Nissan #ProJackets Golf Report

April 18, 2017

THE FLATS – Ollie Schniederjans went on a major Sunday rally at the RBC Heritage last weekend, getting to 5-under-par for his round and taking the lead for a brief period of time, but settled back to a tie for third place, his best finish as a PGA Tour rookie.

The 11-under-par 273, two shots off the winning score, earned Schniederjans his fourth top-10 finish this year and moved him up to 38th in FedEx Cup points, the highest position for any former Tech player this season. The performance also took him above $1 million in earnings both for this season and for his career.

While his putter didn’t play a major role — he ranked 40th in strokes gained: putting (minus .001) — the 23-year-old noted he made a change to the current flat stick in the bag. He also adopted the arm-lock method popularized by another former Tech All-American, Matt Kuchar, which allows the grip to rest against the left forearm in an effort to maintain a stable stroke through impact. Schniederjans was using a more conventional setup and grip prior to using the arm-lock method.

“I had a week off during the Masters and just took some time to work on my putting,” Schniederjans told PGATour.com. “I really wanted to make an adjustment because I felt like I wasn’t giving it the best roll every time. It’s something I did a while back with the long putter that just gets me set in, and it was mostly solid this week.”

Ollie Schniederjans on rookie success, adjusting to tour life and golf's "thin line" https://t.co/k8UgJjkTG9 pic.twitter.com/WNwGgQfHOj

— Golf World (@GolfWorld) April 18, 2017

Kuchar, meanwhile, posted another sizzling Sunday round with a 64 to finish tied for 11th place at 276 (-8), his third-best finish of the year, and boosted him to 42nd in FedEx Cup points. Kuchar shot a 65 on Sunday at the Masters, which included a hole-in-one at the par-3 16th hole. His former teammate, Bryce Molder, was the third Jacket to make the cut at Hilton Head, tying for 44th place.

Kuchar is considered one of the favorites this week at the Valero Texas Open, where he has three top-15 finishes since 2012. Molder and Schniederjans also are in the field along with Roberto Castro, Stewart Cink, Cameron Tringale and Richy Werenski.

Elsewhere: Larry Mize continued to play solid golf on the PGA Tour Champions with a tie for 39th finish (214, -2) last weekend at the Mitsubishi Electric Classic at the TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth, Ga. He ranked 46th in Schwab Cup earnings this season … Graduating Tech senior Vincent Whaley tied for 20th in the MacKenzie Tour qualifying event last week at Sebring, Fla., beating par all four rounds to earn early-season status on that tour when it begins in June. Bo Andrews and Drew Czuchry both finished outside of earning any status … The Web.com Tour resumes play this weekend in Indiana after a month off, and all four former Jackets in the tour (Anders Albertson, Chesson Hadley, Seth Reeves, Nicholas Thompson) are in the field. Thompson leads that group, standing eighth in Web.com Tour earnings for 2017, while Albertson is next at No. 49 following his tie for ninth at the Chitimacha Louisiana open last time out.

UPCOMING EVENTS

PGA Tour: RBC Heritage • April 20-23, 2017 • TPC San Antonio – AT&T Oaks • San Antonio, Texas • Purse: $6,200,000 • FedExCup Points: 500
Web.com Tour: United Leasing & Finance Championship • April 20-23, 2017 • Victoria National Golf Club • Newburgh, Ind. • Purse: $600,000
PGA Tour Champions: Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf • April 21-23, 2017 • Top of the Rock • Ridgedale, Mo. • Purse: $2,400,000
MacKenzie Tour: MacKenzie Tour Q-School • five sessions between Mar. 14-May 5 • various sites
PGA Tour China: Henan Open • May 9-15, 2017 • St. Andrews Golf Club • Zhengzhou, Henan
PGA Tour LatinoAmerica: 86 Abierto OSDE del Centro presentado por FiberCorp • April 20-23, 2017 • Cordoba Golf Club • Cordoba, Argentina • Purse: $175,000
Swing Thought Tour: Castle Bay • April 20-23, 2017 • Hampstead, N.C.