An emotional Sunday is within the books on the Korn Ferry Tour’s penultimate occasion.
Every week after locking up his PGA Tour card, Frankie Capan III picked up his first Korn Ferry Tour title with a two-shot victory on the Nationwide Youngsters’s Hospital Championship.
In the meantime, Matt McCarty clinched No. 1 on the factors listing with one occasion, the Korn Ferry Tour Championship, to play, which means he’s assured begins in subsequent 12 months’s Gamers Championship and U.S. Open.
And 5 extra gamers grew to become #TourBound – Karl Vilips, John Pak, Jackson Suber, Mason Andersen and Jeremy Paul – to push the variety of PGA Tour playing cards clinched to 22. Consequently, eight playing cards will likely be up for grabs at French Lick in two weeks. Sam Bennett is the present bubble man at No. 30, about 43 factors forward of Trent Phillips. Ricky Castillo, Noah Goodwin and Aldrich Potgieter are among the many notables contained in the quantity with one event left.
Maybe the most important drama of the week occurred across the top-75 bubble. Not solely do exactly 75 gamers advance to the KFT finale, however people who punch their tickets to French Lick additionally clinch absolutely exempt standing for subsequent season on the KFT. Those that didn’t advance Sunday at Ohio State’s Scarlet Course will start subsequent 12 months with conditional KFT membership.
By Sunday night, 5 gamers had performed their means into the highest 75 – and 5 gamers had performed their means out:
IN
Cole Hammer – No. 79 to No. 66
Dan McCarthy – No. 87 to No. 68
Jacob Solomon – No. 78 to No. 69
Davis Shore – No. 81 to No. 71
Rick Lamb – No. 84 to No. 73
OUT
Cooper Dossey – No. 71 to No. 76
Matthew Riedel – No. 72 to No. 77
Shad Tuten – No. 73 to No. 78
Fabian Gomez – No. 74 to No. 79
Ryan Blaum No. 75 to No. 80
Hammer, a former world No. 1 novice who received an NCAA staff title on the College of Texas, stated it was probably the most nervous he’d ever been, combating to make the reduce on Friday. He then turned in rounds of 68-69 on the weekend to tie for thirteenth. Hammer, 25, narrowly missed incomes particular non permanent standing final season on the PGA Tour earlier than posting two top-10s in his first 5 begins this 12 months on the KFT. He missed six straight cuts earlier this summer season, although a T-16 on the NV5 Invitational in July bought him again into place to make a playoff run, which he has.
Solomon additionally began robust solely to hunch late. He missed seven of eight cuts coming into this week. The 27-year-old Auburn product, nonetheless, birdied his final gap Sunday to card 5-under 66, and his T-17 end was ok to safe him at the least a 3rd straight season on the KFT.
“So many feelings as a result of I’ve simply struggled for like two months,” an emotional Solomon stated afterward. “I simply tried so onerous, and it’s a tough scenario for everyone making an attempt to maintain your job out right here. It’s emotional. … I feel I can play the PGA Tour, for certain. And I feel I’m going to get there, however all people’s timing is slightly bit completely different.”
On the flip facet, Tuten, 32, was amongst these falling simply quick. In Tuten’s case, it marked the second straight season that resulted in heartbreak. He missed out on a PGA Tour card final season due to a two-shot penalty for taking part in from the mistaken spot on the fifteenth gap of his last spherical on the KFT Championship. He then missed a number of months due to coronary heart points and solely made 12 begins this 12 months on the KFT.
Dossey, a 26-year-old out of Baylor, recorded 11 bogeys on the weekend, although he nonetheless managed to shoot a pair of 72s. Nonetheless, he ended up T-67 and was the primary man out, lower than two factors behind No. 75 Hank Lebioda.
“That is onerous, you already know,” Dossey stated earlier this week. “We’re on the highway for a very long time, and my spouse works actually onerous at dwelling. It might imply rather a lot to safe full Korn Ferry subsequent 12 months. She believes in me, and it’s by no means been a timeline or something. I’m not ever going to present this up. I say that, however I actually don’t assume I’ll. … I’ve at all times been a fighter.”
