclusion of the three-event Finals, which begin this week in Columbus, Ohio, with the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. The final two events consist of the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft Nabisco (Aug. 22-25) and Korn Ferry Tour Championship (Aug. 30-Sept. 2). The second set of 25 cards will be based on points earned solely in the Finals.

Richy Werenski, who finished No. 126 in the FedEx Cup season, Roberto Castro (No. 142), Anders Albertson (No. 172), Ollie Schniederjans (No. 180) and Seth Reeves (No. 188) are all eligible to participate and are in the field for the Nationwide event this weekend.

Elsewhere:  Chris Petefish earned his best finish on the MacKenzie Tour last weekend with a tie for fifth place at the ATB Financial Classic in Calgary, Alberta. Petefish shot 13-under-par 271 in his third start this season, having tied for 14^th the week before at the 1932byBateman Open. The 2018 graduate has also made a start this year on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Shoutout to @Vincewhaley for sneaking that 25th Turr Card!! Damn good 2 year run since graduating from GT. Impressive.

— Roberto Castro (@cicioCASTRO) August 12, 2019

UPCOMING EVENTS

• PGA Tour:  BMW Championship • August 15-18, 2019 • Medinah Country Club • Medinah, Ill. • Purse: $9,250,000 • FedEx Cup points: 2,000
• Web.com Tour:  Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship • August 15-18, 2019 • Ohio State University Scarlet Course • Columbus, Ohio • Purse: $1,000,000
• PGA Tour Champions:  Dick’s Sporting Goods Open • August 16-18, 2019 • En-Joie Golf Club • Endicott, N.Y. • Purse: $2,050,000
• Mackenzie Tour:  Players Cup • August 15-18, 2019 • Southwood Golf and Country Club • Winnepeg, Manitoba • Purse: $200,000
• PGA Tour China:  Zhouzhou Classic • September 19-22, 2019 • Xiangshui Bay Golf Club • Zhouzhou, China
• All Pro Tour:  Southside Bank Open • August 20-23, 2019 • Crown Colony Country Club • Lufkin, Texas • Purse: $125,000
• SwingThought Tour:  Golf Club at Ballantyne • August 13-15, 2019 • Charlotte, N.C.
• G Pro Tour:  Gaston Championship • August 13-15, 2019 • Gaston Country Club • Gastonia, N.C.