Tag: Patton Kizzire

World Wide Technology Championship 2024 odds, course history and picks to win

Let’s get a winner south of the border.

The PGA Tour is back in action this week for the World Wide Technology Championship south of the border. The Tiger Woods-designed El Cardonal at Diamante Cabo San Lucas in Los Cabos, Mexico, once again plays host after making its Tour debut in 2023.

Cameron Young — still looking for his first win — headlines the field and will be joined by defending champion Erik van Rooyen, Lucas Glover, Harris English, Keith Mitchell, Maverick McNealy and Beau Hossler, among others. Zozo Championship winner Nico Echavarria — finished T-31 at El Cardonal last year — will also tee it up Thursday.

This week’s winner will go home with $1.296 million of the $7.2 million purse, as well as 500 FedEx Cup points.

More: Enjoy golf on Cabo time at Cove Club, Diamante in Cabo San Lucas

Now, let’s jump into our betting preview for the World Wide Technology Championship.

Golf course

El Cardonal at Diamante Cabo San Lucas | Par 72 | 7,452 yards

2023 World Wide Technology Championship
The 11th green at El Cardonal for the 2023 World Wide Technology Championship in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico. (Photo: Hector Vivas/Getty Images)

Things to keep in mind

  • Fairways and greens are extremely easy to hit at this golf course. This tournament will come down to proximity to the hole and who has the hot flat-stick.
  • van Rooyen won at 27 under last year, and the weather for the week looks good. Expect a similar winning score and target players who make a lot of birdies.
  • Three stats we’ll prioritize: Birdie percentage, proximity from the fairway and Strokes Gained: Putting.

World Wide Technology Championship odds

Player Odds Player Odds
Max Greyserman (+1600) Lucas Glover (+2800)
Doug Ghim (+2200) Sam Stevens (+3000)
Cameron Young (+2200) Matt Kuchar (+3000)
Matti Schmid (+2200) Keith Mitchell (+3000)
Harris English (+2500) Jhonattan Vegas (+3000)
Beau Hossler (+2500) Erik van Rooyen (+3500)
J.J. Spaun (+2800) Tom Hoge (+3500)
Harry Hall (+2800) Taylor Moore (+3500)
Ben Griffin (+2800) Daniel Berger (+4000)
Maverick McNealy (+2800) Austin Eckroat (+4000)

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World Wide Technology Championship picks to win

Cameron Young (20/1)

2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic
Cameron Young of the United States plays a shot from the 14th tee during a practice round prior to the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club on June 26, 2024, in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Raj Mehta/Getty Images)

Analysis: Young has burned me more times than I’d like to remember, but this spot sets up so well for him. Not many players on Tour can make birdies in bunches as well as Young does, just look at the 59 he posted earlier this season at the Travelers. Plus, he’s the one big name in this rank-and-file field. Hopefully, he can take advantage of that and grab his first Tour win.

Update: Young has withdrawn from the event.

Keith Mitchell (30/1)

Keith Mitchell of the United States reacts to his putt on the 17th green during the third round of the Sanderson Farms Championship 2024 at the Country Club of Jackson on October 5, 2024, in Jackson, Mississippi. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

Analysis: This pick makes me a little nervous thanks to Mitchell’s case of the Sunday Scaries, but I’m rolling with him anyway. This season, Mitchell ranks T-4 in proximity from the fairway and second in birdie average, only behind world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. And yes, he’s missed two cuts in a row. However, he played some great golf at the Sanderson Farms Championship in early October, where he finished T-3 after being the 54-hole leader.

Michael Kim (45/1)

2024 Shriners Children's Open
Michael Kim acknowledges the crowd on the 18th hole during the final round of the 2024 Shriners Children’s Open at TPC Summerlin. (David Becker/Getty Images)

Analysis: Kim is known by most fans for his Twitter/X presence, but I like this spot for the 31-year-old. He’s fresh off a T-5 finish at the Shriners Children’s Open, and he tied for 23rd at El Cardonal in 2023. This season, Kim ranks 12th in proximity from the fairway and sixth in birdie average. All signs point to the Cal product having a nice week in Mexico.

Patton Kizzire (60/1)

Patton Kizzire of the United States lines up his putt on the third hole during the third round of the Procore Championship 2024 at Silverado Resort on Sept. 14, 2024, in Napa, California. (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

Analysis: Kizzire is coming off a missed cut at the Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas, but has played some great golf during the FedEx Cup Fall, including a win at the Procore Championship and a T-11 finish at the Sanderson Farms Championship. Like Mitchell, Kizzire thrives in two of our key categories for the week. He’s T-4 in proximity from the fairway and fifth in birdie average. Last season, Kizzire finished T-15 at this event.

Auburn golf alum Patton Kizzire wins Procore Championship

Kizzire captured his first win on the PGA Tour since 2018 at the SONY Open in Hawaii.

Auburn’s recent run of golf greatness extended beyond the collegiate game last weekend, as former Tiger Patton Kizzire took home the win at the Procore Championship in Napa Valley, California. Kizzire shot a tournament-best 20-under par in the victory, outlasting California native David Lipsey’s 15-under par for his third PGA Tour win.

The first-place finish was a long time coming for Kizzire, who last won a PGA Tour event in 2018 at the SONY Open in Hawaii. The win was his third top-10 finish of the season, and first since finishing in a tie for eight at the Barracuda Championship in July. Kizzire’s win vaulted him into the top 100 of the world golf rankings, as the Auburn alumni now sits at No. 99 heading into the final few tournaments of the season.

While the 38-year-old is unlikely to develop an end-of-career win streak, the momentum could help him climb towards his highest-ever ranking of No. 51 in the world, which he accomplished in 2018. Kizzire is likely going to take a week to enjoy the victory before a possible return to action when the PGA Tour makes its way down south for the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, MS on October 3.

If the longtime professional can manage back-to-back top-10 finishes, it could give him the momentum to compete for more championships when the Tour field expands next spring.

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Winner’s Bag: Patton Kizzire, Procore Championship

A complete list of the golf gear Kizzire used to win in Napa.

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A complete list of the golf equipment Patton Kizzire used to win the PGA Tour’s 2024 Procore Championship:

DRIVER: Titleist GT3 (9 degrees), with Fujikura Motore X F1 6 X shaft

FAIRWAY WOOD: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees), with Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue shaft

IRONS: Titleist T200 (3-4), T100 (5), 620 CB (6), 620 MB (7-9), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Onyx Tour Issue X100 shafts

WEDGES: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48, 52, 56, 60 degrees), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Onyx Tour Issue X100 shafts

PUTTER: Ping Vault Bergen

BALL: Titleist Pro V1

GRIPS: Golf Pride MCC Align

Patton Kizzire finds his ‘best version of me,’ ends six-year victory drought at 2024 Procore Championship

Patton Kizzire turned into a tree hugger this week, then hugged his wife in victory on Sunday.

Patton Kizzire came to California this week and hugged his first tree at the suggestion of his new sports psychologist. Days later, he hugged his wife, Kari, on the 18th green at Silverado Resort’s North Course as the champion of the Procore Championship, his third career PGA Tour title and first victory since 2018.

“It feels so good,” he said. “I’ve worked really hard and to come out and play like I did and pull away from the field and keep the pedal down and play like I can play, that was so much fun.”

Kizzire closed with a final-round 2-under 70 on Sunday in Napa’s wine country to post a 72-hole total of 20-under 268 and a tournament-record five-stroke victory over David Lipsky.

Kizzire, 38, lost his full-exempt status at the end of last season and broke down and cried when a reporter asked what it meant to him to be a member of the Tour.

“This is what I’ve always wanted to do since I was a kid,” he said in November at the RSM Classic. “They asked me what I wanted to do when I was in second grade and I said I want to be a professional golfer and I’ve never changed my mind, so here I am.”

NAPA, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 15: Patton Kizzire of the United States is sprayed with champagne after winning the after winning the Procore Championship 2024 at Silverado Resort on September 15, 2024 in Napa, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

Kizzire wrote for sponsor invites and pieced together a schedule that included 18 starts during the regular season, but his struggles continued — just two top-10 finishes and both at opposite field events — and entered the week at No. 132 in the season-long standings. After missing the cut in his last two starts and enduring a stretch from late January through March in which he missed six consecutive cuts, Kizzire failed to make the playoffs and had a month off at home in Sea Island, Georgia. He decided that his mental and physical part of his game both could use a boost.

“I think what was wrong, you couldn’t see it in the stats,” he said.

He started working with a new mental coach, a woman based near his home, who took him out of his comfort zone with a different approach to getting in the right frame of mind to make birdies. At first, Kizzire conceded he was skeptical. Among the things she has introduced into his regimen includes hugging trees, walking bare foot and helping pick the range and taking time to look at flowers.

“Not joking. I hugged that tree right there,” he said, pointing to a tree along Silverado Resort’s 16th tee on Friday. He added, “I’ve hugged one tree in my life and that was this morning.”

https://twitter.com/smyliekaufman10/status/1835509538826395984?s=43&t=ZSb77WMEXsiO-cVoeW7AwA

Whatever works. Kizzire said he was trying to find “the best version of me,” and he was unflappable. He opened with 66 on Thursday, birdied his first hole after hugging that tree and then made pars on the rest of the front nine. He said he didn’t have his best stuff but remained patient.

“That was it,” Kizzire said. “I could have gotten frustrated or talked about a bad shot or worried about why am I not hitting it like I want to or all those different things, but I chose not to do that.”

He carded six birdies on the back nine to shoot 65 on Friday, tacked on a 67 in the third round and never relinquished the lead. Lipsky, who birdied two of the first four holes and closed in 71, mounted an early charge in his bid to win for the first time on Tour, but Kizzire chipped in for eagle at the par-5 fifth and never looked back.

“When that ball went in, I had a jolt of confidence,” he said. “I felt like I had the tournament again.”

Lipsky, who settled for second, a career-best finish that likely secured his card for next season, called it a small victory. “I was pretty depressed through the middle of the season with my game and I couldn’t be happier right now,” he said. “It means the world to me.”

Even when he made bogeys at Nos. 9 and 11, Kizzire bounced back with birdies at Nos. 12 and 13. This week, he scribbled a note in his yardage book that said, “I am here, I am now.”

“I kept going back to that and that helped me be disciplined and stay present,” he said.

It didn’t hurt that Kizzire had a splendid putting week, leading the field in Strokes Gained: Putting, gaining nearly nine strokes on the greens. “I didn’t feel like I played that well, but I putted great,” he said.

Patrick Fishburn, who shot 71, finished alone in third for the second time in his last four starts. Ben Silverman posted 71 to tie Mackenzie Hughes (72) and Greyson Sigg (72) for fourth; for Silverman and Sigg, they also recorded their best career finishes on Tour.

But this week belonged to Kizzire, who hit the reset button and found the power of positive thinking could be the difference in his career. Six years, 8 months, 1 day and 176 starts later, he held a trophy again.

“It’s just so sweet to go through the ups and downs, that’s life,” he said. “There’s ups and downs, you’ve just got to stay positive and that’s what led me here to right now.”

From a bachelor trip ‘reset’ to Patton Kizzire’s comfortable lead, here are 5 things to know from the 2024 Procore Championship

Catch up on Saturday’s action here.

While most eyes were glued to the Solheim Cup in Virginia, PGA Tour action continued Saturday at the 2024 Procore Championship across Silverado Resort’s North Course. And with 18 holes left to play in Napa, California, the leaderboard is cluttered behind the man up top.

Patton Kizzire, who entered Moving Day in pole position, is alone in first at 18 under after a 5-under 67.

David Lipsky is his closest pursuer at 14 under, while Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes — both players are members of the International Team for the Presidents Cup — are part of a group of four at 13 under, five back.

“(I) made some really nice putts coming down the stretch and hung in there and kept myself in it and that’s all I can ask for when I don’t have my A-game from tee to green.” Lipsky said of his day.

Defending champion Sahith Theegala is 12 under through 54 holes and is tied for seventh.

If you missed any of Saturday’s action, no worries, we have you covered. Here are five things to know from the third round of the Procore Championship.

Procore: Best merchandise | Photos | Leaderboard

Patton Kizzire builds a comfy cushion

Patton Kizzire of the United States hits his tee shot on the fourth hole during the third round of the Procore Championship 2024 at Silverado Resort on September 14, 2024 in Napa, California. (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

Kizzire was in the driver’s seat entering Saturday’s third round and got off to a hot start with three straight birdies on Nos. 3-5. Even better, he chipped in for a clutch par on the seventh after missing the green with his tee shot and second.

After making the turn with a 3-under 32, Kizzire three-putted for bogey on the 10th but got the shot right back with a lengthy birdie make on the 11th.

https://twitter.com/PGATOUR/status/1835102287569584291

Two birdies later (Nos. 15 and 17), Kizzire signed for his 67 that was aided heavily by his putter — he ranked second on Saturday in SG: Putting.

“This (course) is very similar to Sony,” he said. “This course has a little more undulation on the greens. The greens were fantastic. The maintenance crew has done a fantastic job, the agronomy team has done a fantastic job. They’re rolling really nice. I’m seeing the greens well and putting it on the line, it’s holding. This is a golf course I really enjoy playing and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Kizzire, who entered the week with three missed cuts in his previous five starts to end the season, hasn’t won since the 2018 Sony Open in Hawaii.

Mackenzie Hughes is dialed for Presidents Cup

Mackenzie Hughes of Canada hits his tee shot on the seventh hole during the third round of the Procore Championship 2024 at Silverado Resort on September 14, 2024 in Napa, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

In a few weeks, Mackenzie Hughes will head to his home country of Canada for the Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal Golf Club. Hughes is one of the 12 members of the International Team, and he’s getting dialed in for the biennial event by contending at the Procore.

After opening with a 2-under 70 on Thursday, Hughes has now posted rounds of 67-66 and is tied for third, five back of the lead.

The Canadian, who hasn’t won since the 2022 Sanderson Farms, made three birdies on each half of Silverado Resort’s North Course, gaining nearly 3½ strokes with his iron play (first in Strokes Gained: Approach). If his putter cooperated a bit better, his round could have been special.

“I actually — I had a lot of chances,” he said. “I felt like — I’m not sure what my strokes gained approach would have been today, but I felt I had a lot of close looks that I wasn’t able to convert.”

If the flat-stick heats up on Sunday, watch out for Hughes.

Corey Conners continues to roll

Corey Conners of Canada hits his tee shot on the seventh hole during the third round of the Procore Championship 2024 at Silverado Resort on September 14, 2024 in Napa, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

Like Hughes, Conners will don the black and gold at the Presidents Cup for the International Team — Hughes, Conners and Taylor Pendrith are the three Canadians playing at Royal Montreal.

In 22 starts this season, Conners never missed a weekend. That’s a lot of money, but what he failed to do was win.

That could change Sunday with a special round as he sits at 13 under in a tie for third thanks to rounds of 73-64-66.

After making the turn with a 2-under 33, Conners made four birdies on his final six holes to catapult up the leaderboard.

Like it has been all year, Conners’ tee-to-green game was outstanding on Day 3 — he ranked fourth in both SG: Off the Tee and Approach.

International Team captain Mike Weir must like what he’s seeing from Hughes and Conners.

Wilson Furr credits bachelor trip for ‘reset’

Wilson Furr of the United States hits his tee shot on the 18th hole during the third round of the Procore Championship 2024 at Silverado Resort on September 14, 2024 in Napa, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

It was a tough 2023-24 Tour season for Furr. In 18 starts, he made just four cuts with his best finish coming at the Texas Children’s Houston Open where he tied for 36th.

But over the break — his last Tour start came at the Wyndham Championship, the final event before the FedEx Cup Playoffs — Furr went on his bachelor trip and credited it for a much-needed reset.

“I had my bachelor trip over the break and I felt like it was an amazing reset,” Furr said. “We went to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, went fly fishing and exploring Yellowstone and Grand Tetons. Yeah, I think that was about as good a reset as I could ask for. Got to see a lot of my friends I hadn’t seen in a long time.”

And how’d the fishing go?

“Sick. We crushed it.”

He also crushed it on the course Saturday, firing a 8-under 64. Furr made five birdies on the front nine before making the turn and adding another on the 16th. He also made an eagle at the par-5 15th after his 216-yard approach shot finished less than three feet from the hole.

Furr will enter the final round in a tie for seventh at 12 under, six back of the lead.

Procore Championship top 10, odds to win

Position Player Score Odds to win
1 Patton Kizzire 18 under (-110)
2 David Lipsky 14 under (+1200)
T-3 Mackenzie Hughes 13 under (+1100)
T-3 Greyson Sigg 13 under (+2200)
T-3 Corey Conners 13 under (+650)
T-3 Patrick Fishburn 13 under (+1400)
T-7 Wilson Furr 12 under (+6500)
T-7 Ben Silverman 12 under (+3500)
T-7 Sahith Theegala 12 under (+1100)
T-10 Chez Reavie 11 under (+11000)
T-10 Justin Lower 11 under (+7500)

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Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. Sports betting operators have no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. Terms apply, see operator site for Terms and Conditions. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available. Call the National Council on Problem Gambling 24/7 at 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, OH), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN). Must be 21 or older to gamble. Sports betting and gambling are not legal in all locations. Be sure to comply with laws applicable where you reside.

Patton Kizzire’s new sports psychologist has him hugging trees, walking barefoot and looking at flowers

It’s working so far in Napa.

NAPA, Calif. – Patton Kizzire became a tree hugger on Friday. Then he went out and shot 7-under 65 at Silverado Resort’s North Course to grab the lead in the second round of the Procore Championship.

Kizzire had three weeks off after missing the FedEx Cup playoffs last month and decided he wanted to work on the mental side of his game. As a result, he started working with a new sports psychologist, a local woman that he noted has worked with other professional golfers that live near him in Saint Simons Island, Georgia.

Among the things she has introduced into his regimen includes hugging trees, walking bare foot and looking at flowers.

“Not joking. I hugged that tree right there,” he said, pointing to a tree along Silverado Resort’s 16th tee. He added, “I’ve hugged one tree in my life and that was this morning.”

Procore: Best merchandise | Photos | Leaderboard

Whatever works. Kizzire opened with 66 on Thursday, birdied his first hole after hugging that tree and then made pars on the rest of the front nine. He said he didn’t have his best stuff but remained patient.

“That was it,” Kizzire said. “I could have gotten frustrated or talked about a bad shot or worried about why am I not hitting it like I want to or all those different things, but I chose not to do that.”

He carded six birdies on the back nine to improve to 13-under 131. So far, being in a better head space is helping Kizzire, as he put it, “Be the best version of myself.”

“It’s been really cool to just get organized and try to be more playful out there and be unflappable, that’s kind of my word,” he said. “Just finding joy and positivity and really not letting yourself go the other way, that’s been a key to my first two rounds.”

Monday qualifier for WM Phoenix Open went to a playoff before these three got in the field

The day started with 104 golfers at Pinnacle Peak Country Club.

The day started with 104 golfers at Pinnacle Peak Country Club, all vying for one of three spots in the 2024 WM Phoenix Open.

The tee sheet was full of names golf fans would recognize: Ryan Palmer, Wesley Bryan, DJ Trahan, James Hahn, Martin Trainer. There even a few golfers from PGA Tour Champions – Esteban Toledo, Billy Mayfair – who wanted a crack at it.

By the afternoon there were 13 withdrawals on one end of the leaderboard and some 64s at the top. Only the top three advance but late in the day, Jim Knous posted the fourth 7-under 64, forcing a 4-for-3 playoff. He was joined in the sudden death by Nicolo Galletti, Jacob Bridgeman and two-time PGA Tour winner Patton Kizzire.

The Southwest Section PGA even fired up a live stream for the playoff.

On the second playoff hole, in the waning daylight, Galletti made birdie while Kizzire and Knous made par. For Galletti, who hails from Phoenix and was Jon Rahm’s roommate at Arizona State, it’ll be his first PGA Tour start.

Bridgeman was facing a bogey putt but it didn’t matter, as he was the odd man out.

Sami Valimaki played in the qualifier but found out after his round he was in the WM Phoenix Open field as an alternate after Patrick Rodgers withdrew.

The Phoenix Open starts Thursday with 132 players.

[pickup_prop id=”35248″]

The return of five cards at PGA Tour Q-School has ‘everyone and his brother here to give it a try’

“If you screw up it’s like, oh my gosh, I’ve got to wait a whole ‘nother year.”

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Ever since his grandfather Arnold Palmer died in 2016, Sam Saunders hasn’t found a replacement to be his swing coach. But anytime his game does go a bit haywire, his first call is to his pal Eric Cole, who had a breakthrough season on the PGA Tour in 2022-23 and has climbed to No. 41 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

“He still likes me to reach out to him and I do,” Saunders said. “He gets me back on track.”

Saunders had Cole as a caddie on the PGA Tour when he played in the big leagues previously and Cole was still battling to find his game on the mini-tours. It’s a role that Cole likely would have reprised this week as Saunders attempts to earn a promotion to the promised land via PGA Tour Qualifying School.

“If he wasn’t on his honeymoon he would’ve done it,” Saunders said. “I was like, ‘Dude, you can’t get divorced two days after you get married.’ He told me at his wedding, ‘Go get one of the five cards this week. My life will be so much better if you are out there with me. Just get it done.’ And, yeah, it would be a dream come true for the two of us to play on the PGA Tour together.”

After a decade of solely awarding varying levels of Korn Ferry Tour membership, final stage of PGA Tour Q-School marks the first time since 2012 that there are PGA Tour cards on the line. Upon conclusion of the 72-hole tournament, which begins on Thursday and will see the field play two 18-hole rounds – at both Dye’s Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass and Sawgrass Country Club – the top five finishers and ties will earn PGA Tour membership for 2024. Once again, the opportunity exists for a player in the field of 165 to go from obscurity to passing “Go” and collecting way more than $200 on the PGA Tour.

“Everyone and his brother are here to give it a try,” said veteran pro Rob Oppenheim, who first played in Q-School in 2001.

“Even if there was one card you’d come because it’s such a cool opportunity,” said Saunders.

Heartache and jubilation will both make an appearance on Sunday. Paul Azinger, the 1984 medalist, once described Q-School as “climbing up a cactus backwards, naked.” Erik Compton, who is in the field this week, said, “It was no place for women or children,” and retired pro Joe Ogilvie may have said it best when he mused, “Shakespeare would have written one hell of a tragedy here.”

It’s a competitive field with 19 Tour winners, veterans trying to improve or regain status and newbies who need directions to the locker room and are excited to have some status for next season and trying to better it.

The next 40 finishers and ties are exempt for multiple reshuffles of the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour season, guaranteeing them between eight to 12 starts depending on their finish. The next 20 finishers and ties earn exempt status for the Latin America Swing of the 2024 PGA Tour Americas season in addition to conditional Korn Ferry Tour status. All remaining finishers outside the aforementioned categories earn conditional Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour Americas membership for 2024.

For Saunders, he already has secured full status on the Korn Ferry Tour for next season so he has nothing to lose.

“I’m playing with house money,” he said. “Finishing sixth place does nothing for me in terms of positioning. I can fire at pins, I can play more aggressively than some other guys.”

It’s been a long time since Patton Kizzire has needed to play Q-School. After the stark reality hit him at the RSM Classic last month that he had failed to finish in the top 125, he shed tears at the realization that he would no longer be fully exempt. At No. 129, he’ll still have conditional status playing out of the Nos. 126-150 category, but the chance to secure full status is too compelling to pass up.

“All it is is an opportunity for me to move up,” he said.

The purse this week is a modest $510,000, with $50,000 going to the medalist, but Saunders said a paycheck is the farthest thing from anyone’s mind.

“That’s what makes it so pure. You’re playing for your entire career or an entire year,” he said.

“It’s kind of like the Olympics. People work their tails off for four years and then they have their one event and if you screw up it’s like, oh my gosh, I’ve got to wait four more years. Obviously the wait in golf isn’t that long, but if you screw up at Q-School and leave with limited status you feel like, oh my gosh, I’ve got to wait a whole ‘nother year – if I can make it back to this point – so it’s incredibly difficult.”

The weather could be dicey: cold, wind and rain are in the forecast. If such conditions prevail, there will be no faking it.

“It’s about embracing the suck sometimes,” said Ryan Gerard, “because it’s going to suck for a few days out here.”

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With PGA Tour cards on the line, these pros missed the cut at 2023 RSM Classic

The cut at Sea Island Golf Club had more of a sense of finality for some.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — A prominent swing instructor summed up why he could cut tension on the range at the RSM Classic with a rusty nail.

“Some of these guys don’t know whether they will ever tee it up at a PGA Tour event,” he said.

This week is the 54th and final Tour event of the 2022-23 season and so the 36-hole cut Friday had more of a sense of finality for some, especially those battling to make the top 125 and full status for next season or Nos. 126-150 and secure conditional status.

Peter Malnati, who entered the week at No. 116, shot 69-71 (140) and missed the cut and said he’ll be playing the waiting game all weekend. He’s projected No.122. Two three-putts in the first round was uncharacteristic of Malnati and the putter remained cold in the second round. But at least he had the right perspective.

“With or without a Tour card, I’m going to be awesome but I’d rather have one,” he said.

Harry Higgs, who started the week at No. 132 and had missed three straight cuts, made birdie on two of the last three holes to shoot 70 on Seaside Course and make the cut on the number.

All told, 78 golfers shot 4-under 138 or better at Sea Island’s Seaside and Plantation Courses. Higgs didn’t need anyone to let him know what what at stake when he made an 11-foot birdie putt on 18 at Seaside to make the cut.

“No, I know. I know it all too well after this year. Oddly, I wasn’t really that worried about it or focused on it,” he said. “For the last two years I’ve been stressing, worrying about all this shit. And for some reason, I don’t know why, I don’t know that I even said it aloud, I might have just thought it briefly, like I’m just not really going to worry about it this week.”

Patton Kizzire, who entered the week at No. 130, channeled the same philosophy and made birdie on his final two holes at the Plantation Course to make the cut and give himself two more rounds to jump up a few more spots. He’s projected No. 129.

Four players ranked between No. 120 and No. 126 in the FedEx Cup Fall standings entering the week missed the cut: No. 120 Matti Schmid, No. 121 Doug Ghim, No. 123 Troy Merritt and No. 126 Henrik Norlander.

Here’s more about them and some other pros who weren’t so fortunate and had their season come to a premature end. And here are the Saturday tee times for those who did make the weekend.

What happens when six PGA Tour players share a house for tournament week?

Cards are played, bets are made, trash is talked and at the end of the week, one player wins the tournament.

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SILVIS, Ill. – What happens when six PGA Tour players stay in a house together for a tournament week? Cards are played, bets are made, trash is talked and at the end of the week, one player wins the tournament.

At least that’s how it went at last year’s John Deere Classic. J.T. Poston passed on the hotel and stayed in a large house with Patton Kizzire, Greyson Sigg, Denny McCarthy, Brendon Todd and Ben Kohles, and the majority of the gang are running it back this year at the 2023 John Deere Classic.

“Yes, we have the same house,” said Poston ahead of his title defense. Kizzire, Sigg and McCarthy are back for more action in the PGA Tour fraternity house, with the additions of Chris Kirk and Sepp Straka to replace Todd and Kohles. “A lot of us were in the house last year, and so we jumped on it and got the same one again. A lot of cards and having fun back at the house after the rounds.”

Although all six are competing against one another, the house creates a similar vibe similar to college golf. Even though they’re not on the same team, there’s something to be said for coming home and sharing stories of the round and pulling for your friends. Three of the six players went to the University of Georgia, and four of the six reside in the Peach State, with three calling Sea Island home.

“A handful of us will stay together all the time in Airbnb’s. Rarely do we get one that’s big enough for all of us to hop in and where all of us are playing the same week, so this is kind of unique in that sense where it’s a lot of fun,” explained Poston. “We do that a lot. I mean, the hotels can get old pretty fast, so try to mix it up with some Airbnb’s and house rentals.”

There’s a scorecard for the card games, and of course some cash is exchanging hands, but money isn’t the goal for the games.

“We have some fun with it. It’s more bragging rights with that crowd because we play and hang out all the time, so it’s more just trying to beat your buddy than it is seeing how much money you can win,” said Poston, who noted that Kizzire has the early lead one night in.

Speaking of money, after earning his second PGA Tour victory, Poston picked up the bill for the house much to the joy of his housemates for the week, and he’s hoping to do so once again this year.

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