Tag: Pinnacle Bank Championship

Family affair: Three Gutschewskis grouped together at Korn Ferry Tour event

What a story for the Gutschewski family.

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Amy Gutschewski won’t have any difficult decisions to make as far as what group to watch during the first two rounds of the Korn Ferry Tour’s Pinnacle Bank Championship. That’s because the PGA Tour’s developmental circuit made it easy for her, grouping husband, Scott, and sons Luke and Trevor together for Thursday and Friday play. It marks the second time a father and multiple sons have played in the same Tour-sanctioned event, following in the footsteps only of the Nicklauses.

Scott, or “Gootch” as he is affectionately called, is a 47-year-old journeyman pro who once went 10 years – 3,626 days to be exact – between starts as a PGA Tour member. He should be in Greensboro, North Carolina, at the Tour’s Wyndham Championship, but he’s far enough down the alternate list that he decided to commit to his first Korn Ferry Tour event of the year in his home state of Nebraska. Scott has made just four of 16 cuts this season in the big leagues and not even a victory at the Wyndham would have earned him a place in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, which begin next week.

Luke, a rising junior at Iowa State, won the Nebraska Junior Amateur in 2020 and was one of six first-round co-leaders and one of four co-medalists at the 122nd U.S. Amateur Championship in 2022 at Ridgewood Golf Club. His younger brother, Trevor, just won the U.S. Junior Amateur at Oakland Hills last month. The brothers are making their debuts in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event in their hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, alongside their pops in the 9:57 a.m. group off No. 10.

Through the years, Luke has caddied for Scott on occasion, including several years ago at a Korn Ferry event in North Carolina.

Meanwhile, Scott and Amy’s daughter, Isabelle, attends the University of Nebraska and is part of the PGA Golf Management program. As for their youngest, Isaiah? He’s only eight but has inherited the family’s passion for golf. Two years ago, Amy posted on Twitter after Isaiah made a birdie on the first hole of his first tournament: “And just like that, another one is hooked,” she wrote.

This family affair in the game just keeps getting better and it doesn’t get much better for Scott, a three-time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour, than a chance to play in a professional event alongside his boys.

“I thought there was a chance at some point Luke and I may kind of cross paths depending on how long I could still walk and everything,” Scott told Omaha’s CBS affiliate KMTV, “but yeah, Trevor was definitely a huge surprise [to play alongside at a Tour event].”

Robby Shelton wins Korn Ferry Tour regular-season finale; these 25 players have earned PGA Tour cards for next season

Twenty-five golfers earned their PGA Tour cards on Sunday.

The Korn Ferry Tour regular-season finale in Omaha wrapped up Sunday, and with that came a life-changing opportunity for 25 golfers who earned their PGA Tour cards for the 2021-22 season.

Robby Shelton won the Pinnacle Bank Championship, moving to second in the KFT standings. Shelton finished with a 6-under 65 for a 17-under 267 total, one shot better than Ben Taylor, who also secured his card. Kevin Dougherty finished in a tie for third, but a win would’ve clinched a PGA Tour card for him. It’s the second win of the year for Shelton, the only player on the KFT to win twice this season, earning $153,000.

Carl Yuan, the 2021-22 points leader, finished tied for fifth at The Club at Indian Creek. He won only once on the season but finished runner-up an astounding six times. He shot 9 under during his third round.

The list of 25 who earned their Tour cards

1. Carl Yuan, 1,819
2. Robby Shelton, 1,603
3. Paul Haley II, 1,341
4. Zecheng Dou, 1,321
5. Taylor Montgomery, 1,216
6. Augusto Núñez, 1,157
7. Justin Suh, 1,145
8. Ben Griffin, 1,102
9. Ben Taylor, 1,095
10. Brandon Matthews, 1,094
11. MJ Daffue, 1,090
12. Seonghyeon Kim, 981
13. Byeong Hun An, 941
14. Davis Thompson, 926
15. Erik Barnes, 908
16. Trevor Werbylo, 878
17. Harry Hall, 877
18. Tyson Alexander, 857
19. Michael Kim, 857
20. Kevin Yu, 846
21. Harrison Endycott, 830
22. Trevor Cone, 825
23. Vincent Norrman, 785
24. Kevin Roy, 784
25. Anders Albertson, 783

Tyson Alexander got his card for the first time since going pro 12 years ago. Paul Haley is back on the PGA Tour after losing his card nine years ago. 16 of the 25 will be PGA Tour rookies, and there are nine countries represented in the group.

Next up for those whom missed the top 25? An additional 25 Tour cards will be awarded following the three-event Korn Ferry Tour Playoffs. Those finishing Nos. 26-75 in the KFT standings as well as non-member qualifiers and medical extensions can still earn their cards through the Korn Ferry Tour Playoffs. The three-event playoffs will also feature PGA Tour golfers who finished Nos. 126 to 200 in the FedEx Cup points race.

The three KFT playoff events are:

  • Albertsons Boise Open, Boise, Idaho, Aug. 18-21
  • Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, Columbus, Ohio, Aug. 25-28
  • Korn Ferry Tour Championship, Newburgh, Indiana, Sept. 1-4

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At Korn Ferry Tour regular-season finale, 25 PGA Tour cards earned for next season

The regular season-ending Korn Ferry Tour event proved to be a big day for 25 golfers who earned a promotion for next season.

The Korn Ferry Tour regular-season finale in Omaha carried extra weight for many in the field. Yes, the goal was to win the tournament, but an even bigger accomplishment was achieved by 25 golfers who earned their PGA Tour cards for the 2021-22 season.

Stephan Jaeger, the 2020-21 points leader, took the outright lead at the Pinnacle Bank Championship on Saturday with a 90-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole at The Club at Indian Creek. But his pursuit of a third victory of the season fell short when he shot  even-par 71in the final round and tied for fourth. Jaeger still held onto his points lead, and will be fully exempt when he moves on to the big leagues next season.

David Skinns won the Pinnacle Bank Championship, an event he also won in 2018 for his most recent win on the circuit. Skinns closed in 67 for a 14-under 270 total, one shot better than Jared Wolfe and Zecheng (Marty) Dou. The victory vaulted Skinns from 46th place in the points race all the way to 22nd, securing his 2021-22 PGA Tour card.

The list of 25 who earned their Tour cards

1. Stephan Jaeger, 2804
2. Mito Pereira, 2556
3. Chad Ramey, 2480
4. Taylor Moore, 2271
5. Taylor Pendrith, 2154
6. Greyson Sigg, 2125
7. Davis Riley, 2006
8. Jared Wolfe, 1880
9. Will Zalatoris, 1876
10. Lee Hodges, 1851
11. Adam Svensson, 1821
12. David Lipsky, 1782
13. Brandon Wu, 1735
14. Max McGreevy, 1732
15. Paul Barjon, 1729
16. Andrew Novak, 1692
17. Dylan Wu, 1675
18. Seth Reeves, 1651
19. Cameron Young, 1642
20. Nick Hardy, 1597
21. Curtis Thompson, 1549
22. David Skinns, 1547
23. Ben Kohles, 1497
24. Brett Drewitt, 1487
25. Austin Smotherman, 1439

Next up for those who missed out on the Top 25? Those finishing Nos. 26-75 as well as non-member qualifiers and medical extensions can still earn their card through the Korn Ferry Tour Playoffs. There will be 25 more Tour cards up for grabs but the three-event playoffs will also feature PGA Tour golfers who finished Nos. 126 to 200 in the FedEx Cup points race.

The three KFT playoff events are:

  • Albertsons Boise Open, Boise, Idaho, Aug. 19-22
  • Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, Columbus, Ohio, Aug. 26-29
  • Korn Ferry Tour Championship, Newburgh, Indiana, Sept. 2-5

Seth Reeves pulls off massive comeback to win Pinnacle Bank Championship on KFT

Seth Reeves rose 26 spots on the leaderboard to claim his first Korn Ferry Tour title at the Pinnacle Bank Championship.

Seth Reeves had a long way to go at the start of the final round, but the 29-year-old chipped away at an eight-shot deficit on Sunday and came out with a one-shot victory at the Pinnacle Bank Championship. Remarkably, Reeves rose 26 spots on the leaderboard to claim his first Korn Ferry Tour title.

Reeves had not made a cut in the six Korn Ferry events played since the post-COVID restart, and he barely made the cut at the Club at Indian Creek this week in Omaha, Nebraska. He finished birdie-birdie in the second round to make it by one.

A third-round 68 left Reeves in 26th entering the final round, which he started ordinarily enough. He went 1 over in his first three holes. Reeves then closed out the front nine with three birdies then added three more plus an eagle at the par-5 15th. All that added up to a final-round 7-under 64. It moved Reeves to 11 under for 72 holes and one ahead of a group of five players at 10 under.

“Just really grateful to have won this tournament on a tough course. Started the day in (26th) and never thought I had a chance to win and here I am the champion.”

Reeves is a 2014 graduate of Georgia Tech, where he was a two-time All-American. He won three individual titles there.

A large group of players tied for second, a shot behind Reeves, included Taylor Pendrith, Nick Voke, Carl Yuan, Tyson Alexander and Ryan Ruffels.

The Korn Ferry Tour heads to North Plains, Oregon, next week for the WinCo Foods Portland Open.

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