Crunch time: Only two weeks left on PGA Tour, Korn Ferry Tour, for area players to qualify for post-season

Garry Smits, Florida Times-Union

July 27, 2022 at 10:42 AM·5 min read

Billy Horschel's victory at The Memorial helped vault the Ponte Vedra Beach resident into the top-20 on the FedEx Cup points list.

The suspension of eight of the PGA Tour players who defected to LIV Golf has given new life to eight players under the bubble on the FedEx Cup points list with two tournaments to play.

And there may be more.

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According to a memo to the Tour membership from commissioner Jay Monahan, obtained by Golf Digest, players below No. 125 on the final FedEx Cup points list after the next two tournaments — this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit and the Wyndham Championship next week in Greensboro, N.C. — will move up to replace those ahead of them who are not playing on the LIV Golf Series.

Those players are Talor Gooch, Abraham Ancer, Matt Jones, Brooks Koepka, Carlos Ortiz, Pat Perez, Hudson Swafford and Matthew Wolff.

That means instead of No. 125 Webb Simpson being the “Bubble Boy,” it’s now No. 133 Stephan Jaeger.

However, the floor may move even more. If Charles Howell III and Jason Kokrak tee it up Thursday in the first round of the LIV Series event at Trump Bedminster, they will presumably be put on the suspension list and the chances for No. 134 Austin Smotherman and No. 136 Max McGreevy get better.

Paul Casey, who is No. 135, would not be eligible because he is playing for LIV Golf.

In past years, the FedEx Cup top-125 has been considered a “hard field,” with no alternates in the case of injury or if a player opted out of the first playoff event.

Cameron Smith is the highest-ranked area resident on the FedEx Cup points list at No. 2, behind Scottie Scheffler.

“While the new list will not take the place of the official FedEx Cup points list, it will provide clarity for players and fans alike in regard to tournament eligibility,” the memo said.

The revised list makes sure that suspended players don’t impact those remaining with the Tour.

The PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour each have two tournaments left for players to qualify for their respective playoffs. The PGA Tour Champions has nine tournaments remaining to qualify for the Schwab Cup playoffs.

Here are the playoff pictures:

PGA Tour: Cam leads area players

Players champion and British Open winner Cameron Smith of Ponte Vedra Beach is second on the FedEx Cup points list behind Scottie Scheffler but can’t catch him. Scheffler is 1,221 points ahead and even if Smith entered the Rocket Mortgage and Wyndham and won, he’s get 1,000 points at best.

Smith leads a dozen First Coast and Golden Isles players inside the top-125 and only No. 120 Patton Kizzire of St. Simons Island, Ga., seems in jeopardy of slipping out. He’s 30 points ahead of Jaeger.

The rest of the area players within the top-125 with two weeks left are Billy Horschel of Ponte Vedra (18), J.T. Poston (22), Keith Mitchell (37) and Brian Harman (54) of St. Simons, Lanto Griffin (65) of Jacksonville, Trey Mullinax (68) of St. Simons, Russell Knox (92) of Ponte Vedra, Greyson Sigg (107) of St. Simons, Sam Ryder (113) of Atlantic Beach and Michael Thompson (114) of St. Simons.

Korn Ferry Tour: Yuan in charge

Carl Yuan of China, who was set up his American base in Jacksonville, is first on the Korn Ferry Tour list, 376 points ahead. The Tour is playing in Utah next week and Boise the week after.

No other area players are among the top-25 who would automatically get their Tour cards for 2023. The next-highest is A.J. Crouch of Jacksonville, who is 64th, followed by Chris Baker of Jacksonville in 68th.

Former University of North Florida player Phillip Knowles has some work to do in the final two regular-season events to qualify for the Korn-Ferry Tour playoffs.

The top-75 players on the points list after Omaha advance to the three-tournament playoffs, to be joined by 75 PGA Tour players who finished below the final spot on the FedEx Cup points list. Former UNF player Phillip Knowles is 82nd, 36 points behind No. 75 Vince India. Taylor Dickson of St. Simons Island, Ga. Is 90th (51 points back) and Blayne Barber of Lake City is 107th (109 points behind).

PGA Tour Champions: Plenty of time

The top-72 on the final money list advance to the Schwab Cup playoffs, which begin Oct. 22-24 with the Dominion Energy Charity Classic.

That leaves nine tournaments to make hay, and only two area residents are currently inside the top-72, Vijay Singh of Ponte Vedra (48th) and Jim Furyk of Jacksonville (56th).

Three past Players champions are within range: Davis Love III (84th) of St. Simons, David Duval (85th) of Jacksonville and Fred Funk (98th), formerly of Ponte Vedra.

The remaining tournaments include the Furyk & Friends Oct. 7-9 at the Timuquana Country Club. Tickets for the tournament and the Lady A concert can be purchased by visiting constellationfurykandfriends.com.

PGA TOUR

Event: Rocket Mortgage Classic, Thursday-Sunday, Detroit Golf Club.

At stake: $8.4 million purse ($1,512,000 and 500 FedEx Cup points to the winner).

Defending champion: Cameron Davis.

TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 3-6 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m.); CBS (Saturday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m.).

Area players entered: Jonathan Byrd, Harris English, Zach Johnson, Patton Kizzire, Russell Knox, Davis Love III, Trey Mullinax, Doc Redman, Sam Ryder, Michael Thompson, Jared Wolfe.

Notable: Davis defeated Troy Merrit with a par on the fifth playoff hole. Joaquin Niemann had been eliminated with a bogey on the first hole of sudden death. ... Leading the field is last week's 3M Open winner Tony Finau, and Patrick Cantlay, Max Homa, Adam Scott, Cameron Young and Will Zalatoris. ... Also playing are past major champions Geoff Ogilvy and Danny Willett.

LPGA TOUR

Event: True Golf Women's Scottish Open, Thursday-Sunday, Dundonald Links, Ayrshire, Scotland.

At stake: $2 million purse ($300,000 to the winner).

Defending champion: Ryan O'Toole.

TV: Golf Channel (Thursday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.).

Area players entered: Chella Choi, Mel Reid

Notable: O'Toole, and 11-year veteran, won her first title with a closing 64 to beat Lydia Ko and Atthaya Thitikul by three shots. ... Eight of the top-10 on the women's world rankings are in the field, except for Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson. ... The Women's British Open is next week at Muirfield.

Contact Garry Smits at gsmits@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Crunch time: Area PGA Tour, Korn Ferry players have only two weeks o qualify for post-season

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