Palmetto State golfers making their mark on the PGA Tour, FedEx Cup standings
With the PGA Tour season entering the home stretch and racing toward the FedEx Cup playoffs after the U.S. Open, the results once again illustrate the strength of golf in the Palmetto State.
The numbers create a “wow” factor. The depth is amazing.
If the playoffs started today, nine players who either learned the game in the state’s renown junior program or played in one of the state’s college programs – or both – would be in the field of 125.
Indeed, if the finals – the Tour Championship and its field of 30 – began today, five with Palmetto State roots would have tee times.
“Every player has making the Tour Championship a goal,” Kevin Kisner (Aiken) says. And to have 16.6 percent of the field from South Carolina would be extraordinary.
Consider these statistics: the Palmetto contingent has won six of the Tour’s 32 tournaments to date, features eight players in the top 100 in the World Rankings and should have at least two of the 12 on the U.S. President’s Cup team.
Of course, Dustin Johnson (Irmo/Coastal Carolina) heads the list. He is No. 1 in the World Rankings, FedEx Cup standings and President’s Cup points, and shares the lead with three tournament wins.
Kisner, Johnson’s four-ball partner in junior golf, has one tournament win and two seconds. He is sixth on the FedEx list, 20th in the world and fourth on the President’s list. Both he and Johnson have six top-10 tournament finishes this season.
The list of excellence goes on. Wesley Bryan (Chapin/USC) has celebrated his rookie year on the PGA Tour with a win and four top-10s. He has climbed to No. 21 in the World Rankings. Russell Henley, a Georgian who now lives in Charleston, has added a win and three top-10s.
Joining the tournament winners in the FedEx playoffs will be Bill Haas (Greenville), currently 30th in the standings; Kyle Stanley (Clemson) at 37th; Lucas Glover (Greenville/Clemson) at 42nd; Scott Brown (Aiken/USC Aiken) at 48th; and William McGirt (Boiling Springs/Wofford) at 69th. With one outstanding tournament finish, Sam Saunders (Clemson) at 132, Ben Martin (Greenville/Clemson) at 142 and Mark Anderson (Beaufort/USC) at 177could qualify for the top 125
Or, consider the World Rankings: Johnson 1, Kisner 20, Bryan 41, Haas 46, McGirt 51, Henley 57, Stanley 92 and Glover 100.
If that’s not enough, at least three state players are in prime position to advance to the 2017-18 PGA Tour via the Web.com money list. Going into this week’s tournament, Matt Atkins (USC Aiken), Kyle Thompson (Greenville/USC) and Robert Diaz (North Myrtle Beach/USC Aiken) rank 9, 10 and 11 in earnings, and the top 25 advance.
Jonathan Byrd (Columbia/Clemson), who has won five PGA Tour tourneys, is seeking to bolster his PGA Tour status via the Web.com Tour and is currently 31st in earnings.
Thompson and Atkins have won Web.com tournaments this year, and Thompson and Diaz competed in the U.S. Open.
Chip shots
Christian Salzer (Sumter) and Nick Willis (Cowpens) earned berths in the U.S. Junior Amateur in qualifying at Santee National GC. Salzer fired a 6-under 66 and Willis a 5-under 67 to advance to the national tourney set for July 17-22 in Andover, Kan. … Walter Todd teamed with son Neal to win the SCGA’s Dudley-Sullivan Father-Son title at Greenville CC. … The deadline to register for the Midlands Chevy Dealers Columbia City Golf Championship is Tuesday. Go online to www.fairwayoutreach.net to enter. The tournament will be played June 29-July 1 at Columbia CC. … Katelyn Dambaugh (Goose Creek), who rewrote the record book in her four years at USC, began her professional career with a missed cut and a tie for 15th in her first two Symetra Tour tournaments. … Lois Kaye Go, a native of the Philippines who played at Boston College last season, will join the USC women’s team as a transfer. As a freshman, she won two college tournaments and last week captured the Women’s Porter Cup.
This story was originally published June 16, 2017 at 5:02 PM with the headline "Palmetto State golfers making their mark on the PGA Tour, FedEx Cup standings."