THE FLATS – Richy Werenski earns third top-30 finish in his last five starts … Larry Mize preparing for his last ride at the Masters … More details below in this week’s Georgia Tech #ProJackets Report.
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WERENSKI MAKES WEEKEND AT VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP
Four Yellow Jackets competed in last weekend’s Valspar Championship in Palm Harbor, Fla., but only Richy Werenski made it to the weekend, carding four consecutive rounds of 71 to finish at even par 284. That was good for a tie for 27th place. The 31-year-old Werenski has posted finishes of 20th at Pebble Beach, 21st at the Puerto Rico Open and 27th last weekend among his last five starts and 135h in FedEx Cup points.
Stewart Cink, Chesson Hadley and Paul Haley II all missed the cut last weekend, but Hadley and Haley will be in the field this week along with Werenski for the Corales Puntacana Championship in the Dominican Republic.
Matt Kuchar returns to action in the Dell Technologies Match Play Championship, where he opens competition against Viktor Hovland Wednesday. Kuchar, an excellent match play competitor who won this event in 2013, also will face Chris Kirk and Si Woo Kim in group play.
Valspar Championship Leaderboard
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SCHNIEDERJANS READY FOR CAREER RE-START
For much of his golf career, Ollie Schniederjans had showed no signs of slowing down.
As a hotshot junior and part of that vaunted 2011 recruiting class.
As a two-time, first-team All-American at Georgia Tech, where he once won five of six events before losing in a playoff at the NCAA Championship as a junior.
As the world No. 1 amateur for 41 straight weeks, and just the third am since 1960 to make two major cuts in the same summer. Jack and Tiger being the first two.
As a young, promising professional, coming out of the gates hot, quickly winning on the Korn Ferry Tour and nearly nabbing that first career PGA Tour title on a few occasions.
But life in golf’s fast lane isn’t void of tolls.
And Schniederjans, as it turns out, couldn’t run forever.
Of course, Schniederjans didn’t get off the proverbial wheel voluntarily; he was forced off, by a troublesome left hip that served as the culprit for a slew of other injuries.
Now, having not competed in over a year, Schniederjans – and his surgically repaired hips (yes, plural) – is set to put his career back in motion at this week’s Club Car Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Thursday’s opening round will mark his first competitive 18 holes since Jan. 27, 2022.
Ready to get started. See you next week in Savannah @KornFerryTour pic.twitter.com/sl9UF70IFu
— Ollie Schniederjans (@ollie_gt) March 17, 2023
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ELSEWHERE
David Duval tied for 31st last weekend at the Hoag Classic in Newport Beach, Calif., putting together a 6-under-par total of 207. He is No. 67 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings. Cameron Tringale tied for 13th at the LIV Tucson event last weekend, posting a 5-under-par total of 208. Shun Yat Hak, a member of the Yellow Jackets’ team that was a semifinalist at the 2013 NCAA Championship, is in the field for the World City Championship in Hong Kong on the Asian Tour this week. Will Dickson is back in action this week as the G Pro Tour resumes with the Augusta (Ga.) Open.
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LIVING A GOLF DREAM
Try to imagine peeking through the fence and trees and seeing Augusta National Golf Club just out of reach of the childhood course you played every day. Imagine peeking through the little windows of the third-hole scoreboard you operated as a teenager and seeing Tommy Aaron become the first Georgian to win the green jacket. Imagine peeking at the pictures on the walls at Georgia Tech of your school’s greatest golfer, Bobby Jones, as you yearned to make a career in the game.
Then imagine peaking as a 28-year-old professional in your hometown of Augusta, Georgia, with arguably the greatest shot in Masters history and having a seat at the Champions Dinner for the rest of your life.
“I don’t think my dreams ever got that far,” said Larry Mize, who in 1987 became the only native Augustan to win a green jacket.
Mize, 64, will tee off in his 40th and final Masters next month. It is a difficult decision for any major-champion golfer to stop competing, but it’s made easier by a course that has grown 640 yards in the 36 years since Mize won.
