THE FLATS – Matt Kuchar comes to Atlanta for the Tour Championship No. 7 in the FedEx Cup standings … Kuchar earns an automatic spot on the U.S. Presidents Cup team, surpasses $50M in career earnings … more in this week’s Georgia Tech #ProJackets Report.
Matt Kuchar only tied for 52nd place at last weekend’s BMW Championship at famed Medinah Country Club, but it was still a big weekend for the two-time winner on the PGA Tour this year. He surpassed $50 million in career earnings last weekend, and ranks No. 8 all-time on the PGA Tour.
The three-time Tech All-American, who has been a staple in the Tour Championship, competing for the ninth time in the last 10 years, comes to Atlanta No. 7 on the FedEx Cup points list, which means he begins the Tour Championship 4-under-par under the Tour Championship’s new staggered start.
This year, the Tour Championship’s final leaderboard will also represent the final FedExCup standings for the top 30 players. Stroke play will be used to determine the champion of the PGA Tour’s season-long points race. To recognize players for their regular-season performance, there will be an unprecedented staggered start to the TOUR Championship utilizing a concept called Starting Strokes.
The FedExCup leaders will begin the event with a head-start on the competition. The player who finishes the four rounds at Atlanta’s East Lake Golf Club with the lowest score in relation to par will win the FedExCup. There is also a bigger payout for the FedEx Cup race.
Read the details of the new scoring and bonus money format here.
The PGA Tour finalized the eight players who earned automatic spots on the United States team for the Presidents Cup, which will be played in December in Melbourne, Australia. Kuchar is on the U.S. team for the fifth consecutive time, and is the most experienced competitor on the team.
Korn Ferry Tour Finals
Five former Yellow Jackets competed in the first event of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals last weekend, four of whom are working to regain their PGA Tour status after finishing outside the top 125 in 2918-19.
Vincent Whaley, who became the latest Yellow Jacket to earn a PGA Tour card with his No. 25 finish in the Korn Ferry Tour regular season, played the best of the five, tying for 23rd place (280, -4).
Seth Reeves (T-37), Richy Werenski (T-37) and Ollie Schniederjans (T-45) all made the cut, while Anders Albertson missed.
An additional 25 PGA Tour cards will be awarded following the conclusion of the three-event Finals, which continued this week with the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft Nabisco (Aug. 22-25) and concludes with the 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), Stewart Cink (No. 179), Ollie Schniederjans (No. 180) and Seth Reeves (No. 188) are all eligible to participate. Castro did not compete in the first event and is not entered this week, but Stewart Cink will play in Boise.
Elsewhere: Chris Petefish made his fourth Mackenzie Tour start of the season but it didn’t go as well as the previous three, a tie for 53rd place after finishing with a 79. Petefish has a tie for fifth and a tie for 14th in four Canadian Tour events and sits 51st on the order of merit, and has also made a start this year on the Korn Ferry Tour … Larry Mize tied for 51st at the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open and sits 79th in Charles Schwab Cup points.
