THE FLATS – Five Yellow Jackets, maybe six, are in the field for this week’s RSM Classic in Sea Island, Ga. … Stewart Cink set to make his 600th career start … Chris Petefish competing in LocaliQ Series Championship at TPC Sugarloaf … More below in this week’s Georgia Tech #ProJackets Report.
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CINK MAKING 600TH CAREER START AT THE RSM CLASSIC
The RSM Classic will be Stewart Cink’s 600th PGA Tour start as a professional. He will be just the 68th player in PGA TOUR history to play at least 600 events.
This fall has been one for the veteran players. Cink, 47, won the season-opening Safeway Open. He is the oldest player to win a season-opening event since at least 1970. It was his seventh PGA TOUR win, which includes the 2009 Open Championship and 2004 World Golf Championships-NEC Invitational. Cink’s first PGA TOUR victory came in 1997, the same year Collin Morikawa was born.
Brian Gay, who made his 600th career start at the Safeway Open, is making start No. 602 in Sea Island. Both players will be honored at the tournament for their longevity.
Also returning to action this week are Chesson Hadley, Matt Kuchar, Cameron Tringale and Richy Werenski. Vincent Whaley is currently an alternate.
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OGLETREE TRANSITIONING INTO PRO LIFE AFTER BEING LOW AMATEUR AT THE MASTERS
Andy Ogletree put the crowning achievement on his amateur career, following up his win at the 2019 U.S. Amateur by tying for 34th place and winning the Silver Cup as the low amateur at the Masters Tournament. He played 54 holes with his longtime idol Tiger Woods, as well as Open champion Shane Lowry, and soaked in the full experience of an amateur playing in the event. The Little Rock, Miss., native overcame a rough start to his first round (+4 after four holes) by going 6-under the rest of the way and posting a 72-hole total of 286 (-2).
The 2020 Tech graduate now sets about the task of finding sponsor exemptions in PGA Tour and perhaps entering other events.
Ogletree also wound up being low Yellow Jacket at the Masters, outlasting Matt Kuchar (145, +1) and 1987 champion Larry Mize (147, +3), who both missed the cut.
Ogletree’s week at the Masters | Kuchar’s week | Mize’s week
How a 62-year-old is in the hunt at the 2020 Masters (Golf.com)
Larry Mize: Lure of Augusta National, Masters only gets strong each year (Golfweek)
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KORN FERRY TOUR UPDATE
The Tour is on hiatus until January. Here is the standing of Georgia Tech players in Korn Ferry Tour points.
- Seth Reeves – 19
- Ollie Schniederjans – 35
- Paul Haley II – 43
- Anders Albertson – 59
- T. Griffin – 74
- Nicholas Thompson – 146
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PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS UPDATE
Larry Mize finished the 2020 portion of the Schwab Cup race in 64th place before competing in his 37th Masters last week, where he fired a 70 in the opening round but missed the cut following his second-round 77. The Tour has one off-season event in December, the PNC Championship in Orlando, Fla.
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LOCALiQ SERIES UPDATE
Chris Petefish sits 35th in the points standings as the LocaliQ Series concludes with the LocaliQ Series Championship starting today at TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth, Ga. Petefish has posted finishes of 23rd, seventh, 47th and 19th in the series this fall. The 78-player field will play 72 holes with no cut for a first-place prize of $24,000.
The LocaliQ Series is a U.S.-based, eight-event series designed for members of the PGA Tours in Canada, Latino America and China.
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DEVELOPMENTAL TOURS
Chris Petefish and Vincent Whaley took home checks last week, tying for ninth place in the SwingThought Tour event in Waverly, Ga. Both players posted 36-hole totals of 136, four shots off the pace.
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