1st Korn Ferry golf tournament in Maine tees off at Falmouth Country Club tomorrow
Jun. 23—On Thursday, 153 golfers will tee off at the Falmouth Country Club at the first-ever Live and Work in Maine Open Korn Ferry Tour.
It will be the first time a Korn Ferry Tour event has been held in Maine and it will kick off a five-year arrangement between the tour and the Falmouth Country Club.
Golfers representing 14 countries will play 72 holes for a total purse of $600,000, while the winner will pocket $108,000.
The professionals have one thing on their minds: earning a PGA Tour card.
The top 25 money-winners during the regular season and the top 25 total money-earners in their three championship round tournaments will earn their PGA Tour cards for next season.
The top five money-winners on the tour won't be playing in Falmouth, but 16 of the next 20 on the money list are included in the field including 24-year-old California native Brandon Wu, who is sixth in the rankings. The former Stanford University standout attended Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts before going to Stanford.
Brandon Wu has a win and has tied for second twice this season on the Korn Ferry Tour.
One of three amateurs in the field is 19-year-old Caleb Manuel from Topsham, who earned a spot by finishing tied for third in an 18-hole Monday qualifier at The Ledges Golf Club in York. He shot a six-under 66 with six birdies and no bogeys.
He said he was pleased with his effort, especially on the greens.
"I putted very well," said the two-time state team and individual champion at Mt. Ararat High School in Topsham.
Manuel, who was the Big East Freshman of the Year at the University of Connecticut this past spring as well as first team All-Big East and All-Northeast Region, played at the Falmouth Country Club on Tuesday to prepare for the tourney.
He said the fairways are in good shape and the rough isn't very thick "but the greens have a lot of slope."
Manuel is excited about the opportunity.
"My family will be watching and a friend of mine from Mt. Ararat, Will Kavanaugh, will be on the bag [caddying]," he said.
Kavanaugh plays golf at Bangor's Husson University.
Manuel said his goal is to be a professional golfer and he would love to play on the Korn Ferry Tour after his college career is over.
This tournament gives him a chance to see where he stacks up against the pros, many of whom have played PGA Tour events.
"I'm looking forward to it," he said.
Among the other golfers is New Bedford, Massachusetts, native Peter Uihlein, who has made the cut in seven of the 11 PGA Tour events he has entered this season and finished third with a 19-under-par 269 at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in April.
The 2013 European Tour Rookie of the Year has played in 110 PGA Tour events during his career with 10 top-10 finishes and 24 top-25s.
Dylan Wu finished tied for 31st in his first U.S. Open last weekend. Taylor Montgomery tied for 57th.
Cameron Young won back-to-back Korn Ferry tournaments last month, and is eighth on the money list.
Windham's Shawn Warren, a teaching pro at the Falmouth Country Club, and Portland Country Club pro Dan Venezio will also be in the field as a result of sponsor exemptions.
