THE FLATS – Paul Haley II scores a runner-up finish on the Korn Ferry Tour … Three Yellow jackets make the cut at the Wells Fargo Championship … Tyler Strafaci makes his professional debut this week at the AT&T Byron Nelson … More below in this week’s Georgia Tech #ProJackets Report.
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HALEY CONTENDS IN FINAL ROUND ON KORN FERRY TOUR
Paul Haley II boosted himself into real contention for a PGA Tour card last weekend with a tie for second place at the Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation in College Grove, Tenn., near Nashville.
The former ACC Champion at Georgia Tech was just a shot off the lead Sunday when play was suspended by weather, and he closed with a 2-under-par 70 to finish three shots behind Austin Smotherman. His 72-hole score was 13-under-par 275.
More importantly, Haley jumped from No. 27 to No. 19 in the Korn Ferry Tour points standings. The top 25 individuals in points at the end of the regular season are awarded PGA Tour cards for 2021-22. In calendar year 2021, Haley has three top-10 finishes and has placed T11 and T16 in two other events, and has missed just one cut in eight tournaments.
J.T. Griffin (280, -8) and Ollie Schniederjans (282, -6) also played well last weekend, tying for 12th and 19th, respectively. Anders Albertson and Seth Reeves tied for 53rd and 65th, respectively, with Reeves falling to 28th in the points standings.
The Korn Ferry Tour stays in Tennessee this week for the Visit Knoxville Open.
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THREE JACKETS MAKE THE WEEKEND AT WELLS FARGO
Three of the five Yellow Jackets in the field at the Wells Fargo Championship advanced to weekend play, led by Vincent Whaley’s tie for 26th, which improved his position on the FedEx points standings to No. 131. Whaley shot even-par 284 at the Quail Hollow Club.
Stewart Cink and Richy Werenski each tied for 37th place with a tournament score of 285 (+1). Cink held at No. 6 in FedEx Cup points, while Werenski moved up to No. 89.
Cameron Tringale and Chesson Hadley missed the cut.
This is how 47-year-old Stewart Cink gaines 20 yards with his driver
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STRAFACI MAKING PRO DEBUT THIS WEEKEND
With the United States’ 14-12 victory over Great Britain and Ireland last weekend at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Fla., Tyler Strafaci’s amateur career came to an end. The 2020 U.S. Amateur champion saw his dreams come true and a family tradition extended by playing in the Masters and the Walker Cup.
This weekend, Strafaci will make his professional debut at the AT&T Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, playing along with Yellow Jackets’ Roberto Castro, Chesson Hadley, Matt Kuchar and Vincent Whaley. Strafaci has missed the cut as an amateur in two PGA Tour events this year, the Farmers Insurance Open and the Masters, and withdrew from the Genesis Invitational due to injury. He has a spot in the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines from his U.S. Amateur title, which he keeps even as a professional, and also is scheduled to play in the Charles Schwab Challenge and the Memorial Tournament.
From Golfweek on Strafaci’s Walker Cup weekend – “Strafaci, the reigning U.S. Amateur champion, took himself out of Saturday singles at the last minute. The 22-year-old said later, after a trip to the hospital for IV fluids, that he was seeing two golf balls while he was trying to warm up. In close matches such as these, it was arguably the most heroic move he could have made – Strafaci’s withdrawal allowed William Mouw to step in and score a point against Ben Jones … On Sunday, a slightly-recovered Strafaci appeared in two sessions and by late afternoon was bending over slowly and walking gingerly. Strafaci failed to put a point on the board on the final day – though he did nearly hole his final bunker shot on the closing hole – but the sheer strength it took just to stay on his feet will be a lasting memory from these matches.”
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MIZE COMES UP STRONG AT REGIONS TRADITION
Larry Mize posted his best finish of 2021 with a tie for 29th place at the Regions Tradition, the first major of the year on the PGA Tour Champions. The 1987 Masters champion shot 289 (+1) through 72 holes at Greystone Golf and Country Club, and earned his highest finish since a tie for ninth place at the Cologuard Classic in March of 2020.
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