THE FLATS – Five Yellow Jackets are in position to advance to FedEx Cup Playoffs as regular season concludes … Anders Albertson continues push to regain PGA Tour card … PGA Tour announces it will award 30 tour cards following next Korn Ferry Tour season … More details below in this week’s Georgia Tech #ProJackets Report.
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FIVE JACKETS POISED FOR FEDEX CUP PLAYOFFS
Five of the seven Yellow Jackets competing on the PGA Tour this season are poised to advance to the FedEx Cup Playoffs as the PGA Tour concludes its 2021-22 regular season this weekend at the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C.
Cameron Tringale (No. 26), Matt Kuchar (No. 51), Vincent Whaley (No. 93), Stewart Cink (No. 116) and Chesson Hadley (No. 121) all currently reside inside the top 125 in points necessary to advance, and for all but Cink, retain their full PGA Tour privileges for 2022-23. Cink remains exempt for 2022-23 based on his victory at the 2021 RBC Heritage.
The Wyndham Championship is critical for two Jackets on the outside looking in, however. Seth Reeves (No. 163) and Richy Werenski (No. 176) both need high finishes this week in order to reach the top 125, or at least the top 150, which would give them some conditional status and perhaps avoid having to compete in the Korn Ferry Tour finals as a way to retain their cards.
Both players turned in solid performances at the Rocket Mortgage Classic – Werenski tied for 30th (277, -11) and Reeves tied for 37th (278, -10). but need much higher finishes this week in Greensboro.
A year ago, Chesson Hadley assembled a miraculous closing stretch to sneak into the Playoffs at No. 125. His last 10 holes that Sunday included six birdies and a hole-in-one at the par-3 16th that pushed him past Justin Rose by a single point for the final postseason spot. Hadley shouldn’t need a back-nine 29 to get in this season – a 10th-place finish two weeks ago at the 3M Open likely punched his ticket to advance – but two strong rounds to start his week in North Carolina wouldn’t hurt. Hadley, a North Carolina native, enters this week with 16 consecutive rounds of par or better at the Wyndham Championship, with a scoring average of 67.9 in that span.
Though seemingly safe, Cink, Whaley and Hadley, who hails from nearby Raleigh, are all competing this week. Only Tringale, who is inside the top 30 necessary to compete in the Tour Championship in Atlanta, and Kuchar are taking the week off.
Whaley played an excellent weekend of golf (274, -14) to tie for 17th last weekend at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, while Tringale and Cink also made the cut. Kuchar and Hadley did not.
PGA Tour has a roulette wheel full of Camerons at the moment – Golf Digest
Chesson Hadley hopes strong final round will clinch spot on tour – Minneapolis Star-Tribune
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KORN FERRY TOUR TO AWARD 30 PGA TOUR CARDS IN 2023
The Korn Ferry Tour wraps up its 2022 regular season at the Utah Championship this week and the Pinnacle Bank Championship next week. Paul Haley II has already guaranteed his return to the PGA Tour for 2022-23, while Anders Albertson is in position to do so if he can remain among the top 25 in points. Each player has won a tournament this season.
Beginning next year, an unprecedented 30 PGA Tour cards will be awarded to the top players on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List at season’s end, reaffirming the quality of the competition on the circuit and the importance of rewarding season-long performance.
The additional five PGA Tour cards available via the Korn Ferry Tour were announced Tuesday in concert with widespread changes to the PGA Tour’s qualification process. It was also announced that 10 Tour cards would be awarded to the top performers on the DP World Tour and Q-School would award PGA TOUR cards to the top five finishers and ties. It will mark the first time in a decade that Q-School will offer PGA TOUR status.
It was also announced Tuesday that the Korn Ferry Tour Finals will no longer be a competition for TOUR cards between the top 75 on the Korn Ferry Tour and Nos. 126-200 in the FedExCup standings. The Finals will now refer to the final four events of the season, where members will compete for increased purses and points allocations. The four Finals events will feature $1.5 million purses and award 600 points to each winner. The preceding 22 events on the schedule will have a minimum purse of $1 million – a 67% increase from 2021 to 2023 – and award 500 points to winners. The 2023 Korn Ferry Tour season is scheduled to run from January to October.
Back in the winner’s circle at last 🏆
Paul Haley II wins for the first time in 10 years and is heading back to the @PGATOUR. #TOURBound pic.twitter.com/6E6Cg89Zkx
— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) July 17, 2022
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SCHNIEDERJANS MAKES WEEKEND IN CANADA
Luke Schniederjans was the only one of the three Yellow Jackets to make the cut last weekend at the Sotheby’s International Realty Canada Ontario Open, tying for 22nd place at 5-under-par 279. The youngest Schniederjans brother moved himself into contention with a 63 on Saturday and entered the final round in second place, but faded after shooting 76.
J.T. Griffin, who had a T-5 finish the week before, missed the cut and dropped to 25th in the Fortinet Cup standings, still the highest among the three Jackets playing the Canadian circuit. Schniederjans is No. 36, and Tyler Strafaci is No. 11 after missing the cut last weekend.
Five events remain on the 2022 schedule, beginning this week with the Quebec Open.
Sotheby’s International Realty Canada Ontario Open round 3️⃣ in the 📚
Round 🔴🔴🔴⚪️@PGATOURCanada | @Canada_SIR
-13 @NoahGoodwinGolf
-10 Luke Schniederjans
-9 Cameron Sisk
-8 @JacobCSolomon
-8 @JaredduToit
-8 @JDoeden11
-8 @DJ_DFunk pic.twitter.com/XNcbA5juvk— Ontario Open (@OntarioOpenGolf) July 30, 2022
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RYMER GRATEFUL TO PLAY GOLF AGAIN AFTER CANCER BATTLE
Charlie Rymer wasn’t sure he could swing a golf club with that port imbedded in his chest near his collarbone. Not to mention, the chemotherapy it delivered into his body made his hands shake so badly he joked that he might take a divot with his putter.
But last Wednesday, he was hitting balls and getting ready for a member-guest – barely four months after doctors had resected a foot of his colon and 14 days after ringing the bell at M.D. Anderson in Houston to signal his last infusion of those life-saving drugs.
“There’s no chance I can break 85, but I’m going to be out there with my buddies, having a good time and enjoying every minute of it,” Rymer said.
The last two years haven’t been much fun for the former PGA TOUR pro turned broadcaster, though, after doctors discovered a polyp during a routine colonoscopy.
So good to catch up with @CharlieRymerPGA after his recent battle with colon cancer. He’s doing well now, and he’s got an important message of early detection to share. https://t.co/Co3OnJhdqL
— helen ross (@helen_pgatour) July 27, 2022
