THE FLATS – There will be seven Yellow Jackets on the PGA Tour in 2021-22 after Vincent Whaley finishes 10th at Korn Ferry Tour Finals and regains his card … Stewart Cink returns to the Tour Championship for the first time since 2009, ties for 26th … More details below in this week’s Georgia Tech #ProJackets Report.
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WHALEY REGAINS PGA TOUR CARD IN KORN FERRY FINALS
Vincent Whaley wasn’t without his PGA Tour card for very long – three weeks to be exact.
After finishing outside the top 125 on the PGA Tour in 2020-21, the 2017 Tech graduate virtually assured himself a return for his third PGA Tour season with top-10 finishes in the first two events in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals – a tie for 10th place at the Albertsons Boise Open and a tie for fourth at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. He made it official after a tie for 41st at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship, landing in 10th place for the three-event series and becoming one of the 25 to be awarded PGA Tour cards.
He’ll join Seth Reeves, who finished 18th in the Korn Ferry Tour regular season, and five other Yellow Jackets on the PGA Tour next season. Whaley has finished No. 183 (2020) and No. 140 (2021) in FedEx Cup points in his two seasons on the Tour, and has posted sox top-25 finishes while making 23 cuts in 42 events. He earned nearly $700,000 in 2020-21.
Paul Haley II, Anders Albertson and Ollie Schniederjans all came up short in the regular season and in the finals but retain their Korn Ferry Tour status for 2021-22.
Dreams achieved. 🎓
Meet The Finals 25 #TOURBound pros!
— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) September 6, 2021
Watch The Finals 25 receive @PGATOUR cards at @tourchampulf! https://t.co/E1JsPjPojt
— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) September 5, 2021
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CINK TIES FOR 26TH AT TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP
Stewart Cink, who qualified for the Tour Championship for the first time since 2009, had a solid week of scoring with rounds of 72-68-71-70 to post a 1-over-par total of 281 last weekend at East Lake Golf Club, and finished at even par after starting out at 1-under in the Tour’s starting strokes format.
Cink was in position to play in the Tour Championship from the beginning of the 2020-21 season, when he won the Safeway Open in Napa, Calif., and then added another victory at the RBC Heritage in April. He had eight top-25 finishes altogether this season, earning nearly $3.6 million, the third-highest total of his career, and he is exempt on the Tour through his age 50.
Cink landed at 26th on the FedEx Cup points list after the Tour Championship, the third highest finish of his career (No. 22 in 2008, No. 20 in 2007). He will be joined by six other Yellow Jackets on tour for the 2021-22 season that begins next week at the Fortinet Championship (formerly the Safeway Open) in Napa, Calif., the tournament he won to begin last season.
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SCHNIEDERJANS, PETEFISH BID FOR FORME TOUR TOP 10
A lot is on the line this week for Luke Schniederjans and Chris Petefish as the Forme Tour plays its final event of 2021, the Forme Tour Championship at Huntsville Golf Club in Dallas, Pa. The tour scrambled to find a new venue for its finale after the original destination in New Jersey suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Ida.
Schniederjans sits at No. 9 on the points list following his tie for 27th at last week’s Rolling Green Championship, and if he can maintain that position, he will be able to skip the first and second stages of qualifying for the Korn Ferry Tour. Petefish is No. 43 in points after tying for 45th last week, still mathematically able to finish among the top 10.
The event is also taking on a unique format due to course availability. Instead of 18 holes a day over four days, players will play the first round Wednesday, September 8, with the second round September 9 followed by a 36-hole cut to the low-60 players and ties. Then the season will come down to the final day, a 36-hole marathon, September 10, that will determine 1) the winner of the Forme Tour Championship; 2) the Player of the Year; 3) the other four players on the Points List who will earn 2022 Korn Ferry Tour membership. In addition, the players finishing in the sixth-to-10th spots on the Points List get to skip the first and second stages of the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament that begin next week and advance directly to the finals, in Savannah, Georgia, in November.
While the No. 1 position gives that player exemptions into every 2022 open Korn Ferry Tour tournament, those finishing in the next-four positions can reasonably expect to play in several Korn Ferry Tour events next year at least until the reshuffle takes place, where priority rankings change based on player success and performance.
Finally, the top-60 on the Points List at the conclusion of the Forme Tour Championship will retain membership and Forme Tour playing privileges in 2022.
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