There was no hiding Trey Winstead’s droop.
He was noticeably heavier, had misplaced vital flexibility, and he couldn’t maintain his driver on the planet – all penalties of a reckless quest so as to add a couple of yards. The again half of his LSU profession was a nightmare, with the ultimate blow coming on the 2022 NCAA Stockton Regional, the place Winstead was subbed out after two rounds by his personal dad. Set to show skilled that summer time, Winstead, embarrassed and stripped of confidence, thought to himself, Gee, I ponder how this may end up?
To reply that query, fantastically.
The 25-year-old rookie enters this week’s Korn Ferry Tour Championship sitting No. 32 in factors, lower than 62 factors and one sturdy week away from incomes one in all 30 accessible PGA Tour playing cards. Slimmer and extra exact, Winstead has turned a obtrusive weak point into his best energy, as he ranks twentieth on the tour in driving accuracy. And personally, Winstead grew to become engaged final Friday, is ready to marry his fiancée, Audrey, on Dec. 20, and has been afforded extra time on the street together with his dad and lifelong teacher, Chuck, who due to well being causes stepped down final 12 months after almost 20 years main the LSU males’s golf program.
“I’m simply very blessed and excited to be within the place I’m in,” Winstead mentioned. “My life couldn’t actually get higher than it’s proper now. Something that occurs this week is simply icing on the cake.”
Danny Walker is aware of what the depths of this sport can seem like, too. Following a standout profession at Virginia, the place he amassed 12 top-10s, Walker rapidly skilled success as a professional, capturing medalist honors on the closing stage of Korn Ferry Tour Q-College in 2018. However Walker’s debut season was a catastrophe, as he missed 13 of twenty-two cuts, posted just one top-10 end and earned a measly $44,566. He bought into simply 4 occasions the subsequent season – and that was the tour’s pandemic-lengthened tremendous season – and couldn’t even garner a single begin on the Forme Tour, 2021’s PGA Tour Canada substitute. By that winter, Walker, an economics main who was a credit score or two in need of an astronomy minor, was eyeing a profession change and located himself making use of for a part-time job at Bahama Breeze, ready tables and peddling coconut shrimp.
He didn’t final three weeks earlier than diving again into the pro-golf waters.
“I knew if I hated it that may be an indication to return to golf, and to be honest, I didn’t hate it, however I additionally didn’t prefer it,” Walker mentioned. “After that, I made positive I used to be extra dedicated than I had ever been.”
Walker begins this week No. 26 in factors, simply over 65 factors forward of No. 31 Trent Phillips. He’s probably secure, although contemplating the problem gamers within the PGA Tour’s reorder class had moving into full fields this previous season, particularly early within the 12 months, Walker is aware of it’s crucial that he earns as many factors as doable.
“And subsequent 12 months, there’s discuss of fields getting smaller,” Walker added, “so when you end thirtieth out right here, how good is that basically going to be? This week isn’t nearly getting your card, it’s ending as excessive as you may on that factors checklist.”
There are 19 playing cards already clinched, together with the highest spot, which has Matt McCarty, a three-time winner this season, enjoying the Sanderson Farms Championship as an alternative. Jackson Suber, at No. 20, is the primary participant mathematically nonetheless with work to do. However extra realistically, No. 24 Ricky Castillo, the previous Florida standout who has skilled excessive ups and downs throughout his younger profession and is about 70 factors contained in the quantity, is the highest-ranked participant with not less than some nervousness.
Walker, Noah Goodwin (who two years in the past was compelled to WD from closing stage with meals poisoning), 20-year-old South African Aldrich Potgieter, Kaito Onishi (who completed a hundredth final season and was the final participant to retain conditional KFT membership), five-year KFT veteran Trevor Cone and Sam Bennett, the bubble boy at No. 30, are the remainder of the names battling to stay PGA Tour sure on a wet-and-long French Lick structure that’s famous for its small, treacherous greens.
“Another week,” Bennett mentioned, “and hopefully, it’s ok.”
COLUMBUS, OHIO – SEPTEMBER 19: Sam Bennett of the US performs his shot from the 14th tee through the first spherical of the Nationwide Kids’s Hospital Championship 2024 at Ohio State College Golf Membership on September 19, 2024 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photograph by Raj Mehta/Getty Pictures)
Winstead would’ve had no likelihood this week if he was enjoying like he was final summer time, nonetheless combating a debilitating left-miss (Winstead is left-handed) and continuously replenishing his golf ball stock. The unusual factor was, proper earlier than the motive force went sideways, Winstead was dominating, posting three top-5s within the fall of 2019, together with a win on the David Toms Intercollegiate and a runner-up on the Tavistock Collegiate at Isleworth, which used to boast one of many season’s hardest fields.
“One of many issues that’s straightforward to do when issues are going very well is to really feel such as you’re invincible and you can also make any alternative you need and it’s going to work out,” Chuck Winstead mentioned.
The outcomes to start the spring weren’t fairly:
The Status at PGA West, 80-83-77, 79th of 79 gamers
Cabo Collegiate, 89-74-79, eightieth of 80 gamers
“And it simply snowballed from there,” Chuck added.
Now additionally coping with a right-elbow harm, Trey didn’t compete once more for the Tigers that season. He had a good summer time, successful a match on the 2020 U.S. Newbie at Bandon Dunes, however he’d log simply 12 begins over his closing two seasons and ended his profession on the bench watching his group miss advancing to nationals by a single shot.
For the subsequent 12 months, Chuck says, Trey’s swing would look good on the vary, but it surely might by no means constantly translate to the golf course. Lastly, after a 2023 U.S. Open qualifier through which Trey rinsed not less than a half-dozen photographs, Chuck challenged his son to take his launch monitor with him for a spherical on the Tigers’ dwelling course, College Membership. What Trey found was that on troublesome tee photographs with hassle left, he was dumping the membership and swinging straight proper via the ball.
“That was the ah-ha second for him,” Chuck mentioned.
Lower than two weeks later, Trey Monday-qualified into the KFT’s Wichita Open, made the lower and tied for forty third. He then closed his All-Professional Tour season with 5 top-10s in six begins. He breezed via Q-College, too, leaning on the motive force late at closing stage, and firing a third-round 64 at TPC Sawgrass’ Dye’s Valley Course earlier than hanging on in howling winds for a closing 72 at water-laden Sawgrass Nation Membership.
“Nearly everybody goes via a interval the place their sport slips, and I’m lucky that it did occur as a result of I discovered a lot about my sport via that,” Trey mentioned. “To be on the opposite facet of that has been a blessing.”
Added Chuck: “Most guys who undergo points driving the golf ball, they don’t come again; that’s simply the truth. … Speak about gratitude.”
NORMAN, OKLAHOMA – JUNE 21: Trey Winstead of the US hits a tee shot on the sixteenth gap through the second spherical of the Compliance Options Championship at Jimmie Austin OU Golf Membership on June 21, 2024 in Norman, Oklahoma. (Photograph by Andrew Wevers/Getty Pictures)
Trey Winstead has already happy his targets for this 12 months, preserving not less than full standing on the Korn Ferry Tour for subsequent season, and contending a number of instances, together with a playoff loss in Chile again in March and a T-4 final month in Boise, Idaho.
Walker switched to a Scotty Cameron mallet putter previous to the Memorial Well being Championship in late June, and since then he’s missed only one lower whereas producing eight top-25s, highlighted by a runner-up on the Pinnacle Financial institution Championship in early August.
Bennett can’t complain, both. The previous U.S. Newbie champion has made three straight cuts in U.S. Opens, tied for sixteenth ultimately 12 months’s Masters and has proven a few of that promise with 4 top-10s on the KFT this 12 months.
“There’s actually no added stress going into this week,” Bennett mentioned. “If I get my Tour card, cool, that’s the place I really feel like I belong, but when I don’t, I bought subsequent 12 months to come back out right here and be taught extra about myself. … I received’t be close to as nervous as I used to be through the U.S. Am semifinals, the Masters first tee, my first ever U.S. Open, my first ever PGA Tour occasion – yeah, I received’t be as nervous.
“Both means, I’m going to be in a superb place subsequent 12 months.”
Worst case, a full-time job.
Finest case, a dream realized – and for gamers like Winstead and Walker, a dream that, not too way back, felt as if it’d by no means occur.
No matter what performs out Sunday night, Winstead deliberate to prepare dinner a brisket subsequent week. He’s change into obsessive about grilling during the last 12 months, a lot in order that his dad has nicknamed him, “Meat Church,” after the BBQ model that has one of many largest social-media reaches on the earth. Winstead has seen each YouTube video, some a number of instances, and even drove an hour on the eve of the KFT occasion in Arlington, Texas, to take a look at Meat Church’s provide retailer in Waxahachie.
“My Traeger goes to get some good use this offseason,” Winstead mentioned.
Even when it meant some additional time within the gymnasium.
