The World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba in Riviera Maya, Mexico, featured a handful of big name players in the field. Scottie Scheffler, Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa and Billy Horschel — all in the top 20 in the Official World Golf Ranking — lived up to their well deserved reputations by at least advancing to the weekend. Only Tony Finau, No. 14 in the world, didn’t get the job done.
He’s not the only notable name that isn’t moving on or will have a chance to make a run at the title. Here’s a closer look at some of the notables who failed to make the top 65 and ties and are heading home from the Yucatan Peninsula empty-handed.
The path for elite men’s college golfers to get to the PGA Tour is being upgraded.
The path for elite men’s college golfers to get to the PGA Tour is being upgraded.
PGA Tour University announced Wednesday enhanced performance benefits to the top college seniors before the start of the 2022-23 season.
Entering its third year, PGA Tour U will increase the number of graduates who earn tour membership. It also reaffirmed those players will receive exemptions into a new PGA Tour Q-School, and it will also be more advantageous for players who take PGA Tour exemptions the summer after graduation.
There are now 20 total graduating spots, up from 15 in the first two years. The grads will also be split into three groups, earning benefits based on their final position in the standings.
The first team, which is spots 1-5, will be exempt on the Korn Ferry Tour for its current season and exempt on an international tour the following season. For the second team, spots 6-10, they also earn conditional KFT cards. They will play out of the PGA Tour U category and get into tournaments through one of those allotted slots if any of the top players decide not to play. The sixth in the rankings would have first priority, and so on. The players could also earn more status through the points list. Nos. 6-10 are also exempt for that summer’s Canada season and the following Latinoamerica season. The third team, the remaining 10, receive full Canada status for the current season and full Latinoamerica status the following season.
There are also changes coming to PGA Tour Q school, where Nos. 1-5 will be exempt into the final stage of Q school. Nos. 6-20 will be exempt into the second stage.
Additionally, the top-20 finishers will compete against each other for future eligibility. The three players with the highest combined point total in events played on the then-current PGA Tour and KFT seasons will be exempt on the Korn Ferry Tour for the following season.
Florida’s Fred Biondi is the top-ranked player in the PGA Tour U rankings to begin the season. Texas Tech’s Ludvig Aberg is second, Texas A&M’s Sam Bennett, the U.S. Amateur champion, is third, with North Carolina’s Austin Greaser and Texas’ Travis Vick rounding out the top five.
Of the 15 amateurs who teed it up this week in Brookline, four made the weekend.
BROOKLINE, Mass. — One of the many great things about the U.S. Open, if you’re good enough, is that you can earn your way into the field. In total, 15 amateurs earned their way to the tee Thursday at The Country Club, with four of them making the weekend. It’s the first time in three years any amateurs made the cut.
Travis Vick, Sam Bennett, Austin Greaser, and Stewart Hagestad did what several of the biggest names in golf couldn’t: earn Saturday and Sunday tee times.
In total, five amateurs have won the U.S. Open, with the last coming in 1933 (John Goodman, North Shore Country Club).
Here’s where the four amateurs who made the weekend in Brookline finished.
Travis Vick’s first-tee experience on Monday at the U.S. Open already ranks as something he’ll never forget.
BROOKLINE, Massachusetts – Travis Vick’s first-tee experience on Monday at the U.S. Open already ranks as something he’ll never forget. He estimates there were 1,000 people at The Country Club there to watch the other Texas Longhorn in the group – World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
The 22-year-old Vick says he’s on a golf high, and rightly so.
Two weeks ago, Vick clinched the winning point for Texas at the NCAA Championship in Scottsdale, Arizona. One week before that, he shot 9-under 133 in final qualifying at Royal Oaks and Lakewood country clubs in Dallas. Vick eagled the par-5 17th hole at Lakewood to play his way into his first major championship, sweet revenge after being disqualified from his qualifier last year for accidentally playing with 15 clubs.
Vick had lunch with Scheffler ahead of his round at Royal Oaks to get some tips on his home track.
“(Scottie) shot a 58 there, I think,” said Vick. “That gave me confidence that it can be done. That you can go low.”
Scottie Scheffler of the United States plays his shot from the 13th tee during a practice round prior to the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club on June 13, 2022 in Brookline, Massachusetts. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Their conversations around The Country Club on Monday were more about life than golf, though Vick enjoyed the up-close-and-personal view of Scheffler’s game, calling his iron play “underrated.”
“It was a very relaxed atmosphere,” said Vick. “It wasn’t intense grind mode.”
Trey Vick typically caddies for his son but will be outside the ropes this week as swing coach Adam Porzak takes over.
Last summer, Porzak was on the bag for student Brian Stark when he met Vick in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur. Vick got off to a hot start, but then started to struggle with a swing flaw he hadn’t been able to shake mid-round.
“I turned to him and said, ‘Hey, do you know what I’m doing wrong?” Vick recalled. Porzak said yes.
Walking down the fairway together late in the match, Vick turned to Porzak and asked, “Hey, when can I get that lesson?”
Oklahoma State’s Stark, who was walking a few paces behind, said, “Not now!”
It makes for a good story, of course. Since Vick began working with Porzak, he has tightened up his wedge game and made great strides with his short game, though Vick is quick to interject that there’s still much to learn.
“When he has a wedge in his hand now,” said Porzak, “I feel like every time I’m just waiting for it to drop next to the hole. I can honestly say it didn’t used to be like that.”
Vick appreciates the vulnerability Scheffler displayed after his Masters victory, when he talked about how he “cried like a baby” Sunday morning from the stress.
Scottie Scheffler stops to sign autographs at the ninth hole during a practice round at the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. on Tuesday, June 14, 2022. (James Gilbert/USGA)
After the Masters, Scheffler spoke with members of College Golf Fellowship, a faith-based ministry that Vick is heavily involved in, attending several retreats over the years. Scheffler and good friend Sam Burns co-host a retreat each year.
Vick was a three-sport athlete at Second Baptist in Houston through his junior year, winning state championships in golf and baseball and leading his team to the semifinals in football as quarterback.
“It helps with pressure situations,” said Vick of being a multi-sport athlete. “Making that lag putt on 18, putting myself in what the world would classify as high, tense pressure situations.
“When you’ve done that in multiple sports, it helps change your mindset, allows you to focus in.”
When Scheffler competed as an amateur in the U.S. Open, he played practice rounds with Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson and said he’ll always do the same for young amateurs because he learned so much from those experiences.
For Trey Vick, the value of his son’s experience with Scheffler extended far beyond golf.
“Scottie just seems to be so consistent in the way he treats everybody,” said Trey. “I just really appreciate that. You couldn’t ask for anything more as a dad. Because you want your son to come along and to be steady as a human being, which is more important.”
Travis Vick played three sports in high school through his junior year. (Golfweek photo/Tracy Wilcox)
As Vick prepares for the first major of his young career, Scheffler said the best advice he can offer is to keep it light and focus on incremental improvements.
“I find a lot of guys really try to make these quantum leaps where it’s, like, I’m going to make this swing change, and it’s going to totally change my game,” said Scheffler. “That whole rebuilding process I think has a tendency to really hurt guys.
“For me, I always try to get a little bit incrementally better over time, versus making these kind of drastic changes to improve a ton at once.
“Then don’t take you yourself too seriously, because you’re going to hit really, really bad shots. It’s not all about hitting perfect golf shots. It’s about managing your misses and responding to those.”
Everything you need to know for Saturday’s showdown.
OAKMONT, Pa. — Four players not only outlasted the loaded field of 312 of the world’s best male amateurs, but also weathered the storms this week outside Pittsburgh to punch their tickets to the semifinals of the 121st U.S. Amateur.
For the first time in three days, play wasn’t suspended due to dangerous weather at Oakmont Country Club, allowing the Rounds of 32, 16 and the quarterfinals to all be completed on Friday.
North Carolina’s Austin Greaser will square off against Texas’ Travis Vick at 2 p.m. ET, followed by Michigan State’s James Piot against North Florida’s Nick Gabrelcik at 2:20 p.m. ET.
With each match intriguing in its own way, here’s a preview of what to expect in Saturday’s semifinal showdowns.
Greaser vs. Vick
On paper this match couldn’t be closer.
Greaser has trailed for just three holes over four matches at Oakmont. He hasn’t played the 18th hole since his second round of stroke play. Vick has trailed just four holes and only one of his matches, a hard-fought quarterfinal against Brian Stark, went the full 18 holes.
Both players were all-conference selections as sophomores last season, and each has kept the ball rolling this summer. Greaser was a semifinalist two weeks ago at the Western Amateur, while Vick finished third at the Sunnehanna Amateur in June.
Piot vs. Gabrelcik
Unlike the first match, both players in this one had different roads to the semifinals.
Outside of his Round of 64 clash with Cameron Sisk, a 1-up win, Piot has cruised through match play with a pair of 4-and-3 wins in the Rounds of 64 and 32 and a 3-and-1 victory in the quarters. Gabrelcik is a bit more battle-tested this week, with three of his four bouts going the full 18. The match that didn’t? A 2-and-1 grind against Western Amateur champion Michael Thorbjornsen, the player many picked as the favorite this week.
Despite the close calls, Gabrelcik has been in control of his matches and hasn’t needed to mount a late comeback, nor has Piot. Expect another close one.
A pair of Texans will lock horns in the U.S. Amateur Round of 32.
OAKMONT, Pa. — A pair of Texans will be locking horns in the Round of 32 at the 121st U.S. Amateur.
Parker Coody and Travis Vick, teammates on the Longhorns men’s golf team, each won their Round of 64 match on Wednesday at Oakmont Country Club to set up the all-Texas duel in the afternoon. Coody defeated Jack Parker, 1 up, while Vick took down Preston Summerhays, 2 and 1.
“I actually played Travis at the Maridoe Amateur in match play (last December), so I’m hoping for the same result. I won, 2 and 1, and I don’t let him forget it,” Coody said with a laugh. “Yesterday he was like, ‘You better win your match because I’m going to go beat you.’ I’m like, ‘Once we get there, we’ll see how it goes, Travis.’”
After another nearly four-hour weather delay on Wednesday, Coody and Parker finished nine holes before the day’s action was called due to darkness. Starting the morning 2 down, Coody thought the delay was a benefit because he got a chance to reset.
“I felt like I was playing a lot better than my score was. I was like 1 or 2 over on the front. I felt like I was doing a lot better than that,” explained Coody. “I just kept the ball in front of me. Jack made a few mistakes, and as match play goes, you have to capitalize on those. I was fortunate enough to do that.”
