Palmetto State well represented on PGA Tour
If the NFL followed the PGA Tour’s scheduling philosophy, the Super Bowl would be played the first Sunday in February and opening day would follow before the end of the month.
That’s to say, the PGA Tour took all of 17 days off between the FedEx Cup finale and the first tournament of the 20015-16 season. Those who earned spots on the President’s Cup team and wanted to compete in the Frys.com event had even less time away from competition.
From the Palmetto State’s perspective, the Tour remains pretty much the same with the same 14 players – but with some of the eligibility changed.
Here are a few facts and figures about the South Carolina contingent:
Top priority: Dustin Johnson (Columbia/Coastal Carolina), based on his victories in World Golf Championships the past two years.
Tops in the world: Again, Johnson leads the way at No. 8, with Bill Haas (Greenville) at No. 32, Kevin Kisner (Aiken) at No. 34, Russell Henley (Charleston) at No. 55 and Ben Martin (Greenville/Clemson) at No. 70.
Tournament winners: Johnson owns nine titles, Haas six and Jonathan Byrd (Columbia/Clemson) five. Others include Lucas Glover (Greenville/Clemson) with three, D.J. Trahan (Mt. Pleasant/Clemson) and Henley with two each, and Martin, Scott Brown (Aiken/USC Aiken), Kyle Stanley (Clemson), Tommy Gainey (Hartsville) and Matt Bettencourt (Duncan) with one each.
▪ Major champions: Glover, in the 2008 U.S. Open.
▪ FedEx Cup champions: Haas, in 2011.
▪ Products of the state’s junior golf program: Johnson, Haas, Martin, Kisner, Brown, Glover, Byrd, Trahan and Gainey.
▪ Tournament winners in the 2014-15 season: Martin (Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas), Johnson (WGC Cadillac Championship at Doral) and Haas (Humana Challenge in Palm Springs, Calif.).
Exempt beyond this season (based on tournament win in the last two years): Johnson, Haas, Henley and Martin.
Knocking at the Door: Kisner, who tied for the top in three 2014-15 tournaments and fell short in the playoff in all three – at the RBC Heritage (to Jim Furyk), the Players (to Rickie Fowler) and the Greenbrier (to Danny Lee). Only in the Greenbrier did he hit a poor shot in the playoff.
The PGA Tour has 37 categories for eligibility and players in the top 19 are guaranteed spots in any PGA Tour-sponsored event except a couple of invitations. Using that for a yardstick, seven state players – Johnson, Haas, Henley, Martin, Kisner, William McGirt (Boiling Springs/Wofford) and Brown – can set their schedules.
Three more – Sam Saunders (Clemson), Stanley and Glover – earned 2015-16 playing cards through the Web.com Finals, which includes players who finished in the top 75 on the Web.com Tour and from 126-200 in FedEx points on the PGA Tour. Their priority is No. 26 and they can play in most non-invitational events.
The other four – Byrd, Gainey, Trahan, and Bettencourt – fall into the past champions category, the 33rd priority.
In addition, players can earn spots in tournaments during Monday qualifying and sponsor’s exemptions. But high priority relieves the stress and McGirt provides the perfect example. He had assured his 2015-16 playing card by finishing in the top 125 in FedEx points before lightning struck.
In last year’s Deutsche Bank Championship, the second of four tournaments in the FedEx Cup playoffs, he eagled the 17th hole in the final round – with a 7-iron shot from 169 yards – to qualify for the next week’s BMW Championship.
“A huge bonus,” McGirt, a North Carolina native who settled in Boiling Springs with wife Sarah after graduating from Wofford, said in September in reflecting on his season. “By making the top 70 (in FedEx points), I get into Colonial and the Memorial (both invitationals).”
Notes: Former USC golfer James Morrison, who has won twice on the European Tour, is ranked 88th in the world golf rankings. ... Clemson’s men’s team finished its fall season ranked 11th in the Golfweek national poll. USC is No. 21. ... The Gamecocks’ Matt NeSmith is No. 14 in the men’s World Amateur Golf Rankings. ... On the women’s side, Clemson freshmen Alce Hewson (20th) and Lexington’s Lauren Stephenson (27th), in addition to USC’s Katelyn Dambaugh (45th), have earned places in the women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings. Former USC player Justine Dreher is 46th.
This story was originally published November 7, 2015 at 4:45 PM with the headline "Palmetto State well represented on PGA Tour."