THE FLATS – Stewart Cink, Chesson Hadley and Matt Kuchar all set for The Players … Andy Ogletree back in action in Thailand … Connor Howe qualifying for PGA Tour Canada … More details below in this week’s Georgia Tech #ProJackets Report.
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CINK, HADLEY, KUCHAR IN FIELD FOR PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP
Three Yellow Jackets, Stewart Cink, Chesson Hadley and Matt Kuchar, are in the field for the PGA Tour’s crown jewel event, The Players Championship, this weekend in Ponte Vedra, Fla.
Kuchar, who won the event in 2012 for one of his nine PGA Tour victories, returns to action after sitting out last weekend’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, is No. 63 in the FedEx Cup points list. He has a pair of top-10 finishes in nine events in 2022-23, including an eighth-place finish the Genesis Invitational.
Hadley, who also didn’t play last week, has a pair of top-30 showings in his last three starts and sits No. 123 in FedEx Cup points. Cink, who missed the cut at the API, is No. 156.
Not in the field this week are Anders Albertson, Paul Haley II and Richy Werenski, who each tied for 21st place last weekend at the Puerto Rico Open (10-under-par 278). Haley remains Tech’s top-ranked player in FedEx Cup points (No. 44), while Werenski is No. 121 and Albertson is No. 191.
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OGLETREE LOOKS AHEAD TO THAILAND
In-form Andy Ogletree will be aiming to continue his rich vein of form when he spearheads a strong entry for the second edition of the International Series Thailand.
Six of the top-seven from the current Asian Tour Order of Merit have confirmed their participation in the event at Hua Hin’s Black Mountain Golf Club which will carry a purse of US$2 million, a 25% increase on last year’s prize money.
To be held from March 9-12, the tournament is the fifth leg of the 2023 Asian Tour season and the third stop for the International Series, following Oman and Qatar.
Riding high after winning the International Series Qatar a fortnight ago, American Ogletree is looking to further press his claims to top this year’s Merit standings.
He will also be hoping to win the International Series Order of Merit, which brings with it automatic qualification onto the ultra-lucrative LIV Golf League.
“Trying to win the Order of Merit out here is my number one goal this year. That’s all I’m really focused on,” said the 24-year-old.
In the first three Asian Tour events of 2023, Ogletree placed ninth in the PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers, tied for seventh in the International Series Oman and triumphed at Qatar’s Doha Golf Club.
In-form @andy_ogletree will be aiming to continue his rich vein of form when he spearheads a strong entry for the second edition of the International Series Thailand next week.#ISthailand #InternationalSeries #whereitsAT
— Asian Tour (@asiantourgolf) February 27, 2023
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HOWE IN THE FIELD FOR PGA TOUR CANADA QUALIFIER
Georgia Tech senior Connor Howe is in Alabama this week to compete in the third United States-based qualifier for PGA Tour Canada, being contested at the Highland Oaks Golf Club on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Dothan, Ala.
The Ogden, Utah native is preparing for life after Georgia Tech, where the fifth-year senior’s college career will come to an end following the NCAA Championship in May. He is competing as an amateur, as are many of the other players in the field.
The medalist in each qualifier earns full membership on PGA Tour Canada for the 2023 season. Golfer finishing second through 10th are exempt through the reshuffle approximately halfway through the season, and the 11th through 30th place finishers (plus ties) earn conditional membership.
A regular in the Georgia Tech lineup for five years, Howe was named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference team in 2022, and to the ACC Academic Honor Roll in 2020 and 2021. He has been a key figure in Tech advancing to the NCAA Championship in three of his four years (2020 event was not held due to COVID-19), and in the Jackets winning the ACC Championship in 2019 and finishing as the runner-up in 2022. He was ranked No. 86 nationally in Golfstat at the end of the 2022 fall season, and No. 85 at the end of the spring 2022 season. Howe also is ranked No. 31 nationally in the current PGA Tour University Velocity Global Ranking and No. 57 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Howe has played 128 rounds of golf in 42 events as a Yellow Jacket, finishing in the top 10 six times and compiling a 72.05 stroke average. His top finish has been a tie for third place at the 2022 Maui Jim Intercollegiate, and he earned a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Columbus Regional and a ninth-place showing at the 2021 ACC Championship. On the amateur circuit, Howe won the 2021 Patriot All-American Invitational and the 2020 Southeastern Amateur.
