Tag: savannah golf championship

Evan Harmeling gets first Korn Ferry Tour win in Savannah in his 20th start

Evan Harmeling took advantage of some shaky play by Kevin Dougherty down the stretch at the Savannah Golf Championship and won in a playoff.

Evan Harmeling took advantage of some shaky play by Kevin Dougherty down the stretch and then birdied the first hole of a playoff to pick up his first Korn Ferry Tour win Sunday at The Landings Club’s Deer Creek Course.

Trailing by two shots with two holes to play in the Savannah Golf Championship, Harmeling birdied No. 18 to force the sudden-death playoff and repeated by again making a birdie at 18, which was the playoff hole.

After Dougherty bogeyed the par-three No. 17 hole, he still had a one-shot lead going to the final hole. But he had to settle for a par while Harmeling — who turned pro in 2012 and had been knocking around on the mini-tour circuit — made a 10-foot putt for birdie to get even as both players finished in regulation at 21-under par.

Dougherty, who was also looking for his first Korn Ferry victory, had a 10-footer for the outright win but his putt slipped past the hole and his slide continued in the playoff.

Standing on the tee at No. 17 with a two-shot lead, Dougherty had control of the tournament only to have his tee shot miss to the right by 15 yards. Trying to hit a delicate pitch shot out of the gnarly rough, he dumped it into the bunker.

Harmeling had put his ball on the green about 15 feet below the hole and two-putted from there. Dougherty hit a wonderful sand shot to within inches and tapped in, but the lead was now one going to the 593-yard 18th hole.

On the final hole of regulation, both golfers hit excellent tee shots with Dougherty holding about a 20-yard advantage. Harmeling’s second shot hit just in front of the pin and rolled off the left side. With his adrenaline flowing, Dougherty hit a 4-iron over the green before pitching just past the hole.

Electing to putt, Harmeling ran the ball past the hole, leaving both with very make-able birdie putts.

“I’m happy I blew it by the hole,” Harmeling said. “I wanted to put the pressure on him and told myself not to leave it short. I gave it a run and it went in.”

Dougherty is getting married this Saturday and the Dallas resident was scheduled to fly out of Savannah for his native California at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, only to have to change his plans when he found himself playing in the final grouping.

“I hit a beautiful chip shot from behind the green,” Dougherty said. “About halfway to the hole I thought it (putt) was in. I put a good stroke on it.”

On playoff hole, Dougherty hit his drive into a bunker on the right side of the fairway, which kept him from going into the marsh. However, he could only lay up.

Harmeling, meanwhile, was in nearly the same spot as he was in regulation and he hit nearly the identical second shot.

His 278-yard 3-wood hit just in front of the pin. But instead of again running off the side, the ball stopped on a sprinkler head and left him with a 10-footer after getting a drop.

“That 3-wood was sweet,” Harmeling said. “This is why you play golf, why you put in the time and hard work.”

20th time the charm

The Boston native won in his 20th start on the Korn Ferry Tour, with a previous best a tie for 14th at an event in Portland.

The 32-year-old Princeton University graduate started the day with a one-shot lead over Dougherty, but neither could break away in the early going.

While Harmeling opened with six straight pars, Dougherty bogeyed his fourth hole and found himself in fourth place at 16-under.

However, the former Oklahoma State golfer righted the ship when he reeled off birdies on Nos. 7, 8 and 9. The two made the turn even.

“I bled a little and then I finished strong,” Hameling said. “It was just a grind. … I had to keep my head down and keep going.

“When I fell behind, I was reeling, but I was still on my back feet. I knew coming down the stretch if I played the way I could, I could do it.”

Dougherty took the lead for the first time on the day when he birdied No. 11 and when Harmeling followed with a bogey on No. 12. It stayed that way until No. 17 when Dougherty started leaking oil.

The spoils

The win was worth $108,000 to Harmeling, who previously had won $40,859 this year and entered the tournament ranked 114th on the points list. The win, with 500 points, jumped him to 32nd place.

Dougherty jumped from 134th to 59th place. The top 75 retain their Korn Ferry status next season.

While Dougherty, 29, was disappointed with the loss, he gave credit to Harmeling and put it all in perspective when he talked about his upcoming wedding.

“I haven’t seen my fiancée in two months,” Dougherty said. “I’m looking forward to getting home.

“There’s always going to be a golf tournament, but you only get married once.”

George Cunningham, Austen Truslow, Brett Coletta, Chad Ramey and Eric Cole, who was in the final grouping, all shared third place at 19-under.

Former Armstrong State University Division II All-American Shad Tuten closed with a 3-under 69 and finished 22nd at 14-under par, which automatically qualified him for next week’s tournament in Orlando, Florida. He moved up three spots from 74th to 71st place.

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Wedding can wait: Kevin Dougherty changes travel plans, finishes second in Savannah

Kevin Dougherty did not plan to spend Sunday night in Savannah, but considering the circumstances, he didn’t mind at all. Dougherty had a little better week in the Korn Ferry Tour’s Savannah Golf Championship than he anticipated. He was in the final …

Kevin Dougherty did not plan to spend Sunday night in Savannah, but considering the circumstances, he didn’t mind at all.

Dougherty had a little better week in the Korn Ferry Tour’s Savannah Golf Championship than he anticipated. He was in the final pairing of the day Sunday afternoon at The Landings Club’s Deer Creek Course, one shot behind tournament leader Evan Harmeling.

The former Oklahoma State golfer, now in his sixth season as a professional, is getting married next weekend. Dougherty was scheduled to catch a flight home to California at 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

Instead, he had to change his travel plans to catch a 9:30 a.m. Monday flight, a second-place finish in hand. Not a bad way to start a marriage.

Dougherty almost had the victory, but he bogeyed No. 17 and then watched as Harmeling birdied 18 to force an extra hole.

“I would like to be going home as I haven’t seen my fiancé in two months,” said Dougherty, a native of Murrieta, California. “It’ll be nice to get home and see her. I was hoping to get home Sunday but considering the circumstances, I don’t mind.

SAVANNAH GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP: Scoreboard

“We have a chance to compete and being in contention is always fun. Playing in Savannah is one of my favorite places of the year. The golf course is awesome and it’s always in great shape. They treat us great.”

Dougherty had built a two-stroke edge on No, 15 with a birdie, heading down the homestretch.

Dougherty ranked 134th on the Korn Ferry points standings going into the tournament. There was nothing to indicate he would find himself in a position to get his first Korn Ferry win in his second season on the tour, which is owned and operated by the PGA Tour.

A tie for 22nd in Portland represented Dougherty’s best finish this season. Last year, he had two top-10 finishes with total winnings of $144,412. Coming to Savannah, it has been a leaner year as the money list showed him with $33,241.

Last year, Dougherty finished 34th on the final points list, which earned him Korn Ferry Tour status for the 2020 season.

Dougherty came into Savannah off a tie for 55th place last week at the Wichita Open. He opened the season with high expectations but missed the cut in his first four tournaments. For the season, he has made the cut in 10 of 18 tournaments including Savannah.

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Jared Wolfe closing in on PGA Tour card with each success

Jared Wolfe is fourth on the points list, which all but assures him of the PGA Tour card given to the top 25 points leaders.

Jared Wolfe is living the dream. Or at least he possibly will be next year.

Wolfe, a native of Louisville, Ky., who played his college golf at Murray State University, turned pro 10 years ago. His career has been one of belief in his ability, persistence, dedication and hard work to improve his game.

It’s finally paying off, though the 32-year-old and his wife had to take an introspective look at his game and determine if it was worthwhile to continue.

The couple’s life took a different outlook with the birth of their baby daughter. At that point, they had an honest and open discussion about his career and what the future may hold.

Their decision — one which has proven to be the right one — was that Wolfe had to qualify for either the Korn Ferry Tour or the PGA Tour. No more bouncing around on the mini-tour circuit.

SAVANNAH GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP: Scoreboard

That meant another year on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica to improve his status, and suddenly things started to click. Wolfe won once and finished third on the Legion of Merit standings, which qualified him for the Korn Ferry Tour.

Don’t look for any changes in Wolfe’s game or his lifestyle in one of the feel-good success stories of the year.

“We’re just going to continue doing what we’ve been doing,” said Wolfe, who resides in Ponte Vedre Beach, Florida. “As to lifestyle, we’re not going to change too much. We’re the same three people we were before.

“We’ll be starting a college fund and retirement fund,” Wolfe said. “This game has a lot of highs and lows. We’re just trying to enjoy it.”

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Wolfe has taken advantage of the opportunity in his third go-round on the Korn Ferry. He had previously played the tour in 2014, making the cut in two of 17 tournaments. He finished 131st in 2018, which sent him to the Latinoamerica Tour.

Wolfe came into this week’s Savannah Golf Championship fresh off a win at the Wichita Open last weekend. That left him fourth on the points list, which all but assures him of his PGA Tour card as the top 25 points leaders get the opportunity to move up. Heading into Sunday, he’s seven shots off the lead at 11 under. Evan Harmeling leads the way at 18 under.

The win in Wichita gave Wolfe an additional confidence boost in the way it came about.

“I just kept hitting some good shots and fought all the way to the end,” Wolfe said. “I made a lot of pars, had an eagle, and then got up and down on the last hole for the win.

“It was a first for me because it was the first time I had to make a putt to win. Other times when I’ve won it was by two or three shots, so that was pretty special.”

It was also Wolfe’s second win of the year as he had opened his season by winning The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic in January. Those two victories left him one short of getting a battlefield (automatic) promotion to the PGA Tour. He is having the best year of his career in earnings with $296,932.

He is trying for that elusive third win this Sunday in the Savannah Golf Championship at The Landings Club’s Deer Creek Course.

Wolfe went into the third round Saturday at 9-under par, four shots behind leaders Kevin Dougherty and Evan Harmeling.

When the round ended, Harmeling and Dougherty were still at the top, but Harmeling had a one-stroke lead at 18 under (6-67-67). Dougherty was next at 17 under (65-66, 68).

Wolfe (67-68-70) and former Armstrong State University standout Shad Tuten (67-66-72) were among those tied for 26th place at 11 under.

The next level

As to moving up in the ranks, Wolfe will have a certain degree of job security and, of course, the opportunity to enhance his earnings ability. Several former Korn Ferry Tour players have gone on to do well on the big tour, and Wolfe wants to add his name to the list.

“Having job security for the next two years at this level (Korn Ferry) and higher is huge,” Wolfe said. “I’m excited for where we’re going and we’re going to enjoy it.”

This is Wolfe’s second appearance in the Savannah Golf Championship. Two years ago, he finished in a tie for 75th place as he shot an even-par 288 to take home $1,265.

“The weather this year is perfect,” Wolfe said. “Two years ago (in April) it was cold, windy and miserable. They were tough conditions.”

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Shad Tuten fighting to keep KFT card on familiar turf in Savannah

Nothing has come quickly for Tuten, who got serious about golf when he contracted swine flu and had to miss the basketball season.

SAVANNAH, Georgia — Shad Tuten’s golf career has been similar to the tortoise chasing the hare: don’t panic and maintain a steady pace. You will eventually get your rewards at the end.

Rewards at the end are what Tuten is counting on. The way his career has progressed indicates that dream is certainly within the realm of possibility.

According to his biography, Tuten, who went to nearby Elbert County High School and now resides in Naples, Florida, has never had a formal golf lesson or a coach, but here he is in his first year on the Korn Ferry Tour with aspirations of eventually making the big tour.

Nothing has come quickly for Tuten, who got serious about golf his senior year in high school when he contracted swine flu and had to miss the basketball season.

With an average score of 78 in high school, he went to Darton State College, a two-year school in Albany, where his game improved and he transferred to Armstrong State University in Savannah, where he was a two-time Division II All-America.

After turning pro, Tuten spent three years on the Latinoamerica Tour. As in college, his trajectory was continual improvement: he finished 99th on the Legion of Merit rankings his first year, 56th his second year and jumped to eighth last year, which got him a promotion to the Korn Ferry Tour.

Tuten, who has missed the cut his last four tournaments, is hoping to right the ship this weekend in the Savannah Golf Championship. He shot a 5-under-par 67 in his opening round at The Landings Club’s Deer Creek course Thursday and followed it up with a 66 in Friday’s second round. At 11 under for the event, he’s two strokes behind leaders Kevin Dougherty and Evan Harmeling heading into the weekend.

Tuten needs a good finish as he entered the event 74th in the points rankings. The top 75 retain their Korn Ferry card for next year. Tuten’s best and only top-10 finish this year came at the Korn Ferry Challenge at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, where he was second.

First-round leader Andrew Dorn shot an opening-round 63 which was a course record that stood for one day as Australian Julian Etulain shot a 10-under 62, which was highlighted by a 29 on the back nine.

Etulain, ranked 99th in the Korn Ferry players standings, shot a 3-under 33 on the front but there was nothing on his card to indicate what was going to take place over the next nine holes.

After registering birdies on Nos. 4, 5 and 7, Etulain closed out his front nine with a pair of pars. He opened the back with consecutive birdies, made a pair of pars and then closed with seven straight birdies.

“I like where I am,” Tuten said of his opening round, which found him 2 over after three holes with bogeys on No. 1 and No. 3. “I had a couple of terrible lies in bunkers that hurt me.

“I stayed patient and got it turned around on No. 8 when I birdied,” Tuten said. “That gave me some momentum.”

Playing the back nine first, Tuten salvaged his start with the birdie on his eighth hole and he followed with another birdie.

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Andrew Dorn shoots course record, Tim O’Neal in hunt at Savannah Golf Championship

Andrew Dorn shot a Deer Creek course record 63 to take the first-round lead at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Savannah Golf Championship.

SAVANNAH, Ga. — Tim O’Neal didn’t have a bad round—the Savannah golfer shot a three-under par 69 Thursday in the opening round of the Korn Ferry Tour Savannah Golf Championship—but he knew it could have been a lot better.

On a day that was perfect for scoring: no wind, receptive greens and soft fairways that allowed players to play the lift-and-place rule, Andrew Dorn of West Chester, Ohio, shot a Deer Creek course record 63 to take the first-round lead.

While O’Neal, 48, was feeling the self-inflicted pressure of not only wanting to play well, but to do it in front of family and friends, Dorn no doubt felt he was playing with house money.

Dorn was one of eight golfers who got in the field from Monday’s qualifier which drew 272 golfers fighting for eight spots. Due to heavy rains, Dorn actually played only one hole on Monday and had to finish his round on Tuesday.

When he wrapped up on the Marshwood course he had a six-under 66 and that put him in a playoff with four other golfers. Fortunately for him, he survived and moved on.

O’Neal got off to a slow start as he was two-over after three after a double bogey on the No. 3 188-yard par three hole. He rallied with birdies on Nos. 5 and 7 to make the turn at even par.

After opening the back nine with four straight pars, O’Neal birdied three of his final five holes to get into the house with the goal today of playing well enough to make the cut.

“I’ve got to make some putts,” O’Neal said. “That will be the focus tomorrow (Friday).

“I couldn’t hit it much better than I did. I had some good looks, but I couldn’t make anything. Other than that one bad hole (No. 3) it was a pretty boring round.”

A good example was No. 18 when he had an excellent look at a birdie only to see a 12-foot downhill putt just slide by the hole on the right leaving him with a tap in par.

He had put himself in perfect position off the tee, laid up to within 60 yards and then hit his pitch past the hole and watched it spin back toward the hole.

While he admitted he could have putted better, O’Neal said it was still great to be playing at home and sleeping in his own bed.

Happy to be playing

Like everyone else in the field, O’Neal wished there had been fans in attendance—the SGC is in its third year and players readily acknowledge it is the best attended tournament on the Korn Ferry Tour—but he was just happy to be playing after the COVID-19 shutdown.

“I have been playing wherever I could for three and a half months,” O’Neal said. “There’s not many tours playing. I was second in a tournament in Iowa, won one in Orlando and finished fifth in the Georgia Open. Overall, it’s been satisfying.”

O’Neal’s objective in his second round is to putt better and make the cut which he did two years ago. Then, over the weekend, he will raise the stakes.

“Make the cut and finish in the Top 25,” O’Neal said. “It’s a goal within a goal.”

Despite shooting the best round of his professional career — he opened with a 33 playing the back nine first and then checked in with a 30 on the front — Dorn had only a one-shot lead over Jake Knapp and Evan Harmeling with four others at minus seven.

Knapp shot an eight-under on his opening nine that included two eagles. However, he could only play the back in even par as he was unable to build on his hot start.

Dorn has the ability to go low. He is a former Ohio State Amateur champion and was All-Big South three times while playing at Coastal Carolina.

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Eight golfers make field at Savannah Golf Championship after 272 signed up for Monday qualifying

Rain stretched qualifying out over two days but in the end, eight golfers nabbed spots in the Korn Ferry Tour’s Savannah Golf Championship.

When the Savannah Golf Championship gets underway at The Landings Club’s Deer Creek Course on Thursday, among the field will be eight players who got in through Monday qualifying.

Actually, in this case, it was Monday and Tuesday qualifying at the club’s Oakridge and Marshwood courses.

The event was forced to be played over two days due to the heavy rains that rolled through the area on Monday, which delayed the start of play three and a half hours. Play was eventually halted at 5:15 p.m. Monday when more rain came with only 72 golfers having finished their round.

The top four golfers at each course qualified out of the 272 total that signed up. Those qualifying at Oakridge were Leandro Marelli (pictured above) of Casida, Florida, who was the low man with a 64; along with Carter Jenkins and Zach Edmonton, both of Raleigh, North Carolina; and Colin Monaugle of Jacksonville, Florida, who survived a four-man playoff. Miguel Delgado of Rosa, California, was eliminated. All four had shot 65.

At Marshwood Chris Wiatri of Jupiter, Florida, had a 63; while Zach Caldwell of Alpharetta, Georgia; amateur Jaisuke Ono of Charlotte, North Carolina; and Andrew Zorn of West Chester, Ohio, beat out Ian Holt of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, after they shot 66.

Just missing the playoff at Oakridge was Savannah Country Day junior Reed Lotter, who shot a 66. Lotter had eight birdies on the day but saw his chances evaporate when he posted bogeys on Nos. 6 and 11.

One of those who reached the house Monday before play was suspended was former Georgia Southern standout Steven Fisk, who shot a 5-under par 67, which left him on the road to Kannapolis, North Carolina, on Tuesday morning for a mini-tour event.

When Fisk walked off the Oakridge course Monday, his score had him in fourth place and he knew it was time to hit the road.

2019 U.S. Amateur
Steven Fisk hits his tee shot on the second hole during the Round of 32 at the 2019 U.S. Amateur at Pinehurst Resort. Photo: USGA/Chris Keane

“If I had shot 66 it might have given me a reason to hang around for a playoff,” Fisk said in a telephone interview. “I don’t think the course is playing that difficult as soft as it is, and 67, I figured, would not hold up.

“I had a guaranteed spot in the tournament in Kannapolis and I couldn’t risk missing it.”

Fisk made the right decision. As it turned out, a score of 65 or better was required to get in the field.

Fisk had an outstanding career at Georgia Southern, where he finished second in the 2019 NCAA tournament and set a school record with nine individual tournament wins, which broke Jodie Mudd’s mark of eight. As a junior, Fisk shot a 60 at a tournament in Hawaii, missing a 15-foot putt on the final hole which would have enabled him to be the first collegian to shoot a 59.

Fisk, who is from Stockbridge, turned pro a year ago, but when the COVID-19 crisis hit, qualifying school was canceled as were several mini-tour events.

“I played in one tournament between December and June,” Fisk said. “The last three weeks or so I’ve been playing more consistently and hitting the ball better (off the tee). Hopefully, I’ll play better this week.”

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Perseverant Tim O’Neal seeks Korn Ferry Tour win at Savannah

Korn Ferry veteran Tim O’Neal has walked a tough path, but he seeks to move forward with a win on tour in Savannah next week.

Not everyone gets a second chance to pursue a lifelong passion. But that’s the opportunity Tim O’Neal has received, and he intends to take full advantage of it.

O’Neal is in the field this week for the Korn Ferry Tour’s Savannah Golf Championship at the Landings Club – Deer Creek Course un Savannah, Georgia. He earned an exemption into the tournament because of his hometown status as well as his past Korn Ferry experience, and will be competing for part of a $600,000 purse.

The Savannah native won the Advocates Pro Golf Association Tour Lexus Cup Points Race for this second time this summer with his consistent play on both sides of the COVID-19 shutdown. O’Neal was victorious at the APGA Tour at Farmers Insurance Open in January, and again in July at the APGA Tour at Dubsdread. He finished third or higher in each of the Lexus Cup Tournaments and ended the season with 1,858 points to show for it.

“I’m playing better now, so I’m hoping to give myself a chance on Sunday,” said O’Neal, who had a number of solid seasons on the Korn Ferry Tour back when it was called the Nationwide Tour. “I’ve put in a lot of hard work and it showed in the APGA tournaments. I knew I had a chance to win the Lexus Cup again.”

O’Neal, 48, has been working to secure his PGA Tour card for more than two decades. He owns over 150 Korn Ferry Tour starts and three wins on the PGA Tour Latinoamérica: Two in 2013 and one in 2016. Twice, he came within a shot of earning PGA Tour membership in Q school. The promised land remains out of reach for now, but O’Neal does not lose sleep over the missed opportunities of the past.

“Golf’s hard,” he spoke candidly over the phone. “I missed (going straight to the PGA Tour) twice by one shot. I don’t want to say it’s been a lot of adversity. I guess, a lot of it’s not playing well when I needed to. I’ve been very close. All in all, I’ve definitely had my bumps in the road, but I’m still positive about it and still grinding.”

At times, it has certainly been a grind for the Jackson State alum, who played in several Moroccan mini-tour events in 2012 to bolster his struggling finances. Next came a divorce in 2014, which resulted in O’Neal sharing custody of two teenaged children with his ex-wife. Amid such turmoil, the APGA has been a lifeline, both financially and otherwise.

Since its beginnings in 2010, the Advocates Pro Golf Association has endeavored to give talented minority golfers an affordable way to compete in the sport they love. Ken Bentley helped found the APGA, and he explained to Golf.com that his organization aims to help players put their money-related worries to bed.

“A lot of our players are close to making the tour,” said Bentley, a former Nestle executive. “A big part of what’s holding them back is finances. I want a couple of guys from our tour to be able to make enough money so that the next year they won’t have to worry about money the following year. We’re trying to raise the purses so that we can take money out of the equation.”

O’Neal is one of many who appreciate the APGA’s modest entry fees and generosity in helping its athletes foot medical and transportation bills.

“Mr. Bentley and his staff, they want everyone to play,” he said. “When guys might be struggling to get to tournaments, they’re more than willing to help guys that are really working hard, to give them opportunities to play.”

Speaking of opportunity, O’Neal has a good one ahead of him this week. While the Korn Ferry Tour is a ways away from the big show, it is a proving ground where rising stars like Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris have honed their craft in the past. O’Neal isn’t getting any younger, but every solid Korn Ferry outing he has could bring him one step closer to realizing his dream.

In 2018, O’Neal qualified for the Savannah Golf Championship but allowed a first-round lead to slip away as he finished T-62 that week. The Georgian has a chance to redeem himself on home soil, and he will do everything possible to achieve that goal.

“It’s always good to play home,” he said. “I’m familiar with the golf course. I’m just going to try to go out there and play my game, and have some fun too. It definitely would mean a lot to have a good showing and just play well for my friends and family.”

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