THE FLATS – Five Yellow Jackets have qualified to compete in the FedEx Cup Playoffs that begin this week … Anders Albertson poised to regain PGA Tour card, while Chris Petefish shoots for a Korn Ferry Tour Finals spot … Andy Ogletree teeing it up in Singapore … More details below in this week’s Georgia Tech #ProJackets Report.
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FIVE JACKETS QUALIFY FOR FEDEX CUP PLAYOFFS
Five of the seven Yellow Jackets competing on the PGA Tour this season have advanced to the FedEx Cup Playoffs, which begin this week with the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Cameron Tringale (No. 26), Matt Kuchar (No. 54), Vincent Whaley (No. 96), Chesson Hadley (No. 106) and Stewart Cink (No. 115) all finished well within the top 125 in FedEx Cup points needed to qualify. A top-125 finish also means they retain their PGA Tour status for the 2022-23 season, although Cink remains exempt for next season due to his winning the 2021 RBC Heritage.
The top 70 in points following this week’s stop in Memphis will advance to the second stage of the playoffs next week, the BMW Championship in Wilmington, Del., and the top 30 in points following that event come to Atlanta for the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club.
Tringale and Kuchar, virtually assured of moving on to the BMW Championship next week, did not compete in last weekend’s regular-season finale in Greensboro, N.C., the Wyndham Championship.
Hadley, whose final round 62 last year allowed him to grab the 125th position for the playoffs and keep his tour card, had a much less stressful weekend this time. Entering the Wyndham at No. 121, the Raleigh, N.C., native tied for eighth place with an 11-under-par total of 269, which included a closing 64. After struggling through the early part of the Tour schedule in 2022, Hadley posted three top-10 finishes and made the cut in seven of his last eight events to rise more than 100 spots in the standings.
Cink also closed with a 64 for an 8-under-par total of 272 and tied for 27th, while Whaley missed the cut, not severely damaging his position.
The final outcome was not so pleasant for Richy Werenski and Seth Reeves, who finished No. 161 and No. 166, respectively, in the FedEx Cup standings. Werenski, who won the 2020 Barracuda Championship and finished No. 39 and No. 120 in FedEx Cup points the last two years, has struggled in his sixth year as a full-time member, making just eight cuts in 26 events. He made a valiant effort in Greensboro, tying for 13th place. Reeves, in his second chance as a full-time member of the Tour, made nine cuts in 26 events, and missed the cut in Greensboro. Both players are headed to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals in an attempt to retain their status.
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REMEMBER LAST YEAR?
I blacked out…what happened? pic.twitter.com/igcLQ8wEes
— Chesson Hadley (@chessonhadley) August 15, 2021
Tears were flowing at last year’s Wyndham 🥺@chessonhadley spoke with @Amanda_Balionis after firing a final round 62 which included his first ever hole-in-one. #WyndhamChamp pic.twitter.com/SDZmJimFRO
— Golf on CBS ⛳ (@GolfonCBS) August 4, 2022
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PETEFISH LOOKING FOR SPOT IN KORN FERRY TOUR FINALS
The Korn Ferry Tour wraps up its 2022 regular season at the Pinnacle Bank Championship this 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. Both players missed the cut last weekend at the Utah Championship, but Albertson remains seemingly solid, falling only two spots to No. 21.
Meanwhile, Chris Petefish will look for a strong finish this weekend to get into the top 75 in points and thereby qualify to compete in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, a three-event series that also awards PGA Tour cards to the top 25 earners in those three tournaments.
Petefish tied for 54th last weekend at the Utah Championship, dropping from No. 81 to No. 87 in the points standings. In 13 starts this season, Petefish had made six cuts and finished in the top 25 three times, including a tie for third in the NV5 Invitational in May.
Time to put it all out there and get er done Chris Petefish. -8 going into the final round. LET’s Go!! Utah!@GTGolf pic.twitter.com/EuIGDR9j1G
— Course of Action Golf (@jrgolfplanners) August 7, 2022
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SCHNIEDERJANS MAKES WEEKEND IN CANADA
Luke Schniederjans remains the most consistent of the three Yellow Jackets competing on the PGA Tour Canada. Last weekend, the two-time collegiate champion tied for 31st at the Quebec Open with a 6-under-par score of 282, and sits No. 35 on the tour’s points list.
J.T. Griffin, who ranks No. 31 in points, and Tyler Strafaci, who is No. 122, both missed the cut.
Four events remain on the 2022 schedule, beginning with the CentrePort Canada Rail Park Manitoba Open next week after a week off.
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OGLETREE IN FIELD FOR ASIAN TOUR INTERNATIONAL SERIES
As part of his agreement to play in the very first LIV Golf Series event, which was held in June in London, 2019 U.S. Amateur champion Andy Ogletree received a two-year exemption to compete on the Asian Tour. His participation continues this week at the International Series event in Singapore, where he will play alongside several other golfers who participated in LIV events, such as former South Florida All-American Chase Koepka, Clemson star Turk Pettit, 2021 U.S. Amateur champion James Piot, and Oklahoma State All-American Peter Uihlein.
Ogletree missed the cut by one stroke in the first International Series event that took place in England in early June.
Yellow Jacket freshman Hiroshi Tai, a Singapore native, is one of six amateurs to receive spots in the field.
