Where SC golfers stand, what’s next as PGA Tour halts amid coronavirus outbreak
When — or if — the PGA Tour resumes its competition that has been interrupted by the coronavirus outbreak, many South Carolinians on the tour need fast starts, no matter the format for future status.
Dustin Johnson (Columbia/Coastal Carolina) and Kevin Kisner (Aiken) are secure for multiple years based on past performances, and Matt NeSmith (Aiken/USC) and Scott Brown (Aiken/USC Aiken) can relax as they look toward the 2020-21 season.
Wesley Bryan (Columbia/USC) and William McGirt (Spartanburg/Wofford) will compete on major medical status that could linger into next season. The other 10 have work to do.
Under the current format that almost certainly will be adjusted, NeSmith is enjoying a solid rookie year, ranking 64th in FedEx Cup points, and Brown is right behind at No. 70.
Also inside the top 125 — the position presently required to maintain unlimited playing status for the following season — but in tenuous spots are Doc Redman (Clemson) at 102, D.J. Trahan (Mt. Pleasant/Clemson) at 121 and Kyle Stanley (Clemson) at 123.
Russell Henley (Charleston) is close at 127, followed by Ben Martin (Grenville/Clemson) at 139, Lucas Glover (Greenville/Clemson) at 141, and Mark Anderson (Beaufort/USC) at 142. Bill Haas (Greenville), Jonathan Byrd (Columbia/Clemson) and Tommy Gainey (Hartsville) are 200 or higher.
The best tourney finish by a Palmetto State player this season belongs to Brown, who finished tied for second in the Genesis Invitational at Riviera, one stroke out in a playoff for the title.
Other top 10s: Stanley, t3 at Puerto Rico; Kisner, t4 at Sony; NeSmith, t6 in Puerto Rico; Johnson, t7 in the Tournament of Champions and t10 at the Genesis; Trahan, t8 in the RSM at Sea Island; Henley, t8 in the Honda; and Glover, t9 in Las Vegas.
The good news: One or two outstanding performances send a player zooming up the standings. The bad news: With so many tournaments canceled, fields in any remaining events are likely to be stronger.
Under the current rules, both Gainey and Andrew Novak (Mount Pleasant/Wofford) would advance to next season’s PGA Tour from the Korn Ferry Tour.
Novak won the Korn Ferry’s Suncoast tourney in Florida and ranks fourth on the points list. Gainey won the Korn Ferry’s Bahamas event is eighth. Gainey currently gets limited PGA Tour starts on former champion status.
All events on both tours through May 17 have been canceled (PGA Tour tournaments) or postponed (the Masters and the PGA Championship). If the postponed majors are not played, the PGA Tour season would be reduced from 46 events to 35, plus three playoff tournaments.
Chip shots. All competitions for the South Carolina Golf Association, the Women’s South Carolina Golf Association, he Carolinas Golf Association and the South Carolina Junior Golf Association have been suspended through May 10. . . . Britain’s Alice Hewson, who forged a record-setting career at Clemson, made her first professional start a memorable won, winning the Ladies European Tour’s South African Women’s Open.