Joe Highsmith’s PGA Tour season is off to a great start no matter how he plays on Thursday.
HONOLULU — Joe Highsmith’s PGA Tour season is off to a great start no matter how he plays on Thursday.
The 23-year-old rookie earned a spot in the field at the Sony Open in Hawaii on Wednesday when Aaron Baddeley withdrew from the tournament.
“I’m feeling blessed,” Highsmith told fellow rookie Jimmy Stanger. “And I got the best tee time too.”
Indeed, Baddeley’s tee time for 7:10 a.m. local time now belongs to Highsmith, first off the 10th tee with fresh greens in front of him alongside veteran Charley Hoffman and Tyson Alexander.
And to think that Highsmith, a member of Pepperdine’s national championship-winning team in 2021, was fifth alternate when he arrived in Hawaii for Tour rookie orientation. With the expanded field for The Sentry in Maui, a deeper field than usual signed up for the Sony Open this week. The field includes 54 of the top 100 and 22 of the top 50 in the latest Official World Golf Ranking, compared to just 14 of the top 50 a year ago. As a result, Highsmith was one of 12 rookies who registered for the Monday Q this week.
Last-minute heroics are nothing new for Highsmith. He ranked 48th on the Korn Ferry Tour points list with two events remaining before finishing T-2 and T-3 – shooting a final-round 6-under 66 in the latter and matching the day’s low score – to jump to No. 18 in the KFT points standings and punch his ticket to the big time. His Sony start marks his third career Tour start; he has yet to make a cut.
While Highsmith was the beneficiary of Baddeley pulling out, Julian Suri was not. As Monday Q’s Ryan French noted, had the Australian withdrawn 24 hours earlier, Suri would have been in the field. Suri lost to Norman Xiong in a 7-for-2 man playoff, and Xiong was the first alternate at the time.
BLAINE, Minn. — Lee Hodges is pulling a Brian Harman.
Last week, Harman led by five shots after 54 holes in his triumph at the British Open. This week, it’s a completely different set of circumstances, but Hodges’ lead is five with 18 holes to play.
The second-year Tour pro has played flawless golf and led after every round of the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities. Coming into the week on the outside of the FedEx Cup Playoffs bubble, Hodges needed a big week to punch his ticket in the field at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis. He’s doing just that.
Although it may be a big lead, a reminder: last year in Minnesota, Scott Piercy led by four after three rounds and was up by that many on the back nine and lost.
The qualifier was first likened to an opposite-field event a couple years ago.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — To someone who didn’t know any better, the driving range at sunny McCormick Ranch Golf Club didn’t look any different Monday. Each hitting space was occupied with golfers slowly working their way through their buckets of Pinnacle practice balls.
A player in his 60s showed his friend his new driver head cover featuring Cartman from the animated TV show South Park. A younger golfer in his late 20s practiced in a black hoodie and camouflage joggers.
But this wasn’t any other Monday, as just feet away was Harrison Endycott, a PGA Tour pro from Australia. Fellow Aussie Aaron Baddeley was on the practice green with his two kids, hair as long as their dad’s.
Harry Hall, a 25-year-old Englishman who played at UNLV, had a Trackman stuffed in his Callaway Paradym tour bag on a brand new push cart.
Harry Hall practices at the range at McCormick Golf Club ahead of the 2023 WM Phoenix Open Monday qualifier. (Photo: Todd Kelly/Golfweek)
“I know I’ve got a PGA Tour schedule for the rest of the year and I’m a rookie and I’ve got tournaments I’ll definitely be in so this would be a perk,” Hall said. “I’m a Vegas boy so I like the desert, I enjoy the crowd and that’s why I’m here.”
Another Tour rookie, Ben Griffin, who’s 30th in FedEx Cup points, was at the qualifier because he doesn’t yet have enough status to already be in the Phoenix Open field.
But it’s not just rookies in the qualifier field. Grayson Murray, Martin Trainer, Kevin Chappell, DJ Trahan, Bo Van Pelt and Robert Garrigus were there, too.
Martin Trainer finished the final round at Pebble, THIS MORNING, he just made the turn at the Monday Q. Now that is grinding. pic.twitter.com/bt6wOwZPVh
In all, 96 golfers took to the Pine Course to vie for one of the final three spots in the 2023 WM Phoenix Open. The qualifier was first likened to an opposite-field event a couple years ago but this year in particular it makes sense that there’s so much interest as it’s the first full-field designated event and features a $20 million purse with a $3.6 million first-place prize.
Baddeley is a past champion at TPC Scottsdale with more than $25 million in career earnings. He has made six cuts in eight outings in 2023, including two top-10s but didn’t snag one of the five coveted sponsor invitations. As he put the finishing touches on his pre-round warm-up, a fan noticed him, told him good luck and added: “Maybe next time you won’t have to put up with this.”
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Baddeley, whose 12-year-old daughter took it upon herself to write a letter to the Thunderbirds, who run the Phoenix Open, asking them to offer her dad a spot. That plan fell through so a day after finishing tied for 37th at the weather-plagued AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Baddeley slept in his own bed at his Scottsdale home and drove to qualifier.
“I was disappointed not to get in for sure,” he said. “My game’s in a good spot, and being up there in the FedEx [60th], I thought I had a good chance, past champ. Already have two top-10s, the game is really good.”
The qualifier might have had even more golfers but the Monday finish at Pebble Beach altered a lot of plans.
There were 19 pros on the original entry list who withdrew from the qualifier, including Nick Hardy, the Phoenix Open’s first alternate.
At least two golfers who wanted to play the qualifier couldn’t. Eric Cole, T-15 at Pebble, and Sung Kang, T-29 at Pebble, scrambled from the Monterey Peninsula and landed at Scottsdale Airport about six miles north of McCormick Ranch about 30 minute before their 1:40 p.m. local tee time. But they were too late.
The Monday qualifier finished before dark and without a playoff, with Andre Metzger shooting a 65 to lead the way. Brett White and Dalton Ward each shot a 66, making those three the ones who advanced to 2023 WM Phoenix Open.
Does it get any better than having your 12-year-old daughter plead your case in writing to the WM Phoenix Open tournament director?
A little less than a month ago, Aaron Baddeley’s 12-year-old daughter Jolee asked him if daddy would be playing in the WM Phoenix Open, which begins Feb. 9.
The 41-year-old resident of Scottsdale, Arizona, played in his hometown event for 18 consecutive years beginning in 2003 and won the title in 2007. But he has missed the last two playings of the “People’s Open” due to his limited status on the PGA Tour in recent years — he plays out of the past champion category. He answered his daughter that it wasn’t looking too good for him again this year. Even if he were to finish in the top 10 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am the week before, he’d likely not get into the 132-man field, which should be even more loaded now that the event has been upgraded to designated status and the purse soared to $20 million.
Baddeley explained that he likely would need to secure one of three spots available at the Monday Qualifier or be granted one of five unrestricted sponsor invites. Jolee was none too happy with this response and decided she was going to do her part to help his cause.
“I’m going to write them a letter,” Jolee said.
Baddeley didn’t blink.
“Go for it, babe,” he said.
Does it get any better than having your 12-year-old daughter plead your case in writing to the WM Phoenix Open tournament director?
“It was pretty awesome,” proud papa Baddeley said. “I didn’t have anything to do with it. She told him the reasons why they should invite me.”
Baddeley couldn’t recall word for word what his daughter wrote on his behalf but said it went something like this: He’s a local boy, past champion, works hard, almost won in Bermuda, still has a lot of game and is on the edge of playing great.
“She did it better than I ever could’ve done,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll get in there.”
Aaron Baddeley celebrates with a “club drop” after making a birdie putt on the 16th hole during first round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Ariz. on January 31, 2019. (Arizona Republic photo)
Chance Cozby, the WM Phoenix Open’s executive director, received the letter and wrote back to Jolee, one of Baddeley’s six children.
“First time I’ve received a letter from a child of a player,” Cozby confirmed. “It’s a nice touch. I thought it was unique, thought it was heartfelt.”
It’s too soon to say whether it will sway the tournament to grant Baddeley an exemption this year. Cozby noted that the decision ultimately rests in the hands of the tournament chairman, who this year is Pat Williams of the Thunderbirds, the charitable organization that hosts the event. In 2019, when Cozby was tournament chairman, he did grant Baddeley a sponsor invite into the tournament, so he has been a beneficiary of the tournament’s philanthropy before.
Of the tournament’s five sponsor invites, the WM Phoenix Open has announced two already: Charley Hoffman, a longtime ambassador for tourney sponsor WM, and J.B. Holmes, a two-time WM Phoenix Open champion; both Hoffman and Holmes were in need of a sponsor invite into the tournament for the first time.
Baddeley’s daughter’s letter brings to light how precious sponsor invites have become, especially in the age of the designated tournament era. A $20 million purse and $3.6 million share for the winner can be life-changing. It has sparked #LetterWritingSzn. Cozby said some are handwritten, some are pdf attachments and some are requests from agents on behalf of the player.
“We have 43 players that have written a letter. They’re all great players and we have to say no to most of them and that’s not fun,” he said. “We have eight players requesting a spot who are top 150 in the world and four who are top 100 in the world. Taylor Montgomery is 52nd (after capturing his eighth top 15 and fourth top-10 finish of the PGA Tour season at the American Express) and isn’t going to be in the field unless we give him a spot.”
Nathan Grube, longtime tournament director for the Travelers Championship, which also got bumped up to designated tournament status this season, can relate to how difficult a decision it is to make.
“It is one of the coolest and one of the hardest parts of the job,” he said of doling out sponsor invites, noting that the sheer number of requests means he can’t accommodate everybody but he will get back to anyone who writes in.
When told about Baddeley’s daughter and asked if he’s ever had the child of a player write a letter, he chuckled and said he had not. “That’s great,” Grube said. “You totally pulled the trump card. I don’t know how I can beat that.”
Baddeley failed to finish in the top 125 of the season-long FedEx Cup standings for the third straight year – he ranked 196. As a result, he can’t pick and choose his schedule and last season only got 13 starts in the regular season as a past champion. Baddeley has earned some early-season starts by Monday Qualifying, including at the season-opening Fortinet Championship, where he shot 7-under to make a playoff and made eagle on the second playoff hole to secure a spot in the field at Napa. He finished T-36 that week, T-6 at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship and converted a sponsor invite at the Sony Open in Hawaii into a season-best T-5 finish, which got him into The Amex last week.
“It’s definitely hard,” Baddeley said of relying on the goodwill of tournaments and going the Monday Qualifying route. “It’s probably harder on my family I would say than it is on me because it’s like, oh, you try and make plans and then you either get an invite or you’re top 10 or you Monday qualify or you don’t Monday qualify and you get back home.”
When he does get in a field, he said he treats the four-round tournament as if it is a Monday qualifier to get into the next event.
“Just a four-day qualifier, and there’s 10 spots instead of four,” he said.
At last year’s WM Phoenix Open, Sahith Theegala received the fifth and final exemption into the tournament after getting hot on the Tour’s West Coast Swing, and nearly won the tournament, finishing third. So, a good result at the Farmers Insurance Open this week could go a long way to helping Baddeley’s cause for one of three remaining exemptions still available. Jolee is counting on it.
“If we give him one that will be a nice story and if we don’t it makes us look like we don’t have a heart, but we do,” Cozby said.
Contenders include golfers looking to end droughts or win for the first time.
The wind picked up Saturday at Port Royal Golf Course in Bermuda on Saturday, but it didn’t affect everyone from going low.
Moving day lived up to its mantra during the third round of the 2022 Butterfield Bermuda Championship. Plenty of golfers made big moves up the leaderboard, including leaders Seamus Power and Ben Griffin, while others faded.
In fact, by getting to 18 under, Power and Griffin each set the 54-hole tournament record.
In the first of two straight PGA Tour events outside of the United States, there are numerous golfers looking to find their way back into the winner’s circle while others are looking to hoist a trophy for the first time.
Here are some takeaways from the third round of the 2022 Butterfield Bermuda Championship.
Has Ben Crane, a five-time Tour winner with over $21 million in earnings, been lost in the Bermuda Triangle?
If you didn’t know any better, PGA Tour veteran Ben Crane could have been one of the passengers on the TV show Manifest, where the passengers and crew of a commercial airliner suddenly reappear after being presumed dead for five and a half years.
After all, the 46-year-old Oregon Duck grad won five times on the PGA Tour, but hasn’t finished inside the top 125 to make the FedEx Cup since 2016. His last top-10 finish? The 2019 Puerto Rico Open. Has the five-time Tour winner with over $21 million in earnings been lost in the Bermuda Triangle? This week, his game has been found there. On Friday, Crane tied a career-low with a bogey-free 9-under 62 at Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton, Bermuda, to take the 36-hole lead at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.
“I mean, couldn’t be more encouraged,” Crane said after shooting a two-day total of 14-under 128, a stroke better than five golfers. “Obviously played the best golf I’ve played in a long time and to be in this tournament is super encouraging, get to play four rounds.”
Crane wasn’t even in the field on Sunday, still stuck on the alternate list but called a friend involved in the tournament and said he was going to fly to Bermuda and take his chances.
“He said, ‘Hey, we got you, we took you as a sponsor exempt into the field,’ ” Crane recalled. “I don’t get in a lot and then to get in and the weather starts getting bad right when I finished. So really cool to shoot 62. That 29 on the back, I didn’t see it coming, but it adds up to 29, super fun day.”
Crane also bagged the shot of the day according to Golf Channel, holing a 51-degree wedge from 115 yards for eagle from the sixth fairway.
Ben Crane made an EAGLE from 115 yards out en route to a Friday 62 at the @Bermuda_Champ. 👏
“Sometimes you kind of picture them, you look up and it’s, man, that’s just like I pictured it, lined up with the pin, landed a few paces passed the hole, spun back and went in,” said Crane, who punched the sky and kicked up his right foot. “I was having an incredible day and then that happened. I was like, wow, this is all going my way.”
Crane, who last won in 2014 and played in just 10 events last year as a past champion, discussed how easily it is to lose one’s game.
“It’s just one little slipped shot here or there and you lose your confidence,” he explained. “I said it to my son who’s 14 and learning to play the game, it’s a really hard game, golf’s hard. Today was one of those special days, one of a hundred whatever it is where it just kind of all comes together.”
For Crane, it added up to his sixth 36-hole lead but first since the 2016 AT&T Byron Nelson.
