Tag: Tim O’Neal

Tim O’Neal, an alternate in the first PGA Tour Champions major of 2023, is tied for lead

O’Neal was one of five golfers who earned a 2023 PGA Tour Champions card at Q-School last December.

Tim O’Neal was one of five golfers who earned a 2023 PGA Tour Champions card at Q-School last December.

Five months later, he’s bidding to claim his first senior major.

At the senior circuit’s first major of the year, the Regions Tradition at Greystone Golf & Country Club in Birmingham, Alabama, O’Neal shot a 5-under 67 and is tied for the lead with Billy Andrade and Paul Broadhurst.

O’Neal, who had his best Champions finish, a tie for 10th a week ago, posted eagles on No. 18 – he played the back nine first – and then a second eagle two holes later on No. 2. Both holes are par 5s.

“I was able to hit 4-iron into the 18-green to about five feet for eagle. Then the other eagle was on the first par 5 on the front 9, hole 2. I was able to hit 8-iron in there and made about a 12-footer for eagle,” he said. He added that putting was the key for him on Thursday.

“I was finally able to start making some putts and hopefully I can continue doing that.”

He had three birdies and two bogeys along the way before closing with five straight pars.

There are four golfers at 4 under, a shot back of the lead, including defending champion Steve Stricker. He’s joined by Ernie Els, Ken Duke and Padraig Harrington.

Bernhard Langer is among six golfers two shots back at 3 under.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=]

Meet the 5 players who earned their 2023 PGA Tour Champions tour cards

Hard work payed off for these five players.

Five players earned their way onto the PGA Tour Champions this week at the Final Qualifying Tournament at TPC Scottsdale in Arizona. Some have loads of experience on the tour to thank, others will have to work out the kinks as they continue their journey.

For starters, Richard Green, the man who won the event Friday, has just two PGA Tour Champions starts to his name. However, he’s won multiple times on the now DP World Tour.

David McKenzie, one of the players to finish T-3 and make it through, has made over 100 starts on the senior circuit, finishing runner-up twice.

Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee failed to qualify, but had an adventurous 4-under third round. PGA champion Shaun Micheel and Bob May fell short.

Meet the five players who earned PGA Tour Champions cards below.

Shaun Micheel, Bob May, Tim O’Neal headline list of interesting names at 2023 PGA Tour Champions Qualifying Tournament

There are 78 different stories in Scottsdale this week. Here are a few of the interesting ones.

The final stage of the 2023 PGA Tour Champions Qualifying Tournament is this week at TPC Scottsdale.

The Champions course will host 78 players in four rounds concluding on Friday. The field includes a major champion and an NCAA champion.

In all, five players will earn their 2023 tour cards and be fully exempt into the 16 open, full-field PGA Tour Champions events (which do not include the majors).

Those who finish in spots six through 30 and ties are eligible to apply for PGA Tour Champions Associate Membership, which allows them the chance to enter 2023 event qualifiers.

There are 78 different stories in Scottsdale this week. Here are a few of the interesting ones.

St. Louis hosting two pro events this week as APGA, PGA Tour Champions visit the Gateway City

It’s a good week to be a golf fan in St. Louis.

There’s going to be no shortage of options for golf fans in St. Louis to quench their thirst this weekend.

The PGA Tour Champions and Advocates Professional Golf Association Tour are both in the Gateway City, and there’s a bit of connection between the two events.

The Ascension Classic, the launch event of APGA’s Farmers Insurance Fall Series, will be the circuit’s first visit to St. Louis. Meanwhile, the second Champions tour returns for the second Ascension Charity Classic.

On Wednesday, the APGA will play its pro-am at Norwood Hills Country Club, site of the Champions tour event. There will also be a practice round at Glen Echo Country Club, where Thursday and Friday the APGA will play its 36-hole event.

Tim O’Neal is also going to make some history in St. Louis. After turning 50 in August, O’Neal received the first-ever exemption for an APGA Tour player into a PGA Tour Champions event, so O’Neal will tee it up with other legends of the game.

The Ascension Charity Classic begins Friday and concludes Sunday. David Toms is the defending champion.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

APGA Tour’s Tim O’Neal earns special exemption to PGA Tour Champions event in St. Louis

“The Ascension Charity Classic PGA Tour Champions event is a new highlight for me,” said O’Neal.

Tim O’Neal is set to make a little history in Missouri.

After turning 50 earlier this month, O’Neal has received the first-ever exemption for an APGA Tour player into a PGA Tour Champions event at the Ascension Charity Classic presented by Emerson, September 9-11 at Norwood Hills Country Club in St. Louis.

Along with O’Neal, the field includes the likes of defending champion David Toms, Bernhard Langer, Justin Leonard, Jim Furyk, Vijay Singh, Jerry Kelly, and John Daly.

“The Ascension Charity Classic PGA Tour Champions event is a new highlight for me and I am super appreciative of the opportunity,” said O’Neal. “I love the challenge of teeing it up against some of the biggest names and best players in golf and I’m excited to play a role in raising money for the St. Louis-area charities involved.”

“We’re thrilled to have Tim join this elite field,” added Nick Ragone, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Ascension. “By bringing the PGA Tour Champions and APGA Tour in closer alignment, we hope that other PGA Tour properties will do likewise as we help make the game more diverse and inclusive.”

O’Neal has played a handful of PGA Tour events and has made numerous Korn Ferry Tour starts in his professional career, but his biggest achievements have come on the APGA Tour, which aims to bring greater diversity to the game of golf by providing opportunities to minorities and underrepresented players.

The Savannah, Georgia, native has won nine times on the APGA Tour, played in the tour’s first event in 2010, and is the only Black player to have won both the Georgia Amateur and Georgia State Open. O’Neal received the Charles Sifford Memorial Exemption at the PGA Tour’s Genesis Open in 2019 and earned an exemption into the 2021 Rocket Mortgage Classic after he won the John Shippen National Invitational.

Ascension and the APGA Tour announced back in February a three-year agreement to host the APGA Tour St. Louis – Ascension Classic presented by Daugherty Business Solutions, which will debut September 8-9 at Glen Echo Country Club in North St. Louis County. The event will be the first tournament on the APGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Fall Series.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Tim O’Neal wins APGA Tour event at TPC Harding Park in dominating fashion

The 49-year-old hopes to one day play on the PGA Tour Champions.

Tim O’Neal has been playing on the Advocates Professional Golf Association Tour since its inception in 2010 and has long been one of the better players on the circuit. On Tuesday, O’Neal added to his lengthy resume with his win at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. This is his first APGA win of 2022.

O’Neal carded five birdies on his front nine, ultimately pulling away from the rest of the field winning with a final score of 9 under.

The 49-year-old hopes to one day play on the PGA Tour Champions, as his 50th birthday is approaching August 3.

“I was in a good spot confidence-wise coming in,” O’Neal said after his round. “At the end of the day, if I can make putts, I’m in good shape.”

He was the runner-up at the APGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open Invitational a few weeks ago played at Torrey Pines. However, the winner, Patrick Newcomb, passed the Korn Ferry Tour exemption he earned with the victory to O’Neal. Newcomb is already a member of the KFT.

“In my mind, I still have a way to go,” O’Neal said when asked about possibly playing on the Champions tour down the road. “I’m just trying to get better every day so I can compete.”

O’Neal won the first place prize of $7,500 from the $25,000 purse. Willie Mack III, who’s made a few appearances on the PGA Tour, came in 19th.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

APGA Farmers winner Patrick Newcomb to give Korn Ferry Tour exemption to runner-up Tim O’Neal

The tour’s CEO called the move “a perfect example of the inclusivity and togetherness” of the APGA.

Last weekend Patrick Newcomb curled in a birdie putt on the final hole to win by one over Tim O’Neal, whose birdie putt lipped out on the 72nd hole at Torrey Pines in the APGA Farmers Insurance Open.

The win earned Newcomb an exemption into the Korn Ferry Tour’s 2022 Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation, May 5-8 at The Grove in College Grove, Tennessee, but the 31-year-old Murray State grad has decided to pass his exemption on to O’Neal.

“We are thrilled that Patrick Newcomb’s request to pass along his exemption to Tim O’Neal has been approved. Tim has been a tremendous player on the tour since its inception and has been an incredible role model to the younger generation on our tour today,” said the APGA Tour’s CEO Ken Bentley. “He proved on Sunday at Torrey Pines that he still has the game to compete on PGA Tour level courses and it is exciting to see him get the opportunity at the Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation. Patrick’s decision to pass along this exemption to his friend Tim is a perfect example of the inclusivity and togetherness that best represents what the APGA Tour stands for.”

O’Neal, 49, has three wins on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica, most recently in 2016 at the Casa de Campo Dominican Republic Open, and three additional APGA Tour titles. He also qualified for the 2015 U.S Open and competed in the 2019 Genesis Open as the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption recipient.

Since 2010 the APGA Tour, a non-profit organization, has been striving to help prepare African Americans and other minority golfers to compete and win at the highest levels of professional golf.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Landon Lyons edges Tim O’Neal at APGA Tour at TPC Deere Run

Landon Lyons edged two-time Advocates Pro Golf Association Tour winner Tim O’Neal on the first playoff hole to win at TPC Deere Run.

Landon Lyons topped two-time Advocates Pro Golf Association Tour winner Tim O’Neal on the first playoff hole on Monday to claim the APGA Tour at TPC Deere Run title.

Lyons birdied the first playoff hole to earn his second APGA Tour title in three years. He trailed O’Neal by two strokes with two holes to go but Lyons birdied 17 and then chipped in for birdie on 18 to get to 5 under and force a playoff.

“It was one of the best finishes I’ve ever had,” said Lyons. “I knew I needed something special to happen. It was a true roller coaster.”

Willie Mack, the APGA Tour Lexus Cup Player of the Year in 2019,
finished third, two strokes back at 3 under. Florida A&M’s Mulbe Dillard was the top amateur finisher with a 2 over, good for T-7.

TPC Deere Run is home to the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic but that event was among those canceled this year due to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic.

Next up, the APGA Tour is in Los Angeles for a one-day event on Aug. 30 at Montebello Golf Course. Then it’s the APGA Tour Championship Presented by Lexus, Sept. 1-2 at Pacific Palms Resort in City of Industry, California. The season wraps up in October with the APGA Tour Salute to African American Golfers at Chester Washington Golf Course in Los Angeles.

The APGA Tour Presented by Lexus has a mission of bringing greater diversity to the game of golf by developing Black athletes and other minority groups for careers in golf. TPC Deere Run is one of several TPC courses hosting events as part of the APGA’s partnership with the PGA Tour.

On Jan. 21, 2020, the PGA Tour and the APGA announced significant enhancements to the existing strategic partnership between the two organizations, including 2020 tournaments hosted by TPC properties and funded by the PGA Tour, access and instruction at the PGA Tour Performance Center at TPC Sawgrass and additional financial assistance.

[lawrence-related id=778021684,778051990,777962102]