Aug. 22, 2017
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech has a foursome in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, which begin this week with The Northern Trust event in Old Westbury, N.Y. Matt Kuchar (No. 15 in FedEx Cup points), Ollie Schniederjans (No. 39), Stewart Cink (No. 76) and Richy Werenski (No. 108) have all put together excellent late-season performances and enter the four-event stretch with momentum.
The top 125 in FedEx Cup points following last weekend’s Wyndham Championship advanced to the playoffs. After The Northern Trust, the top 100 will move on to the Dell Technologies Championship Sept. 1-4 in Boston, and the top 70 after that event will advance to the BMW Championship outside of Chicago, Ill. The top 30 after the BMW come to Atlanta for the season-ending Tour Championship.
At No. 15, Kuchar would appear in good position to make it to Atlanta. Schniederjans, No. 39 with a bullet following his stellar performance last weekend at the Wyndham Championship, is in good position to reach the third stage (BMW). Cink is in position to advance to the second stage in Boston, while Werenski needs a big performance this week to advance.
Schniederjans, a rookie on the PGA Tour, went toe-to-toe with 2013 FedEx Cup champion Henrik Stenson on Sunday with a bogey-free 64, but fell a stroke short of the title. Still, he earned the best finish of his brief career on the PGA Tour. The 2014 Tech graduate birdied three of his last four holes, but Stenson held him off with six birdies in the last eight. It was Schniederjans’ fifth top-10 finish this season.
Werenski, also a rookie, had moved up to No. 122 following his runner-up finish at the Barracuda Championship last week, but cemented his position in the playoffs by tying for 10th place at the Wyndham, his third top-10 finish of the year. The 2013 Tech graduate missed five straight cuts as mid-season, but rose from that to finish T25, T18, T42, T2 and T10 in his last five events since then, moving up from 160 to 108 in the FedEx Cup.
Here’s how Schniederjans’ came down the stretch on Sunday at the Wyndham:
In the final round of the 2017 Wyndham Championship, Ollie Schniederjans’s second shot takes a firm bounce off the hospitality tent and into the greenside bunker on the par-5 15th hole then nearly holes his third shot resulting in a tap-in birdie.
In the final round of the 2017 Wyndham Championship, Ollie Schniederjans pours in a 40-foot putt for birdie on the par-4 17th hole.
In the final round of the 2017 Wyndham Championship, Ollie Schniederjans blisters his tee shot 341 yards then nearly holes his second shot on the par-4 18th hole resulting in a tap-in birdie.
After the third round of the 2017 Wyndham Championship, Richy Werenski talked to Amanda Balionis about playing into the FedExCup standings this week.
Web.com Tour: The three Georgia Tech alumni who are outside the top 125 – Cameron Tringale (133), Roberto Castro (172) and Bryce Molder (190) – are all eligible for the Web.com Tour finals, a four-tournament series after which the top 25 earners in those four events are awarded PGA Tour cards. The Finals begins with the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship Aug. 31-Sept. 3 in Columbus, Ohio.
Meanwhile, one event remains on the Web.com Tour for Nicholas Thompson (No. 31), Seth Reeves (No. 55) and Anders Albertson (No. 56) to make the top 25 in regular-season earnings, and that is the WinCo Foods Portland Open this weekend in North Plains, Ore. Albertson tied for 15th place (-11) and Reeves tied for 23rd (-10) at last weekend’s News Sentinel Open in Knoxville, Tenn., while Thompson missed the cut. The top 25 in regular-season are awarded PGA Tour cards for 2017-18, which is how Schniederjans and Werenski earned their cards for this season. Players who finish the Web.com Tour regular-season ranked No. 26-75 are eligible for the Web.com Tour Finals,
UPCOMING EVENTS
PGA Tour: The Northern Trust • August 24-27, 2017 • Glen Oaks Club • Old Westbury, N.Y. • Purse: $8,750,000 • FedExCup Points: 2,000
Web.com Tour: WINCO Foods Portland Open • August 24-27, 2017 • Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club • North Plains, Ore. • Purse: $800,000
PGA Tour Champions: Boeing Classic • August 25-27, 2017 • The Club at Snoqualmie Ridge • Snoqualmie, Wash. • Purse: $2,100,000
Mackenzie Tour: Cape Breton Open • Aug. 31-Sept. 3, 2017 • Bell Bay Golf Club • Baddeck, Nova Scotia • $175,000
PLAYER | LAST WEEK | SEASON STATS | |
ANDERS ALBERTSON Woodstock, Ga. Turned pro: 2015 Career earnings: $162,510 Years at Georgia Tech: 2011-15 High School: Etowah Status: Web.com Tour | Last Week T-15 70-69-65-69—273 (-11) | Money rank 56 Earnings $79,564 | |
BO ANDREWS Raleigh, N.C. Turned pro: 2014 Career earnings: n/a Years at Georgia Tech: 2010-14 High School: Fike Status: no status | Last Week did not play n/a | Money rank n/a Earnings n/a | |
ROBERTO CASTRO Alpharetta, Ga. Turned pro: 2007 Career earnings: $6,593,585 Years at Georgia Tech: 2003-07 High School: Milton Status: PGA Tour | Last Week T-28 69-68-68-66—271 (-9) | FedEx Cup Rank 172 Earnings $367,362 | |
STEWART CINK Duluth, Ga. Turned pro: 1995 Career earnings: $35,153,242 Years at Georgia Tech: 1991-95 High School: Bradshaw (Florence, Ala.) Status: PGA Tour | Last Week did not play n/a | FedEx Cup Rank 76 Earnings $1,201,860 | |
DREW CZUCHRY Auburn, Ga. Turned pro: 2015 Career earnings: n/a Years at Georgia Tech: 2010-14 High School: home schooled Status: Mini-Tours | Last Week did not play n/a | Money rank n/a Earnings n/a | |
DAVID DUVAL Denver, Colo. Turned pro: 1993 Career earnings: $19,196,243 Years at Georgia Tech: 1989-93 High School: Jacksonville (Fla.) Episcopal Status: no status | Last Week did not play n/a | FedEx Cup Rank n/a Earnings n/a | |
J.T. GRIFFIN Wilson, N.C. Turned pro: 2011 Career earnings: $52,151 Years at Georgia Tech: 2007-11 High School: Fike Status: SwingThought.com | Last Week did not play n/a | Money rank n/a Earnings n/a | |
CHESSON HADLEY Raleigh, N.C. Turned pro: 2010 Career earnings (PGA + Web.com): $4,234,200 (combined) Years at Georgia Tech: 2006-10 High School: North Raleigh Christian Academy Status: Web.com Tour | Last Week missed cut 67-74—141 (+1) | Money Rank 2 (211 FedEx Cup) Earnings $264,350 ($82,208 on PGA Tour) | |
SHUN YAT HAK Hong Kong, China Turned pro: 2013 Career earnings: ¥251,305 Years at Georgia Tech: 2012-13 High School: Lake Mary (Fla.) Prep Status: PGA Tour China | Last Week did not play n/a | Money rank n/a Earnings n/a | |
MATT KUCHAR Sea Island, Ga. Turned pro: 2000 Career earnings: $41,212,030 Years at Georgia Tech: 1997-2000 High School: Seminole (Lake Mary, Fla.) Status: PGA Tour | Last Week did not play n/a | FedEx Cup Rank 15 Earnings $3,506,639 | |
TROY MATTESON Austin, Texas Turned pro: 2003 Career earnings: $10,072,266 Years at Georgia Tech: 2000-03 High School: L.C. Anderson Status: no status | Last Week did not play n/a | FedEx/Money Rank 237 (PGA Tour) Earnings $12,376 | |
LARRY MIZE Columbus, Ga. Turned pro: 1980 Career earnings: $12,418,951 Years at Georgia Tech: 1975-79 High School: unknown Status: PGA Tour Champions | Last Week T-41 69-73-72—214 (-2) | Schwab Cup Rank 50 Earnings $234,482 | |
BRYCE MOLDER Scottsdale, Ariz. Turned pro: 2001 Career earnings: $11,129,782 Years at Georgia Tech: 1998-2001 High School: Conway (Ark.) Status: PGA Tour | Last Week withdrew 72 | FedEx Cup Rank 190 Earnings $216,892 | |
SETH REEVES Duluth, Ga. Turned pro: 2014 Career earnings: $80,153 Years at Georgia Tech: 2010-14 High School: Peachtree Ridge Status: Web.com Tour | Last week T-23 70-68-68-68—274 (-10) | Money rank 55 Earnings $80,153 | |
OLLIE SCHNIEDERJANS Powder Springs, Ga. Turned pro: 2015 Career earnings: $2,146,161 Years at Georgia Tech: 2011-15 High School: Harrison Status: PGA Tour | Last Week T-2 66-63-66-64—259 (-21) | FedEx Cup rank 39 Earnings $1,917,469 | |
KYLE SCOTT Johannesburg, South Africa Turned pro: 2011 Career earnings: $25,946 Years at Georgia Tech: 2009-11 High School: Edenglen Status: Web.com Tour | Last Week did not play n/a | Money rank n/a Earnings n/a | |
NICHOLAS THOMPSON Coral Springs, Fla. Turned pro: 2005 Career earnings (PGA + Web.com): $6,512,246 (combined) Years at Georgia Tech: 2001-05 High School: Stoneman Douglas Status: Web.com Tour | Last Week missed cut 73-68—141 (-1) | Money Rank 31 Earnings $131,848 | |
CAMERON TRINGALE Laguna Niguel, Calif. Turned pro: 2009 Career earnings: $9,691,139 Years at Georgia Tech: 2005-09 High School: Mission Viejo Status: PGA Tour | Last Week missed cut 71-68—139 (-1) | FedEx Cup Rank 133 Earnings $792,814 | |
MINGHAO WANG Xian, China Turned pro: 2013 Career earnings: n/a Years at Georgia Tech: 2008-13 High School: Celebration Academy Status: PGA Tour China | Last week did not play n/a | Money rank n/a Earnings n/a | |
RICHY WERENSKI South Hadley, Mass. Turned pro: 2014 Career earnings: $875,892 Years at Georgia Tech: 2011-14 High School: Fike Status: PGA Tour | Last Week T-10 67-66-64-69—266 (-14) | FedEx Cup rank 108 Earnings $868,667 | |
JAMES WHITE Acworth, Ga. Turned pro: 2012 Career earnings: $12,138 Years at Georgia Tech: 2008-12 High School: Harrison Status: MacKenzie Tour | Last Week T-45 68-71-72-66—277 (-7) | Money Rank 41 Earnings $12,138 |