Last week's tour golf was, of course, the first to take place in astronomical fall in the Northern Hemisphere, at least in part. With the Solheim Cup taking up much of the attention of the golf world for that week and the Ryder Cup taking up seemingly all the rest, there were slim pickings for the tours the bigwigs of the United States and Europe left behind them. After the previous week had at least seen the Fortinet Championship on the PGA Tour and (especially) the BMW PGA Championship, flagship event on the DP World Tour--to say naught of the Simmons Bank Open on the Korn Ferry Tour, part of its Finals--this week's biggest affairs were merely the Cazoo Open de France at le Golf National, which hosted the Ryder Cup in 2018, and the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship. The latter was played on the Scarlet Course near Ohio State University, the most masochistic track on the KFT, bar none. The winner, Norman Xiong, carded a mere -10 after going -4 Sunday to secure his PGA Tour card for next year.
The men's tours featured a grand total of one Umcee, and that was Frankie Capan III of North Oaks, Minnesota. FCIII came into the event having missed his last two cuts and three of six, all while failing to record a single top 45 finish. He put both droughts to bed with a -2 week, which sufficed to move him to #355 in the OWGR. Unfortunately, a first Upper Midwest Connection of the Week honour will continue to elude him, as he actually lost a spot in the points list, slipping to #50 because of strong showings by Xiong and three other players who passed Capan with top-four finishes. This ensures Capan will need at least a three-way T3 to secure his PGA Tour card or finish in the top five and ties at Final Stage of Q-school this December. He may even have to start a stage earlier if he does poorly enough at the KFT Championship in Newburgh, Indiana, next week. But just for making the final of the Finals, Capan won't have to worry about going to Q-school just to get his privileges for next year, nor about the reshuffle at any point in 2024.
Meanwhile, the Epson Tour carried on to El Dorado, Arkansas, at the Murphy USA Shootout. Kate Smith started out well, carding a -4 with 68 Friday. Unfortunately, she stumbled the last two days with delays galore and recorded back to back 75s, which incurred +3 for both rounds. Even so, she did just well enough to maintain a ranking of #20 on the money list, though as with Capan, her sex's Q-school finals--namely, LPGA Q-Series--is her most likely next stop after the Epson Tour Championship. She would need to gain at least $23 grand on Nataliya Guseva to secure her card via the tour money list. That leaves one Umcee to garner the weekly honour for the second time...
Kim Kaufman.
The South Dakota native rose from #71 to #67 on the money list as a result of her T13 at the event. She had a rocky middle portion, but a -3 Sunday made it all the more worthwhile and brings her closer to securing full membership on next year's Epson Tour. Remember, only the top eighty on the money list secure their cards for next year. One more made cut should get Kaufman over the top and into 2024 as a result of her efforts before she faces Second Stage of LPGA Q-School as a lesser finisher within the top 125 of the money list, most likely.
This week features slim pickings again. Smith and Kaufman are the only two Umcees participating in tour golf through Sunday, but look for things to pick up again next week with Troy Merritt and Erik van Rooyen resuming their quest to retain membership on the PGA Tour at the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi; Capan at the KFT Championship; and, of course, the Epson Tour Championship in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Edward the Scop
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