Georgia Tech #ProJackets Golf Report

THE FLATS – Stewart Cink accelerates into the weekend at Sony Open, stays in Hawai’i for first Champions Tour event … Andy Ogletree welcomed into LIV Golf and HyFlyers team … Cink not a fan of new event structure on PGA Tour … Three Jackets in field for first Korn Ferry Tour event … More details below in this week’s Georgia Tech #ProJackets Report.

*****

CINK ACCELERATES INTO WEEKEND AT SONY OPEN

Stewart Cink has surveyed PGA TOUR Champions pros about when to commit a full-time crossover to the 50-and-over circuit, and he receives a consistent response.

Not that he gathers much specific insight.

“Most everybody I talked to just said, ‘You’ll know,’” Cink said. “They didn’t say how. They didn’t even say how they knew. They just said, ‘You’ll know.’”

Right now, Cink knows that he has a chance at his ninth PGA TOUR title. (Cink tied for 24^th ultimately).

Cink, 50, opened the Sony Open in Hawaii in rounds of 67-65, one back of leader Carl Yuan through the late-early wave at Waialae Country Club. Cink stayed steady in gnarly conditions Thursday afternoon – steady rain and stiff winds – and pounced with a bogey-free, 5-under 65 on Friday morning, positioning himself for a realistic chance at his ninth TOUR title this weekend.

Unlike most of his TOUR peers, Cink is staying in Hawaii for next week’s PGA TOUR Champions season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. Cink played four Champions Tour events last season (in addition to 27 TOUR starts) and might play a healthy number this season. His gathered advice has also included picking one Tour and sticking with it, but he plans to take the opposite approach.

“I’m not doing that,” Cink said. “I’m not trying to make the FedExCup or the Charles Schwab Cup my priority, to capture one of those Cups. I just want to play good golf, and I don’t care where it is.”

More from PGATour.com

Sinking everything.@StewartCink stays hot and is tied for the lead @SonyOpenHawaii. pic.twitter.com/O5emkU1wNy

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) January 12, 2024

*****

CINK AMONG STORYLINES TO FOLLOW ON PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

PGA TOUR Champions kicks off its 45th year next week in Hawaii with the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, the first of 28 events in 2024. The season will culminate in November with the crowning of a Charles Schwab Cup champion in Phoenix.

The 2024 schedule includes 25 regular-season tournaments and three Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs events. During the season, players will compete for more than $67 million in total prize money, the highest in PGA TOUR Champions history. Here are some storylines to watch as the 2024 season unfolds.

2009 Open champion Stewart Cink, who turned 50 on May 21, 2023, made four starts last season, including a third-place finish at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship. Cink will still be considered a rookie in 2024 due to only making four starts last year.

More from PGATour.com

Stewart Cink will make his 2024 debut @SonyOpenHawaii.

He’ll stay in Hawaii next week to kick off his Champions Tour rookie season at Hualalai 🤩 pic.twitter.com/VMOuuWR9ly

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) January 10, 2024

*****

PETEFISH, STEELMAN START KORN FERRY TOUR SEASON IN BAHAMAS

Chris Petefish and Ross Steelman, both of whom played full-time on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2023, are guaranteed 12 starts in 2024 and got started with their 2024 Korn Ferry Tour schedule this week at the Bahamas Great Exuma Classic along with Paul Haley II, who also has status on the PGA Tour for 2024.

Steelman stood tied for 13^th place at 6-under-par, six strokes off the lead after round 2 on Monday.

Korn Ferry Tour leaderboard

Looking to make a name for himself in his second season on the #KornFerryTour.

After finishing No. 4 on the 2023 PGA TOUR U rankings, Ross Steelman begins his first full pro season on Sunday @BahamasKFTour. pic.twitter.com/FxzgAqnECU

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) January 9, 2024

No longer a rookie 💪@pgatouru alum Ross Steelman feels comfortable stepping into his second season on the #KornFerryTour. pic.twitter.com/JeMV1CwoRd

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) January 13, 2024

OGLETREE READY TO TRANSITION TO LIV GOLF

Andy Ogletree enjoyed a remarkable 2023 on the Asian Tour that included two wins on its International Series, which helped him finish top of its Order of Merit.

That earned him a place with LIV Golf for the upcoming season, and his efforts have now been further rewarded after being named the Asian Tour’s Player of the Year with the Kyi Hla Han award.

It wasn’t just the two victories earned by the 2019 US Amateur champion that defined Ogletree’s year. He also produced five more top 10 finishes on the circuit, including ninth at the high-profile PIF Saudi International, which featured many LIV Golf players.

A measure of how the successful the American’s 2023 on the Tour had been can also be found with his rise in the world rankings. He began the year ranked 861st and finished it almost 700 places higher at World No.169.

The announcement means Ogletree follows fellow LIV Golf player Anirban Lahiri, who won the award in 2014 and 2015. Sihwan Kim, who was relegated from LIV Golf at the end of the season, also won the award in 2022.

More from Golf Monthly

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by HyFlyers GC (@hyflyers_gc)

*****

CINK “MIXED” ON NEW PGA TOUR EVENT STRUCTURE

Stewart Cink knows about change as well as anyone, a combination of good play and his birth certificate. At age 50, the former British Open champion is the only player at the Sony Open who will stay in Hawaii next week for the PGA Tour Champions opener.

Cink played at Firestone when it held the World Series of Golf. He missed it when it became a World Golf Championship for only Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup players. And then he won it in 2004 when it was for the top 50 in the world.

So what to make of this new PGA Tour model of signature events and $20 million purses with small fields and most of them not having cuts?

He is in the final year of his full exemption from two victories in the 2021 season, but he was well out of the top 50 (No. 153) in the FedEx Cup. That’s what it takes to secure spots in the eight signature events this year.

The change was a reaction to the ongoing threat of Saudi-funded LIV Golf. The idea was to bring the best players on the PGA Tour together more often and reward them with $20 million prize funds, not to mention a new PGA Tour requirement to have flushable toilets on the course for player families.

“Unfortunately, I do think it’s probably the right thing to do for golf fans,” Cink said. “If all the players play in those and we get great fields playing for a lot of money, then it’s great. It’s just I don’t think it serves everybody. And the PGA Tour has been about doing the best for everybody, for all the pros and members.

More from the Associated Press

Stewart Cink is not a fan of the new signature event format. pic.twitter.com/fcKTfGep9x

— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) January 13, 2024

UPCOMING EVENTS

• PGA Tour: The American Express • January 18-21, 2024 • Pete Dye Stadium Course • LaQuinta, Calif. • Purse: $8.4M • FedEx Cup points: 500
• Korn Ferry Tour:  The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic • January 21-24, 2024 • The Abaco Club on Winding Bay • Great Abaco, Bahamas • Purse: $1M • KFT points: 500
• PGA Tour Champions:  Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalei • January 18-20, 2023 • Ritz-Carlton Golf Club • Orlando, Fla. • Purse: $2M
• PGA Tour Americas: Bupa Championship • March 21-24, 2024 • PGA Riviera Maya • Tulum, Mexico • Purse: $225K • Fortinet Cup points: n/a
• Asian Tour/International Series: International Series Oman • February 22-25, 2024 • Al Mouj Golf • Oman • Purse: $2M • Fortinet Cup points: n/a
• LIV Golf Series: Mayakoba • February 2-4, 2024 • El Camaleon Golf Club • Mayakoba, Mexico • Purse: $20M

#PROJACKETS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

A welcome message from the guys. pic.twitter.com/1jnQr2r9Cx

— HyFlyers GC (@HyFlyers_GC) December 18, 2023

Thanks to Nick Logan for hosting us guys from @The_McLemore at his @Hula_Bowl He’s got a huge heart for the athletes and provides them with a great stage to showcase their talents.

And always fun to hang with my pal @GitRDoneLarry Cable Guy is a weight loss guru now. I got… pic.twitter.com/xq215nGHxP

— Charlie Rymer (@CharlieRymerPGA) January 14, 2024