Nov. 9, 2008
McKinney, Texas – Bryce Molder needed to finish among the top four at this weekend’s season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship to secure his PGA Tour card for next year. The four-time Georgia Tech All-American tied for third and thus finished the season 23rd on the tour money list.
He and Yellow Jacket teammate Matt Weibring, who finished 24th on the money list, are among the 25 players on the Nationwide Tour who earned exempt status on the PGA Tour for 2009. They join Stewart Cink, David Duval, Matt Kuchar, Troy Matteson and Nicholas Thompson as Tech alumni on tour.
Molder, 29, shot a closing 71 Sunday for a 72-hole total of 269, 15-under-par at the TPC Craig Ranch, to secure his spot among the top 25. The Harrison, Ark., native and 2001 Tech graduate in Management was a PGA Tour member in 2007 and has earned nearly $900,000 in 59 events. His top finish on the Nationwide Tour this year was a tie for second at the South Georgia Classic. He posted three top-10 finishes, nine top-25s and made 18 out of 27 cuts.
“I’m looking forward to playing some good golf on the PGA Tour,” said Molder. “It’s just sinking in, but that’s where I feel I should be. I know a little more what to expect as I’ve played out there, and what to expect from myself.”
Weibring, 28, entered the weekend 19th on the money list, but had to sweat out his spot after shooting a 74 Sunday to tie for 42nd at the Nationwide Tour Championship. His top finish this year was a third-place showing at the BMW Charity Pro-Am, and his season included six top-10 finishes, 13 top-25s and 17 made cuts in 22 events.
“Going to the PGA Tour is a chance to play tournaments I watched my dad play while I was growing up,” said Weibring, a 2002 Tech graduate in Management whose father, D.A., now plays on the Champions Tour. “I was in the Tour daycare and now I can go out there and play, and be one of the guys on the best Tour in the world.”
The Nationwide Tour’s 30-tournament season came to a pressure-packed conclusion today at TPC Craig Ranch near Dallas with Matt Bettencourt winning the $1 million Nationwide Tour Championship.
