The inaugural “TV Golf Watching with Andy’s Golf & Travel Diary” was a success! Thank you to all who called in and contributed! Golf on TV is definitely more fun watching with friends no matter where they are around the world!

WOW, did Dustin Johnson make a statement today or what! Dunks one for eagle on the home hole and wins by 6 strokes! Congratulations! I have never been to the FedEx St. Jude Classic but did make it to Memphis, Graceland, Beale Street, & BB King’s way back in 2010! What a tour of Graceland! What a year 2010 was for Andy’s Golf & Travel Diary!

2010 Season: Memphis; Visiting Elvis at Graceland & Beale Street too!

To capture the fun, camaraderie, and entertaining inaugural “TV Golf Watching with Andy’s Golf & Travel Diary” here is the corresponding Facebook log:

Watching the FedEx St. Jude… join me via a free conference call. Let’s talk golf while enjoying the broadcast! Message me for the Dial In number & Access Code

Andy Reistetter Jason Salinas, thanks for your like! r u a golfer? Could use a Texan perspective!

Jason Salinas Used to be an avid golfer and now I just watch mostly.

Andy Reistetter Oops just lost somebody, please call back!

Kay DeMott Johnson still up

Andy Reistetter Great update Kay DeMott! Call in so we can enjoy more!

Andy Reistetter This is fun! For the record Pedro Luis Amengual-Gutierrez was the first to connect! Puerto Rico’s finest golf ambassador!

Andy Reistetter If Byron Bos Man were to call in we would have to start charging a fee! How about a freebie for 10 minutes of your time Bos Man?

Andy Reistetter Byron Bos did you get my text?

Byron Bos Andy Reistetter yes I did. Tied up with some other stuff currently. You doing that for US OPEN? I’m in for that

Andy Reistetter Byron Bos YES, let’s do that!! LMK if you got text, current number?

Byron Bos I got the text yep

Andy Reistetter OMG, going ALL the way back to the California 4 some in the early 1980s! We thought Glenn was headed to the tour until that disastrous first hole at Industry Hills on the Eisenhower Course! LOL

California’s CordeValle, the Perfect Weekend Getaway

Andy Reistetter OMG No, Jim Butz passed on??? Say it aint so! Great guy.

Andy Reistetter Dottie Pepper looks great in that Katherine Deen Way attire! Katherine we are doing 30-second promo if you want to call in!

Andy Reistetter We took a poll… it’s okay if Cink comes back & beats DJ… we are all over that Turnberry thing!

Reminiscing about Tom Watson & the 2009 Turnberry Open…

Andy Reistetter Would love to see a feature on ‘That Girl!’ 80 years young!

Marlo Thomas on Wikipedia

Andy Reistetter DJ, 3-stroke lead with 3 holes to go! Betting DJ closes this one…

Andy Reistetter DJ was one shot off the lead in the final round of the 2011 British Open at Royal St. George’s when he blew a 2-iron out-of-bounds on a reachable par-5…. remember that???

Andy Reistetter Makes birdie… has come a long, long, long way in 7 years!!!

Andy Reistetter “A man that doesn’t look at another woman is pretty much a dead man.”- Lady on the call today… Okay, back to the golf! LOL! What fun!

Andy Reistetter Looks like I am dead either way! LOL

Andy Reistetter This is getting weird!!!

Andy Reistetter Al Geiberger, the original ‘Mr. 59. So how many have followed in his footprints on the PGA TOUR???

Andy Reistetter WOW, now that is a way to finish! DJ dunks one for eagle on the home hole! Understandably the winner graphic was a bit late! LOL

Andy Reistetter Love that Dash-Jason Day Father’s Day commercial!

Barbara Helfer Great way to spend the afternoon talking golf, friendship, and life with friends! Thanks for hosting the first golf call! Lisa it was great connecting with you!

Andy Reistetter Right on Barbara Helfer! Thank you for joining in on the fun time! You & Lisa Bennett-Fish carried the show! Dustin who? Hope that you can join in for next weekend’s US Open! ‘TV Golf Watching with Andy’s Golf & Travel Diary!’ I think we are on to something new & exciting!

Lisa Bennett-Fish I agree, it was a splendid spiritual pleasure watching St. Jude’s tournament and enjoying rich conversation! Barbra Helfer, it was a pleasure to meet you and once again as always…a blessed visit with you Mr. Andy Reistetter!…Thank you for the invite and look forward to some more SPLENDID telecasting!

That’s all folks!

Call-in next weekend for more ‘TV Golf Watching with Andy’s Golf & Travel Diary’ at Shinnecock Hills and the U.S. Open!

Austin Cook, 2017 RSM Classic Champion! Photo Credit: QCOnline.com

Here comes another one of those young fellows destined for glory on the PGA TOUR!

You have to love Austin Cook’s perseverance, talent, and success! Today and along the way. Solid collegiate career as a Razoeback for the University of Arkansas. Turned pro right after college in 2014. NO GO on the Web.com Tour after finishing T130th in its Qualifying Tournament. Then he went the Monday Qualifying and mini-tour route to success.

The 2017 RSM Classic was only his 14th PGA TOUR event with at least one tournament each of the past five years. He Monday-qualified for the 2014 FedEx St. Jude Classic and finished T13 earning $100K. Then he made six out of seven cuts in 2016 after Monday-qualifying and finishing T11 in the 2015 Shell Houston Open. He made $500K in 2015 and that got him into the Web.com Tour Finals where he finished one out of a tour card for 2016. Persevering to the PGA TOUR  for this 2017-2018 season via finishing 20th on the 2017 Web.com Tour.

Way to go Austin Cook!

The Sea Island Golf Club Defines Southeast Golf!

Way to go to you if you get the opportunity to play the Sea Island Golf Club! It is a great golfing experience and as  I wrote about, it defines Southeast Golf!

Jonathan Byrd with the champion’s surf board after winning the 2017 Web.com Tour Championship!

The next wave of Web.com Tour and Web.com FINALS have come ashore and are heading to the 2017-18 PGA TOUR. The Top 25 from the regular season, led by Brice Garnett, are now joined by another FINALS 25, led by Web.com TOUR Champion Jonathan Byrd and Peter Uihlein who earned $386 more than Byrd in the cumulative four-event playoffs.

Byrd, who won for the first time in 18 Web.com events this year, had missed the last two playoff cuts after finishing T31 in the first event. Playing in nine PGA TOUR events his only Top-10 finish came in July, a T5 at the John Deere Classic. His last of five PGA TOUR wins came at the January 2011 Tournament of Champions, his entry gained by his walk-off ace in the playoff in Las Vegas the Previous October.

Jonathan Byrd, 2017 Web.com Tour Championship Winner!

Struggling the last two years, the 39-year old Byrd came into this week tied at No. 66 in the FINALS 25 Rank. Burnt out, his wife Amanda gave him permission to miss the tour championship. That support triggered a change in his mindset and after a Saturday practice round he felt the course matched his game. With his new “be athletic and be aggressive’ attitude he made eight birdies in his first round 7-under 64. He followed that with seven more in Round 2 (65) and eight more in Round 3 (64). All it took in the Monday final round was four in his bogey-free 67 to win by four strokes over Shawn Stefani and Sam Saunders.

Saunders had started the week with a record-setting 59. The Atlantic Beach CC resident and de facto player host followed that with a 66 to lead at the halfway point by two strokes over Julian Etulain (weekend 74-70 to finish T20 and rank 44 in the Finals 25) and four over Byrd. Saunders nemesis was the par-5 18^th hole which although he birdied on his way to the 59, he double-bogeyed in Round 2 and bogeyed in Round 3. A par on the last in the final round and a T2 finish will take him back to the PGA TOUR for the fourth year in a row.

Who would catch the next wave to the PGA TOUR?

There was excitement all week as to who would make it into the FINALS 25 and who would drop out with a 2017-2018 PGA TOUR card on the line. As many that come into glory the same number fall out. This year the number was five and here are the “5 IN & 5 OUT.”

5 IN:   Jonathan Byrd, from T66 to 2^nd,, with the win; Shawn Stefani, from T47 to 7^th, with a T2 finish; Matt Jones, from T47 to 17, with a T5 finish; Cameron Tringale, from 49 to 18, with a T5 finish; and Tom Hoge from 31 to 23 with a T12 finish.

5 OUT:   Adam Svensson, from 17 to 26, missing the cut; Ben Crane, from 18 to 27, did not play; Matthew Southgate, from 20 to 28, missing the cut; Cameron Percy, from 25 to 29, finished T20; and Ryo Ishikawa, from22 to 31, finishing T40.

Of course as the action of the tournament came to a climax during the final round there were some who were in, then out, and then back in. Likewise there were some who were out, then in, and then back out.

Approaching his 16th hole of the final round (the 7th), Seamus Power was No. 26, then he bogeyed and ended up No. 25 as the Bubble Boy! Go figure!

The Bubble Boy was Seamus Power who started at No. 19 on Thursday and finished at No. 25, just $2,688 ahead on No. 26 Adam Svensson. Starting on No. 10, he was near the end of his round playing the par-5 7^th where the scoreboard projected his rank as No. 26. Outside a tour card, he needed to get it up-and-down from a tight lie short left of the green. His 40-yard pitch landed a foot short in the front left bunker. After his sand wedge he just missed a 15-footer for par. The bogey seemingly putting his out of reach of a tour card.

Power’s par-par finish seemed to seal his destiny until Matt Harmon, in the 25^th slot, came along and three-putted the 18^th for a bogey. That knocked him out of the FINALS 25 (ended at No.32) and allowed Power to move into the FINALS 25.

Power dodged another bullet when Roberto Castro came along in second-to-the-last group and nearly drained a 30-foot eagle putt. Castro finished at No. 30.

Jonathon Byrd, by virtue of his Web.com Tour Championship win, and 49 other golfers based on their year-long and/or FINALS play are heading to the PGA TOUR! Congratulations, well done!

Here are the details of all fifty 2017-2018 PGA TOUR members:

The FINAL 5 of the FINALS 25!

The first twenty-five tour cards have already been awarded to the Top-25, the Golden Boys, of the 22-event regular season (in order of finish, then (country, age; Web.com career starts, wins, wins this Web.com season; PGA TOUR starts, wins): 1. Brice Garnett (USA, 34; 104, 2, 2; 75, 0), 2. Sam Ryder (USA, 27; 45, 1, 1; 1, 0), 3. Abraham Ancer (Mexico, 26; 60, 1, 0; 20, 0), 4. Andrew Landry (USA, 30; 53, 2, 1; 19, 0), 5. Stephan Jaegar (Germany, 28; 73, 3, 2; 4, 0), 6. Talor Gooch (USA, 25; 22, 1, 1; 2, 0), 7. Kyle Thompson (USA, 38: 292, 5, 1; 55, 0), 8. Andrew Putnam (USA, 28; 93, 2, 1; 25, 0), 9. Chesson Hadley (USA, 30; 44, 4, 2; 96, 1), 10. Ben Silverman (Canada, 29; 38, 1, 1; 1, 0), 11. Nate Lashley (USA, 34; 50, 1, 1; 1, 0), 12. Adam, Schenk (USA, 25; 48, 1, 1; 0, 0), 13. Andrew Yun (USA, 26; 70, 0, 0; 0, 0), 14. Ted Potter Jr. (USA, 33; 109, 2, 0; 75, 1), 15. Austin Cook (USA, 26; 51, 0, 0; 10, 0), 16. Zecheng ‘Marty’ Dou (China, 20; 24, 1, 1; 3, 0), 17. Conrad Shindler (USA, 29; 25, 1, 1; 2, 0), 18. Aaron Wise (USA, 21; 16, 1, 1; 8, 0), 19. Matt Atkins (USA, 26; 65, 1, 1; 2, 0), 20. Xinjun Zhang (China, 30; 23, 0, 0; 2, 0), 21. Brandon Harkins (USA, 31; 26, 0, 0; 1, 0), 22. Lanto Griffin (USA, 29; 24, 1, 1; 2, 0), 23. Beau Hossler (USA, 22; 14, 0, 0; 12, 0), 24. Ethan Tracy (25, 1, 1; 4, 0), 25. Roberto Diaz (Mexico, 30; 80, 0, 0; 5, 0).

Jonathan Byrd, 2017 Web.com Tour Championship Winner!

The second twenty-five FINALS tour cards earned during the four-event playoff that cumulated this week at the Web.com Tour Championship (in order of finish, then (country, PGA TOUR or Web.com) age; Web.com career starts, wins, wins this Web.com season; PGA TOUR starts, wins): 1. Peter Uihlein (USA, PGA TOUR, 28; 5, 1, 1; 30, 0) 2. Jonathan Byrd (USA, Web.com, 39; 69, 2, 1; 366, 5) 3. Nicholas Lindheim (USA, PGA TOUR, 32; 59, 2, 1; 22, 0) 4. Bob Oppenheim (USA, Web.com, 37; 169, 1, 0; 28, 0) 5. Ryan Armour (USA, PGA TOUR, 41; 241, 1, 0; 103, 0) 6. Sam Saunders (USA, PGA TOUR, 30; 83, 0, 0; 98, 0) 7. Shawn Stefani (USA, PGA TOUR, 35; 34, 2, 0; 121, 0) 8. Jonathan Randolph (USA, PGA TOUR, 29; 56, 0, 0; 52, 0) 9. Bronson Burgoon (USA, PGA TOUR, 30; 61, 0, 0; 29, 0) 10. Keith Mitchell (USA, Web.com, 25; 43, 0, 0; 1, 0) 11. Tyler Duncan (USA, Web.com, 34; 30, 0, 0; 1, 0) 12. Denny McCarthy (USA, Web.com, 24; 44, 0, 0; 3, 0) 13. Troy Merritt (USA, PGA TOUR, 31; 71, 1, 0; 155, 1) 14. Tom Lovelady (USA, Web.com, 24; 25, 0, 0; 0, 0) 15. Martin Piller (USA, Web.com, 31; 151, 6, 1; 48, 0) 16. Alex Cejka (Germany, PGA TOUR, 46; 48, 1, 0; 355, 1) 17. Matt Jones (AUS, PGA TOUR, 37; 103, 0, 0; 241, 1) 18. Cameron Tringale (USA, PGA TOUR, 30; 8, 0, 0; 217, 0) 19. Brett Stegmaier (USA, PGA TOUR, 34; 76, 0, 0; 59, 0) 20. Corey Conners (Canada, Web.com, 25; 27, 0; 10, 0) 21. Steve Wheatcroft (USA, PGA TOUR, 39; 145, 2, 0; 150, 0) 22. Chad Collins (USA, PGA TOUR, 39; 150, 2, 0; 180, 0) 23. Tom Hoge (USA, PGA TOUR, 28; 82, 0; 70, 0) 24. Joel Dahmen (USA, PGA TOUR, 29; 53, 0, 0; 17, 0) 25. Seamus Power (Ireland, PGA TOUR, 30; 51, 1, 0; 25, 0).

By the way, the PGA TOUR players dominated in the FINALS 25 by a count of 17 to 8!

It was a fun week at the 2017 Web.com Tour Championship at Atlantic Beach Country Club!

Jonathan Byrd matched his eight-birdie count performance of Round One, a total of 23 so far against three bogeys in 54 holes, to take the third round lead at 20-under over a cooling off Sam Saunders who shot a 12-under par 59 in Round One.

Byrd, Number 55 on the Web.com Tour in 17 events (T5 in Panama and T8 in Winco final regular season event) and No. 170 on the PGA TOUR in nine events (T5 in John Deere Classic best finish) this year has gone T31, CUT, CUT in the FINALS so far has posted three consistent rounds of 64-65-64 to get to the 20-under mark so desired in Round Two by the newest Mr. 59 Sam Saunders.

After Round Two Saunders shared that his private goal was to get to twenty-under par. A birdie on the last would have done it but instead he recorded a double bogey after taking five strokes to get it in the hole from short of the green with a fluffy lie in the rough.

Sam Saunders in bunker on the 18th in Round 3.

In Round Three, a birdie at the last would have gotten him to that 20-under mark. His second shot 7-iron downwind from 198 yards buried in the front right greenside bunker. He blasted out and lipped out the birdie putt from 18-feet. His nemensis reared its ugly head again with another rimmed out short putt resulting in bogey (also on Hole Nos. 7 & 11). With the bogey he fell to two strokes behind Byrd at 18-under par going into Sunday’s final round of the FINALS!

Cameron Tringale posted 65-66-65 and at 17-under is three shots back of Byrd in solo third place. Tyler Duncan, Rob Oppenheim, and Bronson Burgoon are tied for fourth place four shots back of Byrd. There are eleven players within six shots of Byrd, with six strokes being the best come-from-behind victory in the 23-year history of the Web.com Tour Championship.

Besides the championship, there are 25 additional 2017-2018 PGA TOUR cards at stake between the FINALS playoff between PGA TOUR players (Nos. 126-200 on FedExCup Final Points List and Web.com Tour players (Nos. 26-75). Web.com Tour players Nos. 1-25 can play to improve their ranking. Nineteen of the 25 did play, thirteen made the cut and Ben Silverman (No. 10) and Matt Atkins (No. 19) have fared best and are at T8, with a possible record tying comeback victory in the works for Sunday.

Remember when it comes down to the Bubble Boys, those slightly inside the FINALS Top 25 and those slightly outside, it all comes down to the money won in the Web.com Tour Championship. And not just by the players involved but others who may influence the outcome by their finish. The difference between tying for a place and winning it outright can be pivotal. For those higher up on the leaderboard, a place means more money and increased volatility.

A putt made or a putt missed on the last hole can mean someone is in and someone is out!

An elated Sam Saunders after his opening 59 gives him a 3-stroke lead in the 2017 Web.com Tour Championship!

Play well all but it would be nice to see Sam Saunders break the 20-under score early in his final round and eagle or birdie the last to win his first big professional event almost to the day a year after his grandfather, our golfing hero, Arnold Palmer passed. Or simply because he is a great guy and the consummate professional golfer!

More below on the projected FINAL 25 standings going into the final round of the FINALS. Looks like the PGA TOUR guys have the lead 14:11 which is pretty much in line with the 75:50 representation in numbers. ALL these guys are good!

The FINALS 25 Projected Rank after three rounds of the Web.com Tour Championship with their FINALS playoff entry criteria (Web.com 26-75 and PGA TOUR 126-200) and their position going into the final round of the FINALS:

1. Nicholas Lindheim (PGA TOUR- No. 197), T48
2. Peter Uihlein (PGA TOUR Non-Member Fed Ex Cup Points List), DNP
3. Jonathan Byrd (Web.com No. 55 and PGA TOUR- No. 170), 1
4. Rob Oppenheimer (Web.com No. 27), T4
5. Sam Saunders (PGA TOUR No. 129), 2
6. Ryan Armour (PGA TOUR No. 159), DNP
7. Jonathan Randolph (PGA TOUR No. 160), T53
8. Keith Mitchell (Web.com No. 26), T12
9. Tyler Duncan (Web.com No. 31), T4
10. Bronson Burgoon (PGA TOUR Special Medical Exemption), T4
11. Cameron Tringale (PGA TOUR No. 133), 3
12. Denny McCarthy (Web.com No. 43), T8
13. Tom Lovelady (Web.com No. 29), T39
14. Troy Merritt (PGA TOUR No. 151), T39
15. Martin Piller (Web.com No. 28), T53
16. Alex Cejka (PGA TOUR No. 149), DNP
17. Brett Stegmaier (PGA TOUR No. 181), T64
18. Corey Conners (Web.com No. 49), CUT
19. Roberto Castro (PGA TOUR No. 172), 7
20. Joel Dahmen (PGA TOUR No. 176), CUT
21. Seamus Power (PGA TOUR No. 130), T53
22. Matt Harmon (Web.com No. 48), T16
23. Shawn Stefani (PGA TOUR No. 165), T8
24. Cameron Percy (PGA TOUR No. 144), T20
25. Adam Svensson (Web.com No. 66), CUT

Ditto for those on the bubble just outside the FINALS 25:

26. Chad Collins (PGA TOUR No. 143), T48
27. Ben Crane (PGA TOUR No. 147), DNP
28. Matthew Southgate (PGA TOUR Non-Member FedEx Cup Points List)
29. Steve Wheatcroft (PGA TOUR No. 179), T28
30. Ryo Ishikawa (PGA TOUR No. 175), T61

The weather held out for Round 3, let’s hope the same for the final round on Sunday!

One for the record books as Sam Saunders shoots 59 in the first round of the 2017 Web.com Tour Championship!

Sizzling Sam Saunders shot a 12-under par 59 to take the lead in the Web.com Tour Championship. More importantly he followed it up with a 5-under par 66 the next morning in Round Two.

Starting on the 10^th tee in Round One, the 30-year old grandson of the legendary golfer Arnold Palmer began with three straight birdies and then added ten more to offset one lone bogey on the par-3 16^th hole.

Round Two started off slowly with four straight pars, then a birdie, when hardship struck on the par-5 6^th hole. A pulled drive left nearly went out of bounds and wound up in a hedge line. Allowed a free drop from a sprinkler drip-line that gave Saunders a swing, he hit wood on his second shot and then chipped out on his third. Faced with a pitch from 123 yards, he executed well and was able to make the downhill 10-footer to save par.

An elated Sam Saunders after his opening 59 gives him a 3-stroke lead in the 2017 Web.com Tour Championship!

Calling for his hybrid-two second shot to make the front left greenside bunker on the par-5 7^th hole it listened and did. The Atlantic Beach Country Club member and resident, the de facto player host was at 13-under with a three-stroke lead as   he approached the green. After a magnificent fairly long bunker shot to a back left table-top hole location, the man who endeared himself to all of us a little over a year ago by sharing his last phone call with his grandfather, our hero, then made the six-footer for birdie and a four-stroke lead.

Onward Saunders marched, making deuce on the par-3 8^th hole, and arriving at the 9^th green where he made a 10-footer to seal the 59 deal less than eighteen hours prior.  That par meant only a 3-under 32 on the front nine whereas he posted a 28 with seven birdies the day before after a first nine 31 to become the seventh player in Web.com history to post a round of 59 or better (following Notah Begay 13-under 59 in 1998; Doug Dunakey 11-under 59 also in 1998; Jason Gore 12-under 59 in 2012; Will Wilcox 12-under 59 in 2013; Russell Knox 12-under 59 in 2013; and Stephan Jaeger 23-under 58 in 2016).

Youngster and his father after witnessing Sam Saunders’ Round Two 5-under par 66!

Saunders intensified his pace to break the 36-hole Web.com Tour Championship scoring record of 16-under par 126 with four straight birdies to begin his second nine but hardship appeared again and this time triumphed with a bogey on the 16^th and a short game double-bogey on the last with an unpredictable fluffy lie and water long first out of the rough and then out of the greenside bunker. Even with the finish, Saunders posted 59-66=125 to set a new scoring record.

After the round he shared that his private goal was to get to twenty-under par which a birdie on the last would have made possible. In tune with Forrest Gump, he said ‘it happens,’ and the key is to not get mad, to know how to handle it mentally. Asked, with wind and rain predicted on the weekend, if he would take an even par 142, he laughed it off as the insulting thinking that it was. Instead he reiterated the big stage that this Web.com Tour Championship is and that he needs to win a golf tournament. In his own words, if he can win this he is 100% sure he can win on the PGA TOUR.

Sizzling Sam Saunders signing his glove for the youngster!

I agree and I hope he is right! Though being 17-under par and a leader by four strokes, when he finished his Round Two, is a good place to be, being 1-over par for the final four finishing holes is not a good omen. Rather a challenge for Saunders who in his 182^nd professional golf tournament, fairly evenly distributed between the Web.com and PGA TOUR, is destined to win many golf tournaments, not just one.

History is on his side if he continues his good play and goes on the win the 2017 Web.com Tour Championship. Champions of this event, the likes of David Duval and Stewart Cink have gone on to win on the PGA TOUR and won a major championship as well.

Back on the 7^th green the scoreboard also read that there were 71 players at the time targeted to make the cut at 3-under par. First things first—make the cut, play well on the weekend, win the Web.com Tour Championship and go on to win in your fourth year on the PGA TOUR my good man, the Sizzling Sam Saunders!

More to be revealed in the afternoon wave of Round Two and over the weekend! Who will earn the additional 25 PGA TOUR cards for next season?

The Web.com Tour Championship, the exciting and concluding fourth playoff event, could not be hosted in a better place. The Atlantic Beach Country Club is only six blocks, less than a half mile, from the beach of its namesake ocean. The new pitch of the Web.com Tour promotion, is “The Next Wave,” and the waves are coming in fast and furious as the stars of tomorrow, and yesterday, compete for the remaining twenty-five 2017-2018 PGA TOUR cards.

Already, there are all sorts of waves and currents starting to flow in Round One, some coming into shore to shore up their tour card for next season and some going out to be lost at sea perhaps for the remainder of their playing career. What’s unique about the Web.com Tour Championship is that it pits Numbers 126-to-200 in FedEx Points on the PGA TOUR against Numbers 1-to-75 on the Money List of the Web.com Tour for an additional twenty-five PGA TOUR cards. Those cards are awarded solely on the basis of money won in the four playoff events. Web.com Tour players with a guaranteed tour card can play to improve their position for vetting into highly desired tour events next season.

The first twenty-five tour cards have already been awarded to the Top-25, the Golden Boys, of the 22-event regular season (in order of finish, then (country, age; Web.com career starts, wins, wins this Web.com season; PGA TOUR starts, wins): 1. Brice Garnett (USA, 34; 104, 2, 2; 75, 0), 2. Sam Ryder (USA, 27; 45, 1, 1; 1, 0), 3. Abraham Ancer (Mexico, 26; 60, 1, 0; 20, 0), 4. Andrew Landry (USA, 30; 53, 2, 1; 19, 0), 5. Stephan Jaegar (Germany, 28; 73, 3, 2; 4, 0), 6. Talor Gooch (USA, 25; 22, 1, 1; 2, 0), 7. Kyle Thompson (USA, 38: 292, 5, 1; 55, 0), 8. Andrew Putnam (USA, 28; 93, 2, 1; 25, 0), 9. Chesson Hadley (USA, 30; 44, 4, 2; 96, 1), 10. Ben Silverman (Canada, 29; 38, 1, 1; 1, 0), 11. Nate Lashley (USA, 34; 50, 1, 1; 1, 0), 12. Adam, Schenk (USA, 25; 48, 1, 1; 0, 0), 13. Andrew Yun (USA, 26; 70, 0, 0; 0, 0), 14. Ted Potter Jr. (USA, 33; 109, 2, 0; 75, 1), 15. Austin Cook (USA, 26; 51, 0, 0; 10, 0), 16. Zecheng ‘Marty’ Dou (China, 20; 24, 1, 1; 3, 0), 17. Conrad Shindler (USA, 29; 25, 1, 1; 2, 0), 18. Aaron Wise (USA, 21; 16, 1, 1; 8, 0), 19. Matt Atkins (USA, 26; 65, 1, 1; 2, 0), 20. Xinjun Zhang (China, 30; 23, 0, 0; 2, 0), 21. Brandon Harkins (USA, 31; 26, 0, 0; 1, 0), 22. Lanto Griffin (USA, 29; 24, 1, 1; 2, 0), 23. Beau Hossler (USA, 22; 14, 0, 0; 12, 0), 24. Ethan Tracy (25, 1, 1; 4, 0), 25. Roberto Diaz (Mexico, 30; 80, 0, 0; 5, 0).

Interestingly, four of the Golden 25 are not here—Gooch (No. 6), Putnam (8), Wise (18), and Hossler (23)—presumably focusing on next week’s 2017-2018 PGA TOUR Season Opener, the Safeway Classic at Silverado in Napa. California. A true wrap-around season! Only two have won previously on the PGA TOUR—Chesson Hadley (2013 Puerto Rico Open) and Ted Potter Jr. (2012 Greenbrier Classic). United States Kyle Thompson is the oldest at age 38 while China’s Zecheng ‘Marty’ Dou is the youngest at age 20.

For the most part, the wave coming ashore for sure, the Golden 25 of the Web.com Tour, is young with little PGA TOUR experience. The opposite is true for the PGA TOUR’s Numbers 126-to-200 trying to stay ashore on the PGA TOUR for another year.

One of the most interesting visuals of the beach is the interaction of the waves coming in, already crested, already shallowed out and flowing gently to the sandy beach. At times they are met by receding waves, yet to fully dissipate, rebounded by the slope of the beach back towards the open ocean. When these two waterflows intersect it is as a zipper is closing with a stream of water shot upwards. Herein you have the competition this week between the aspiring and perspiring, the incoming and the receding the young and the old, and the future and the past of professional golf on the PGA TOUR.

Familiar names in the 2016-2017 PGA TOUR FedExCup Final Points List Numbers 126-to-200 playing this week at Atlantic Beach CC include Sam Saunders (129), Ricky Barnes (139), Chad Collins (143), Matt Jones (152), Jonathan Byrd (170), Ryo Ishikawa (175), Hunter Mahan (182), Stuart Appleby (192), Ken Duke (193), and Angel Cabrera (195).

Familiar names of Numbers 126-to-150 that are in the upper echelon of players with lots of past champions’ status to garner starts next season and that are not playing this week include Jim Furyk (No. 157), Retief Goosen (162), Vijay Singh (178), Davis Love III (185), and Padraig Harrington (200).

Other Numbers 126-to-200 more fortunate and otherwise exempt on the PGA TOUR in 2016-2017 include Shane Lowery (No. 127, 2015 WGC- Bridgestone), Billy Hurley III (135, 2016 Quicken Loans National), Graeme McDowell (136, 2016 Mayakoba), Aaron Baddeley (138, 2016 Barbasol), Smylie Kaufman (141, 2015 Shriners in 2015-2016 Season), Brian Stuard (145, 2016 Zurich Classic), Peter Malnati (167, 2015 Sanderson Farms in 2015-2016 Season), Matt Every (168, 2014 and 2015 Arnold Palmer Invitational), Fabian Gomez (171, 2015 FedEx St. Jude and 2016 SONY Open), Greg Chalmers (173, 2016 Barracuda).

Gets complicated really fast, lots of different forces impacting players through other players as well. Just like the beach. Then throw in a hurricane or a Nor’easter and the waters go every which way.

Jonathan Byrd is on both lists—No. 55 on the 2017 Web.com Tour Regular Season Final Money List and No. 170 on the 2016-2017 PGA TOUR FedExCup Final Points List. But the goal is to be No. 1 like Brice Garnett was on the regular 2017 Web.com Tour and have exempt status and an invite to the 2018 PLAYERS Championship. The No. 1 money-earner in the 4-evetn Finals will also be entitled to the same niceties!

Surfing safely to shore are the winners of the first three Playoff events—Peter Uihlein won the Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Chesson Hadley won the Albertson’s Boise Open, and Nicholas Lindheim won the DAP Championship. Hadley and Lindheim are competing at Atlantic Beach CC this week while Uihlein, eligible via the Non-Member FedExCup Points List is currently No. 14 and competing in the European Tour’s Race to Dubai. There are many oceans in the world of golf!

Bubble Boys come to mind during playoff time. Sometimes bubbles burst and implode, other times, as in the case of regular season Bubble Boy Keith Mitchell, bubbles crystalize into diamond globes to sustain one’s economic future going forward!

Mitchell, a meaningless No, 26 after the regular season has posted two T2 finishes in the playoffs and is now golden at No. 6 in the Finals Money List to become a holder of one of those additional twenty-five PGA TOUR cards to be given out on Sunday afternoon.

The Web.com Tour Championship, an exciting, complicated and serious golfing competition. One thing is for sure–The Next Wave is indeed coming!

2017 DSGO Champion Scott McCarron! Photo Credit: PressConnects.

Scott McCarron. coming off his first Senior Major victory, the Constellation Senior Players Championship, won for the fifth time of the PGA TOUR Champions! The 3-time PGA TOUR winner shot 20-under par and won by one stroke over Kevin Sutherland who shot a record 59 on this same En-Joie Golf Course in 2014. McCarron nearly tied the tournament record score of 21-under par set by Lonnie Nielsen in his 2009 win!

This was one Dick’s Sporting Goods Open that I wish I did not miss! I was up in Binghamton earlier in the summer but worked the PGA Championship in Charlotte at Quail Hollow with CBS Sports. After witnessing Justin Thomas win his first Major I headed south to Florida.

I did however play En-Joie a few weeks before the tournament and it was in excellent shape! A relatively ‘easy’ course for the Senior Pros is an increasingly difficult one for Yours Truly! ‘Play where the Pros Play’ does not equate to ‘Play like the Pros Play!’ But what a thrill and yes there were some good shots to remember!

Congratulations Scott McCarron! I look forward to the 2018 DSGO!

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