And the 2023 Upper Midwest Connection of the Year Is...

 The year was 1920. George Gipp of the University of Notre Dame football team was giving a punting camp shortly before Thanksgiving with another successful season in the books. The Fighting Irish had, for the second year running, gone 9-0, running their unbeaten streak to twenty games, including a draw away to Nebraska at the end of Gipp's sophomore year of 1918. For this success, Gipp was days away from being named All-America by Walter Camp and countless other sources, making him the second consensus First-Teamer in program history after Gus Dorais.

But not long after these honours were dispensed to him, Gipp caught strep throat and pneumonia. Adding insult to injury, it was a time before antibiotics, which would have enabled him to live a full life. As it was, he died on 14 December at Notre Dame. It's said that, shortly before he kicked the bucket, he told his coach, the legendary Knute Rockne: "When the team is up against it, when things are wrong and the breaks are beating the boys, ask them to go in there with all they've got and win just one for the Gipper."

Eight years later, on 10 November 1928, the Irish were going through a rebuilding year (by their standards). Rockne's men were 4-2, having already lost to Wisconsin and Georgia Tech on the season, heading into a fixture against Army at Yankee Stadium. The Cadets, by contrast, were unbeaten, and looking for their first national title since 1914. At halftime, Notre Dame were down 6-0 when Rockne remembered Gipp's dying exhortation. He invoked it, and the Irish scored two touchdowns in the second half. Despite missing both PATs, they held on to spoil West Point's season, 12-6.

Why do I bring up these events, you ask? Well, 95 years to the month after Notre Dame 12-6 Army--and thousands of miles away in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico--the 2023 Upper Midwest Connection of the Year received his own "win just one for the Gipper" motivation in the form of a text from his dying Minnesota Gophers teammate Jon Trasamar. To be fair, "Trasy" was still alive--albeit barely--when Erik van Rooyen received and executed his marching-orders, whereas Gipp had long passed on when Rockne rallied his troops in the Bronx. But the song remained the same, as Led Zeppelin would've put it.

Nor are the parallels merely related to a dying or dead person who still inspired. As with the Irish against Army, EVR found himself in a bit of a pickle early on in the World Wide Technologies Championship. But the exhortation kicked in in both cases, and the result was victory in each.

Finally, Trasamar's last full day on Earth--10 November 2023, three days after van Rooyen had seen him alive for the last time--was the 95th anniversary of the "win just one for the Gipper" game. I wonder if Allie Traen (Jon's widow) is aware of the connection to this day. In any case, I saw Jon's funeral livestreamed on the Blue Earth, Minnesota funeral home's website, and van Rooyen read the second reading.

In conclusion, was Erik van Rooyen the most consistent Umcee of 2023? No, that would probably be Epson Tour prospect Kate Smith, who missed only three cuts all year. Van Rooyen even missed seven in a row and nine of eleven, and was playing for his job in the FedEx Cup Fall! But his playing and winning in Mexico through adversity for Jon Trasamar, as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team had done 95 years earlier for George Gipp, put him over the top enough to earn him the honour of Upper Midwest Connection of the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Three.

Behold, your 2023 Upper Midwest Connection of the Year!

2023 Upper Midwest Connection of the Year: Erik van Rooyen, Cape Town, South Africa/University of Minnesota '13

Starting OWGR: #122

Year-end OWGR: #87

Final FedEx Cup Eligibility: #65

Wins: 1 (World Wide Technologies Championship)

Top 10s: 4 on PGA Tour, 1 on DP World Tour

Top 25s: 6 on PGA Tour, 2 on DP World Tour

Majors: None

Cuts made: 12/25 plus 3/3 on DP World Tour

Upper Midwest Connection of the Week titles: 6 (including retroactive)

With the 2023 Top Ten in the books, I can now call it a season for the blog. But I won't be gone for long, as in a few days, I'll be announcing my third-round picks for the FA Cup. Look for more features to emerge as well on the Devilish Rake.

One more thing: For the first time in my memory two Umcees are in the Sentry, formerly the Tournament of Champions. As a result of all top-50 FedEx Cup finishers making the event, in addition to all tournament winners in the soon-to-be-finished calendar year, EVR will be joined by Tom Hoge. Looks like the count of Upper Midwest Connection of the Week titles will start anew by mid-January.

Have a happy New Year of 2024.

Edward the Scop

Top Ten Upper Midwest Connections of 2023: #2

 I was going to post this yesterday, but D&D went unusually late (10:30 or so my time), so I had to push back this submission to today. Apologies for the wait. It's too bad I don't have any social networks that are usable to notify you all about changes to my posting schedule--or, for that matter, such a schedule in itself--ever since I dropped Twitter/X this past July.

Anyway, this is the day on which the 2023 Upper Midwest Connection of the Year is revealed! First, though, we must pay tribute to the guy who finished a close second...

Number 2: Tom Hoge, Fargo, North Dakota

Starting OWGR: #36

Current OWGR #61

Final FedEx Cup Eligibility: #45

Wins: 0

Top 10s: 2

Top 25s: 6 on PGA Tour, 1 on DP World Tour, 1 co-sanctioned by both (Scottish Open)

Majors: Masters, MC; PGA, T58; U.S. Open, MC; Open Championship, MC

Cuts made: 18/26 plus 2/2 on DPWT-only events (Irish Open, BMW PGA Championship)

Upper Midwest Connection of the Week titles: 6 (including retroactive)

For much of 2023, I was going to award Tom Hoge a repeat as Upper Midwest Connection of the Year (retroactive to 2022, when he had won at Pebble Beach). And he definitely got off to a hot start, tying for third at the Sentry Tournament of Champions (in its final year under that name) and making four straight cuts before MCing at the Phoenix Open. He then capped off the West Coast swing with another top-15 finish at the Genesis Invitational. His biggest accomplishment of the year, though, was that 62 at TPC Sawgrass, which set a record for as long as the Players Championship has been held there (1982-present). He had dug himself into a hole in the first two rounds of the event, but it still helped him to a tie for third.

Sadly, that was where the wheels kind of came off. He took the next week off and then went 0-3 at the final WGC Match Play, then missed the cut at both the Masters and the RBC Heritage. Though he went on to make his next four weekends, he didn't crack the top 40 in any of them, and his top-40 drought eventually extended to nine starts before a T19 at the Scottish Open. Even then, he stumbled in glory's last shot, missing the cut at the Open to finish 1-for-4 in majors in terms of making the cut. Nevertheless, he kept striving, and two of his last three starts of the 2022-23 season proper (excluding FedEx Cup Fall) were top-25 finishes. Even the one that wasn't (the FedEx St Jude Championship) saw him do well enough to crack the BMW Championship and earn a trip to all eight signature events in 2024, including a return trip to the Sentry.

And of course, his best second half of the year finishes were ahead of him. A T14 at the DP World Tour's BMW PGA Championship was his first top-fifteen finish worldwide since the Players. Then, upon returning to America, he did one better (T13) at the Sanderson Farms Championship before shutting things down after the Zozo Championship two weeks later in Japan. His globetrotting alone would earn him an honoured place on this list, but add to this his many achievements--especially early in the year--and you've a bona-fide First Team All-Umcee honoree.

Edward the Scop

Top Ten Upper Midwest Connections of 2023: #3 (and Female Umcee of the Year)

 On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...the '23 bronze medallist among Umcees. Okay, I made that lyric up. But seriously, we now reach the medal stand among the top Umcees of 2023--and with it, we get to my Female Umcee of the Year.

This year's women's golf scene had rather slim pickings among Upper Midwest connections. With Oxbow, North Dakota native and North Dakota State product Amy Olson dealing with pregnancy and her subsequent maternity leave, the Umcee action in women's professional tour golf was largely restricted to developmental tours such as the Epson Tour. I mentioned one such player, Kim Kaufman, as a Second Team All-Umcee honoree. Now we turn to the third Minnesota connection to make the First Team. Without further ado, I bring you my inaugural Female Umcee of the Year...

Number 3: Kate Smith, Detroit Lakes, Minnesota

Starting Rolex Ranking: #870

Current Rolex Ranking: #551

Final Epson Tour Race for the Card: #19

Wins: 0

Top 10s: 4

Top 25s: 9

Majors: None

Cuts made: 19/22

Upper Midwest Connection of the Week titles: 3 (including retroactive)

The former Minnesota state champion who played collegiately for Nebraska (and, I swear, participated in the prestigious Augusta National Women's Amateur once, at least) had a breakout in year two on the Epson Tour. A year ago, she seemed happy just to retain her card on the LPGA's primary developmental circuit, without regard to getting a top-35 finish and progression to Q-Series, the final stage of the LPGA Q-School. Indeed, she missed out on progression from Second Stage, while Kaufman made it to finals and made the cut, only to fall back to the Epson Tour. This year, it was a role reversal. Smith made all but three cuts on tour, cracking the top 20 of the Race for the Card and earning direct entry into Q-Series, whereas Kaufman had to advance from Second Stage. Smith also outshined her fellow-Umcee once at Magnolia Grove, making the cut that Kaufman missed, although Smith herself also failed to achieve LPGA Tour status with a dismal final round.

It goes without saying that next year's expectations for Smith will be much higher. Among the questions: Can she repeat as Female Umcee of the Year in 2024? More importantly, can she fulfill her quest for an LPGA Tour card and join Olson (if she be allowed to compete by then) on the big tour and maybe Kaufman, to say nothing of big-time stars like the Korda sisters, Minjee Lee and Lydia Ko?

Having named the Female Umcee of the Year, we return to the PGA Tour for the top two honorees among the First Team All-Umcee. Stay tuned for the verdict tomorrow and Friday!

Edward the Scop

Top Ten Upper Midwest Connections of 2023: #4

 Happy Boxing Day to all who celebrate! (I'm sure there are some fellow-Americans of mine who know what Boxing Day is...) Yesterday, we kicked off the player-a-day reveal of the All-Umcee First Team for 2023 with Troy Merritt and his survival to another year on the PGA Tour by the skin o' his teeth. For the next two days, we return to the developmental scene, beginning with...

Number 4: Frankie Capan III, North Oaks, Minnesota

Capan with his mother on the bag at this year's 3M Open in Blaine, Minnesota.

Starting OWGR: N/A

Current OWGR: #358

Final Korn Ferry Tour Points List: #51

Wins: 0

Top 10s: 3

Top 25s: 7

Majors: U.S. Open, MC

Cuts made: 14/22 on KFT; 1/1 on PGA Tour (3M Open)

Upper Midwest Connection of the Week titles: 4 (including retroactive)

When Frankie Capan III stepped into an obscure Q-school prequalifying tee box sixteen months ago, he had made a conscious decision to leave the Alabama Crimson Tide (Justin Thomas' alma mater, in case you didn't know) and risk his future prospects as a golfer. Go pro, young man. Those words might well have rung false for anybody not bearing Capan's name, but like a football player taking stock of his talents and sensing himself ready to leave university for the NFL--or, for that matter, a basketballer knowing he was too good to need university in the first place--FCIII not only tested those KFT Q-school waters, but cruised across them. And he had a secret weapon: his mother as caddie. Thus armed, FCIII tied for third at prequalifying, then secured medallist honours at both First and Second Stage and T9'd at finals--good enough for twelve guaranteed starts on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2023.

The waters got choppier once on tour, and FCIII hasn't won a KFT event yet. Furthermore, he can't ask his mother when he needs a reading, as he changed caddies during the season. Sometimes, you need to let go of the security blanket and enter in to the deep. Despite these considerations, his rookie year on tour was quite good to great. He flirted with a PGA Tour card at times before fading down the stretch and made his major debut as the only Umcee to qualify for the U.S. Open (excluding Tom Hoge, who was already exempt). He missed the cut at L.A. Country Club but made the 3M Open cut back home in the Twin Cities. His three top-ten finishes, coupled with four lesser top-25 showings, helped him secure a return to Final Stage of Q-school, this time with PGA Tour cards on the line. Although he failed to improve his status, he now has full KFT membership, freeing him from worries about the reshuffle, which he had to face during his first season. Maybe that relief will help him get that PGA Tour card, no Q-school needed, for 2025. In that case, if Hoge and Merritt retain their cards (Erik van Rooyen, the other member of the "big three" Umcees, has a winner's exemption from his World Wide Technologies triumph last month that guarantees survival to next season), the big three Umcees would become a big four in men's tour golf. Good luck to Frankie Capan III in 2024!!!

Tomorrow we hit the medal stand with the top woman Umcee in tour golf this year.

Edward the Scop

Top Ten Upper Midwest Connections of 2023: #5

 Merry Christmas! The first two days out of seven revealing the top ten Umcees in tour golf in 2023 have concerned the All-Umcee Second Team and any honourable mentions. Now, we get to the First Team, so more detail is warranted for each player. We begin with one of the "big three" Umcees in tour golf this year...

Number 5: Troy Merritt, Osage, Iowa native/Spring Lake Park (MN) High School '04/Winona State University two years

Starting OWGR: #98

Current OWGR: #224

Final FedEx Cup eligibility: #124 (including fall 2022)

Wins: 0

Top tens: 2

Top 25s: 4

Majors: PGA Championship, MC

Cuts made: 11/27

Upper Midwest Connection of the Week titles: 4 (including retroactive)

To say that Troy Merritt struggled in 2023 is an understatement. After starting his year with a modestly made cut (T65) at the Sony Open in Hawai'i, he fell out of the top 100 of the OWGR permanently by missing the next week's Amex cut. Once he missed the weekend at the RBC Heritage the week after the Masters, it was eight straight MC. He fell from the OWGR top 150 shortly thereafter and, again, hasn't returned since. By the time he made the weekend at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit--an event he almost won in 2021, losing a playoff to Cam Davis of Australia--he had fallen from the top 200. That payday, which snapped a drought lasting thirteen straight events, earned him a retroactive Upper Midwest Connection of the Week honour (I began the blog the day after his final putt had dropped). He still missed the playoffs for the first time since 2017, though, despite making four of his last six cuts on the FedEx Cup regular season. And though he had consecutive top-ten finishes to open the FedEx Cup Fall, he petered out after that, posting zero top-sixty finishes in the last four events and missing a sixteenth cut in 2023 at the RSM Classic.

So why does he get to be on the First Team? The big reason is the fact that his card survived at all. After MCing at the RSM, Merritt had to sweat out results elsewhere at the event. When the dust settled, he was the last one in the top 125, the final "bubble boy"--at least at the time. Of course, Carl Yuan of China, who missed out on the range initially, did get his card back through Jon Rahm's defection to LIV Golf. Still, Merritt did well in some areas, not giving up on hope when he MCed 13 straight times and showing up enough to retain his privileges for 2024. Sometimes, you need to be more lucky than good.

Edward the Scop

Top Ten Upper Midwest Connections of 2023, Part II: #6 and #7

 This second part of my top ten Umcees of 2023 may be seen as capping off the "second team All-Umcee" portion of the list. Yesterday I posted the first three members of the list--Angus Flanagan, Kim Kaufman and George Kneiser--and by adding two more today, that not only leaves five to go for my first team, but rounds out my second team nicely. So, without further ado, let's cap off the All-Umcee Second Team!

Number 7: Derek Hitchner, Blake School alumnus, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Two years ago, Hitchner was a good, but fairly obscure, junior at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. Then, in summer 2022, he made it all the way to the final four of the U.S. Amateur, coming within a single match win against Ben Carr of free exemptions to the U.S. Open and Masters and a second triumph (over Sam Bennett, who shined at said Masters) of the Open Championship. He lost 3 and 2 to Carr, but his confidence was greatly boosted by his deep run, and he finished his senior year 14th in the PGA Tour University rankings after qualifying for the NCAA finals. This awarded Hitchner a PGA Tour Canada card, and he finished higher than any other Umcee in the Fortinet Cup (23rd, just edging out Kneiser), earning an exemption to Second Stage of the PGA Tour Q-School. It's too bad he missed out on Final Stage by one measly stroke, or he might have placed higher on the list, even making First Team All-Umcee. Speaking of Final Stage qualifiers...

Number 6: Thomas Longbella, Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin/University of Minnesota '21

If Hitchner came into his own out of nowhere as a college upperclassman, Longbella needed a bit longer to blossom. Having been overshadowed at the U by Flanagan, Longbella nevertheless kept the faith and won his PGA Tour Canada card in 2022 in a playoff (along with Kneiser). He went on to a 23rd place finish in the Fortinet Cup but, for lack of Q-school experience, fell short of Final Stage. This year, he fell short of the top 30, let alone the top 25. Otherwise, he would have definitely been a First Team All-Umcee laureate based on what followed.

In October, Longbella went down to Muskogee, Oklahoma and managed to advance to Second Stage. At first that seemed the best he'd do, but he took off in round 3 with a -6/66 at Valencia Country Club in California. He didn't have enough to assure himself of Korn Ferry Tour starts in 2024, but he did secure a trip to Final Stage by tying for second, three strokes adrift of Jeffrey Kang. Once there, he fell short of improved status, but he now has access to PGA Tour and KFT Mondays without necessarily having to go through prequalifying for 2024 (slots #48 among conditional KFT members in the Q-school category).

With that said, each of the next five posts will be published daily if possible, and in any case, each will feature one Umcee from the First Team. Tomorrow's pick, I will say, may be a bit controversial in some aspects...

Edward the Scop

Top Ten Upper Midwest Connections of 2023 in Tour Golf, Part I: #8-#10 + Honourable Mentions

To say I struggled to keep up with all that went down in tour golf in the year of our Lord 2023 is an understatement. There was the decision to let the rich get richer, without listening to any objections from rank-and-file golfers on the PGA Tour, through the tour's signature-events program announced in March and taking effect on the other side of the New Year. I tried to circulate a petition for the PGA Tour to rethink its plan but got crickets. There was the out-of-nowhere announcement of efforts to bury the hatchet between the PGA Tour and its "strategic partner," the DP World Tour (whatever that means), on the one hand, and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia on the other so that LIV golfers might be reintegrated into the mainstream ecosystem of golf. Again, players weren't consulted--but this time, not even the bigwigs could have their say. The U.S. Senate reacted by denouncing what they saw as a covenant with evil, and began to target the PGA Tour's antitrust exemption. The OWGR rejected LIV Golf League's application for membership, citing the shorter, 54-hole format and lack of cut; the team aspect that could compromise individual competitiveness intentionally; and the contractual system that makes it harder for promotion and relegation to be applied despite the fact that only 24 cards are supposed to be guaranteed for the following season. And there was Jon Rahm contradicting his own adoration of tradition and prostituting himself to LIV.

So much for negative news about how the world of professional golf is falling to pieces. But for every sorrow in the field, there are local and/or regional stories that remind us why we love this game. While the bigwigs continue to tussle over the future of pro golf, it was another year of progress for Umcees. For the first time in a while, we saw one not only get exempt status on the Korn Ferry Tour, but keep it in fuller measure for 2024. In women's golf, while it was another quiet year for Umcees, one of two on the Epson Tour improved her standing in the Race for the Card, reaching a best season finish of #19 in the money list. And in big-time men's golf, for the third straight year, an Umcee won a PGA Tour event. With all that in mind, this is the first part of my list of the top ten Umcees in tour golf this year. We begin with the bottom three of the list proper, along with some honourable mentions. The next post, due tomorrow (24 December), will consider the next two up the list, followed by individual profiles on each of my top five Umcees in tour golf in 2023.

The criteria for this Top Ten (plus honourable mentions) include, but are not limited to, wins in tour golf, the calibre of these victories, overall performance on various tours, the magnitude of the circuits in question and, where applicable, showings in various Q-schools.

Number 10: Angus Flanagan, Woking, England/University of Minnesota 2018-'21

Flanagan had excelled in college at the U of M. As a sophomore, he shared the Big Ten championship with Adrien Dumont de Chassart of Illinois, who has since earned his PGA Tour card by finishing 11th on this year's KFT points list. He also won four other collegiate events, most notably the Genesis Collegiate Showcase in 2021 to book tee times at Riviera Country Club for the Genesis Invitational. According to the inaugural (2020-21) PGA Tour University final standings, Flanagan was the 11th best college golf senior in Division I.

That's when it hit the fan. Poor Angus made just one cut that summer on the Forme Tour, which had been set up for non-Canadian players on the PGA Tour Canada to provide playing and promotion opportunities while Covid-19 kept the U.S.-Canadian border closed to voluntary travel and lost his card. He then bounced about in 2022...when a breakthrough happened. Flanagan was able to make it to Final Stage of the DP World Tour Q-School. He missed the cut but grabbed some Challenge Tour status. This helped set up his placement on this list, as he made event cuts consistently, albeit never finishing higher than 23rd. What really seals his place here, though, was his first Korn Ferry Tour cut made at the Club Car Championship, for which he had Monday qualified; he finished in the top 35. He didn't quite match last year's Q-school showings, falling in First Stage in Europe and Second Stage in the PGA Tour Q-School, but there is some cause for optimism in his professional career. In addition, he showed up at multiple events on the Clutch Pro Tour, which feeds into the Challenge Tour, in his native England.

Number 9: Kim Kaufman, Clark, South Dakota

Much like Flanagan, Kaufman had a decorated college career, tearing it up at Texas Tech in the Big 12. She also rocked the house as a developmental golfer, winning twice on the Symetra Tour (now the Epson Tour). But her promise that might have translated that collegiate/minor-league form to the big stage was shattered by catching mono in Japan in 2018 and falling down stairs during her rehab, injuring her wrist. She progressed through Q-Series beautifully but lost her card again the next year and couldn't get it back.

As for this year on the Epson Tour, Kaufman struggled early on but did well enough to retain her card, finishing in the top 70 (top 80 needed to retain privileges). She made Q-Series again for the second year running but missed the cut and will be back on the Epson Tour in 2024.

Number 8: George Kneiser, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin

Kneiser had a fine second season on the PGA Tour Canada, cracking the top 25 on the final order of merit for that tour before it merges with the PGA Tour Latinoamerica to form the PGA Tour Americas (albeit just barely). This was a huge improvement over year one on the tour, when he had finished a dismal 105th in the Fortinet Cup (as the order of merit was known for its last two years) and been forced to go back to Q-school. He got his career best showing on tour by tying for second at the season-opening Royal Beach Victoria Open. Though he hasn't matched that success since, Kneiser did well enough to skip First Stage of the PGA Tour Q-School. However, he did miss the Final Stage by five strokes, so he'll be playing the PGA Tour Americas in 2024.

Honourable Mentions

• Van Holmgren: Arguably the biggest Umcee beneficiary at PGA Tour Q-School finals this year, Holmgren started the year without status on any connected tour, having narrowly failed to defend his PGA Tour Canada card from last year. His T71 performance at the Sawgrass courses used for Q-school finals earned him renewed status on the PGA Tour Americas.
• Justin Doeden: That he didn't make this Top Ten in any capacity speaks to a cheating scandal that tarnished his previous 16th-placed finish in the final Totalplay Cup standings for the PGA Tour Latinoamerica. If he had but accepted his fate, he could've bounced back later in the PGA Tour Canada season and honoured his exemption to Second Stage earned in Latin America. Unfortunately, as a result of his devious deed, Doeden was apparently not only suspended the rest of the year but barred from Q-school. The "honourable" part of this designation strictly refers to his earlier portion of the year and what could have been.

Part II contains players #6 and #7 and will drop Christmas Eve.

Edward the Scop

Upper Midwest Connection of the Week Ending 18 December 2023*

The year 2023 in golf, which began this past 5 January with the 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions, concluded (for all intents and purposes) last Monday, 18 December at the first true PGA Tour Q-School since 2012. As with that year's medallist, the 2023 Q-school champion is eligible for the Presidents Cup Internationals, as Harrison Endycott of Australia beat his nearest challenger, American Trace Crowe, by four strokes (-15 to -11). Raul Pereda of Mexico, who is also International-eligible, was also among the five recipients of PGA Tour cards for 2024,. He tied with Hayden Springer on -8 over what turned out to be five days, as Sunday's action was moved to Monday due to rain at the Sawgrass complex (hence the asterisk in the title). The only other player to earn a PGA Tour card was Blaine Hale Jr, who finished third on -9.

But PGA Tour status wasn't the only incentive on the line. The next forty and ties among those who finished the 72 holes would receive Korn Ferry Tour starts; there were 48 such players. Exactly two-thirds of them--32 in all--earned two reprieves from the reshuffle, which is based primarily on the points list. The remaining sixteen earned one reprieve. This, of course, assumes that a given player in this range hadn't already earned full status on the KFT for 2024.

The third tier of incentives awarded the top 20 and ties after that PGA Tour Americas exempt status for the Latin American segment, which will consist of six events in spring 2024. Twenty-eight players finished in this tier, including two Umcees. However, one of them--Frankie Capan III--already has a full KFT ride for 2024 after finishing #51 this year on the points list. That leaves an obvious choice for the final Upper Midwest Connection of the Week for Anno Domini 2023...

Van Holmgren.

The Plymouth, Minnesota product who went to Wayzata High School and played at North Dakota State for two-plus years before transferring to Florida Gulf Coast on the other side of the Sunshine State made his first trip to Q-school finals somewhat remunerative. In his pro career so far, Holmgren has had some heartache. Two years ago, a putt lipped out or he would've made KFT Q-School finals. Then he had status on last year's PGA Tour Canada but only finished 64th in the Fortinet Cup, narrowly missing out on retaining his card with three MCs. Undeterred, Holmgren grinded his way through two stages of this year's PGA Tour Q-School and got back his card on the number (+3). It's not the Korn Ferry Tour yet, but he is one step closer to that goal. Hopefully he does well enough in 2024 to retain PGA Tour Americas privileges into the Canadian segment and even upgrades, perhaps, to tours higher up.

Only one golfing matter remains for 2023, and that is the Top Ten Upper Midwest Connections of the Year. Look for it by the time the Sentry's field is preliminarily announced on 29 December, if not sooner.

Edward the Scop

Umcees at PGA Tour Q-School Final Stage 2023

We are now just two days away from the last serious PGA Tour-related event of 2023. The finals of the PGA Tour Q-School consist of four rounds of no-cut golf at the Sawgrass complex in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Each of those who've made it--whether they started in prequalifying or progressed straight to the finals--will play two rounds at each of TPC Sawgrass' Dye's Valley Course (6850yd) and Sawgrass Country Club's East-West Course (7054yd), both of which are par-70 courses. The lack of a cut puts this Q-school in contrast to LPGA Q-Series or the DP World Tour Q-School finals, both of which have six rounds totalling 108 holes, with a cut after 72 (four rounds). This was also the format used by the PGA Tour in the previous life of its Q-school from 1982 through 2012. In my opinion, that's how it ought to be done, with maybe the Stadium Course as a third site for the last two rounds. It would be a huge tie-in to the Players Championship, which uses that course and has since 1982, succeeding...the East-West Course, which had hosted the five previous editions!

Dye's Valley.

But that's enough soapboxing. As mentioned a couple times in this blog, the 168 golfers participating in Q-school finals (Shad Tuten and Carl Yuan were apparently replaced by alternates) include five Umcees. I list them with a short capsule in alphabetical order by last name, with tee times and course and hole assignments for the first two rounds (all times Eastern), as well as BetMGM odds to grab a PGA Tour card as of this writing:

Frankie Capan III, North Oaks, Minnesota. FC3 is arguably the leading Umcee among those who've made it this far. Having finished just outside the top 50 of the Korn Ferry Tour points list (#51 to be exact), he has risen into the top 400 of the world rankings. Even if LIV events provided OWGR points, that wouldn't change. Last year, when The Landings near Savannah, Georgia hosted Q-school finals for KFT privileges only, FC3 soared all the way from prequalifying to a top-ten finish. He might need an even better performance to secure PGA Tour privileges for 2024--without his mother on the bag, of course--but has shown his capabilities of doing so. (9:02 at DV #10/10:15 at EW #1; 16-1)

Van Holmgren, Plymouth, Minnesota. In eight starts on the PGA Tour Canada, he's made five cuts. One reason for pause might be the lack of playing opportunities in the circuit's final season of operations, as Holmgren only played once, though he did make the cut at the Windsor Championship. However, he turned it on when Q-school rolled around and was Upper Midwest Connection of the Week four weeks ago. Could he do what FC3 did last year and convert a Q-school epiphany into KFT or even PGA Tour playing time? (8:41 at DV 1/9:54 at EW 10; 70-1)

Thomas Longbella, Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. This University of Minnesota product (class of 2021) is the second-most-successful player among the Umcees at Q-school finals this season. Though not quite as successful on the PGA Tour Canada this year as last year, he did one better where it mattered, finishing second at his Second Stage site to earn the first Upper Midwest Connection of the Week honour of December. Perhaps he will become the long-awaited successor apparent to Erik van Rooyen whom Gopher Nation's golf arm has sought. (8:51 at EW #10/9:54 at DV #1; 60-1)

Andre Metzger, Sioux Falls, South Dakota (part-time resident). The Dakotas Tour folk hero returns to Final Stage with more on the line than a year ago. He has lacked staying power in the PGA Tour pyramid but did flirt with some lasting status a couple years ago on the Korn Ferry Tour, shortly after Covid-19 had forced the 2020 and 2021 seasons on that circuit to be merged into a single points list. The question remains, though: Will he be able to translate minitour success into a lasting career so that he can give up his side gig as a pizza deliveryman? (8:41 at CC #1/9:54 at DV #10; 60-1)

Alex Schaake, Omaha, Nebraska/University of Iowa. Like Metzger, Schaake has never made it big on the PGA Tour pyramid, but has made some noise on minitours, especially the Asher Tour (formerly the Outlaw Golf Tour). This past season, he pocketed $7K, which helped fund his Q-school run, and he supplemented it with a couple grand from the PGA Tour Canada. He had a successful college career at Iowa, and hopes to pay off what I assume would be great debt from his travels. (9:12 at CC #1/10:26 at DV #10; 60-1)

If I were to rank these guys' chances, I would put Capan III first, which is a no-brainer since he has some experience making big-time waves. I would put Longbella and Metzger tied for second among the five Umcees, as Longbella's momentum and head-to-head edge over Metzger is likely to be offset by the fact that the latter was here last year and is much more experienced overall. Schaake edges out Holmgren for fourth on account of minitour form. Only FC3 seems to have much of a chance to get a PGA Tour card, but the other four also have a puncher's chance of improved status in 2024, whether on the Korn Ferry Tour or the PGA Tour Americas. Good luck to all the players who've made it this far!!!

Edward the Scop

Q-School Primer 2023: Final Stage Criteria with Commentary

 Well, this is it. We've made it to the final serious week of golf for Anno Domini 2023. In case you're living under a rock, it's PGA Tour Q-School Final Stage Week!!!

When I reported the Second Stage criteria, I made a mistake. I reported that all Final Stage entrants would get to start on next year's PGA Tour Americas Latin American phase, no questions asked. It turns out the minimum reward is only conditional PGA Tour Americas membership, which may warrant participation in Monday qualifiers for such events. The potential to get to Korn Ferry Tour and even PGA Tour events via Mondays remains, though.

Of the 166 players still entered into the event, five--Frankie Capan III, Van Holmgren, Thomas Longbella, Andre Metzger and Alex Schaake--qualify as Umcees in some capacity, with FC3 already having done well enough this past KFT season to advance directly to Final Stage. As mentioned in earlier posts, the top five and ties will receive low-level PGA Tour exemptions, comparable to the top ten DP World Tour players who weren't otherwise exempt or the top thirty KFT finishers. The next forty and ties will receive Korn Ferry Tour status, with anybody finishing in the top 25 and ties among those finishers garnering twelve guaranteed KFT starts and the rest having eight to start the season. Finally, the twenty and ties after that will receive guaranteed starts throughout the PGA Tour Americas' Latin American portion. In total, a minimum of 65 participants will receive some starts in the pyramid of the PGA Tour, and the number is often more than that.

Normally, qualifying consists of 168 players, so where did two go? Shad Tuten, whose two-stroke penalty at the KFT Championship in southern Indiana cost him a PGA Tour card, had to withdraw because of a heart condition. As for Chinese riser Carl Yuan, he benefited from Jon Rahm getting banned from the PGA Tour for defecting to LIV Golf.

So, how did the field get here? Seventy-nine golfers qualified from earlier stages of Q-school. Of these, only Caleb Hicks and Wes Homan participated in prequalifying back in September. Hicks, a former UT-Arlington star, finished T9 in Gunter, Texas, while Homan went T6 in Chardon in his home state of Ohio. The remaining 77 had some sort of exemption, including all four Umcees who had to qualify for Final Stage. (They all started in First Stage in October.) It will be interesting to see if any of those six or their 73 cohorts can beat out the 87 players who met one or more of these exemption criteria:

1. The top forty eligible golfers in the 2022-23 FedEx Cup (including FedEx Cup Fall) among the top 200 but not top 125. The aside above shows an example of what can happen if a bigwig player like Rahm becomes ineligible for, say, LIVing it up. In that case, any player who moves into the leading 125 eligible PGA Tour golfers can drop out of Q-school and keep his card. (39 players from Henrik Norlander of Sweden to Kevin Chappell)
2. Nonmembers equivalent to the top 150 on said list but not top 125. Unlike members who fail to keep top-125 placement but stay in the top 150, nonmembers who crack the top 150 but not top 125 don't have the safety net of conditional status for the 2024 PGA Tour or Korn Ferry Tour status, unless they already had KFT membership beforehand. The only way to gain any exemptions is via a sufficient finish at Final Stage. (Ryan Gerard, Peter Kuest)
3. The second thirty on the KFT points list. Straightforward Nos 31-60 on the Korn Ferry Tour order of merit. (28 players, including one Umcee, Frankie Capan III; Curtis Luck of Australia sitting out)
4. The top five PGA Tour University Class of 2023 finishers. As with Second Stage exempt entries, this is based on a metric derived from the WAGR. (Fred Biondi of Brazil, Ross Steelman and Sam Bennett; Adrien Dumont de Chassart opted out, while Ludvig Aberg was already exempt via his RSM Classic win this year)
5. Top five Totalplay Cup finishers. This year's order of merit for the PGA Tour Latinoamerica was the last before the PGA Tour Americas era commences next year. (Chandler Blanchet, Myles Creighton of Canada, Walker Lee, Austin Hitt and Daniel Hillier of New Zealand)
6. Top five Fortinet Cup finishers. The final order of merit in PGA Tour Canada history will give its name to next year's PGA Tour Americas point list. (Hayden Springer, Sam Choi, Davis Lamb, Etienne Papineau of Canada and Cao Yi of China)
7. Top five PGA Tour of Australasia OOM finishers. This is based on the 2022-23 list since the 2023-24 edition hasn't been finalized yet. (David Micheluzzi, Tom Power Horan and John Lyras, all of Australia; Andrew Martin of Australia and Michael Hendry of New Zealand sitting out)
8. Top finisher in each of the Japan Golf Tour and KPGA orders of merit. You would think that the biggest tour would take more players from Japan, but the JGTO has a partnership with the DP World Tour, with the top three JGTO players making the following year's Old World circuit. Hence, only Keita Nakajima, who had already clinched the title before the season-closing JT Cup, is awarded a Final Stage exemption via JGTO qualifications. The same may be said of Ham Jeong-woo of South Korea, who won the KPGA OOM title for 2023.

As for where it goes down, it's the same complex as the Players Championship has occupied since 1982--the Sawgrass area in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Only, they won't use the Stadium Course used by the Players, but Dye's Valley and Sawgrass Country Club. Good luck to the 166 players who are competing this week and weekend!!!

Edward the Scop

Concerning Jon Rahm's Hypocritical Selling Out to LIV Golf (A Rant)

C.W.: Some language 

The news of Jon Rahm defecting from the PGA Tour to the Saudi-backed LIV Golf had been rumoured for weeks. Rahm had gone incognito (seemingly) since the Ryder Cup, where he had helped Europe win back the trophy 16.5-11.5. He hadn't bothered to play the Hero World Challenge, though he would have definitely been eligible as one of the top five in the OWGR. And earlier this week, despite being the holder of the title at the American Express, he wasn't listed as a participating player for next month's renewal of that event. None of that matters now that Rahm has signed for at least $300 million--possibly $500 million--with LIV, for rumours have become reality. And though it seemed increasingly likely, I stepped out of the office at my workplace to let out a primal scream of rage.

In my opinion, Rahmbo's prior defence of proper tour golf seemed especially eloquent, more so than Rory McIlroy (whose own native tongue is English, for crying out loud). Rahm invoked legends of Spanish golf, both living (like Jose Maria Olazabal) and deceased, in so doing. He never said anything about blood money, wisely focusing on the format--only 54 holes, no cut and parallel team and individual components. Needless to say, when Rahm signed with LIV yesterday, something within me died. It was arguably because Rahm was a terrible hypocrite to defect.

Traitor.

In contrast, for all his demons, Rahm's fellow-alumnus of Arizona State University, Phil Mickelson--also a multiple-major-winning golfer on his career who's defected to LIV--was at least upfront about his desire to alter the nature of tour golf. His interview with golf journalist Alan Shipnuck showed his honest feelings about the dual nature of collaborating with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF). Though the Saudi government was willing to help Mickelson's endeavour, he knew their penchant for killing LGBTQ+ people and their involvement in the murder of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi, calling them "scary motherfuckers" to deal with. But he at least showed no qualms about his priority of redesigning tour golf, especially the PGA Tour, in justifying his eventual break with the established ecosystem to join the Saudi-funded one. Furthermore, Mickelson was approaching the end of his career as a mainstream golfer when he left for LIV. Rahm is only 29.

On a personal note, I am part of the generation that saw Tiger Woods rise to glory and fall from it, then come back for a while late last decade and win a few more big-time events. Growing up, then, I had believed in tour golf because of its meritocracy. The idea that you need to do well enough out of the gate at each tournament to earn official prize money, which only comes by making the cut. The idea that, if you win an event, you should get more job security than those who don't win events. The idea that, without a tournament win, you need to do well consistently to keep from being demoted or terminated. Even the events without a cut, such as the Tournament of Champions (now the Sentry), have come with strings attached, such as a win since the last edition or a high standing in the world or in the tour's order of merit. I mentioned Rahm invoking Spanish golf tradition. I swear the moment Rahm signed that contract with LIV, Seve Ballesteros turned his grave vault into an electric power turbine.

Earlier this fall, I gave up on college sports because money is driving out tradition and the sound institutions that made it great in the first place. I just hope that Rahm's departure for LIV will not cause me to lose my appetite for golf sooner or later. The whole conundrum of his treason against proper tour golf breaks my heart more than any result in any sport.

Edward the Scop

Upper Midwest Connection of the Week Ending 3 December 2023

 The so-called "challenge season" is upon us in PGA Tour golf. It's also known as the "silly season," with the only such event offering official rewards being last week's Hero World Challenge, which has long offered OWGR points (such as the system is). Most of the stateside rank and file will hang it up until January, when two events in Hawai'i--the Sentry, which is limited to last calendar year's winners and top-50 finishers in last year's FedEx Cup Playoffs; and the Sony Open, which is the first full-field event of the calendar year--will awaken the cycle from its annual one-month slumber. The only Umcee participating in the challenge season is Tom Hoge, who won the QBE Shootout alongside Sahith Theegala last year; as defending champions of what has been reimagined as the Grant Thornton Invitational for mixed-gender teams of PGA Tour and LPGA Tour golfers, both were invited to the first edition of that incarnation. The only event that follows is the PNC Championship, which I regard even less serious than the Grant Thornton.

But in the Southern Hemisphere, it's a different matter. Already, four events have been played on the 2024 DP World Tour season--two each in South Africa and Australia, with one event in each country each of the last two weeks in concurrent fashion. Although no Umcees were involved in any of these events, it's worth noting the stakes at play. Dean Burmester, having taken his talents to the blood megabucks of LIV Golf, garnered some serious OWGR points by his standards by winning both the Joburg Open and the South African Open. His fellow defector, Joaquin Niemann of Chile, won the golf Aussie Open last week, and I tried to watch to the end Saturday night (Twin Cities time). Unfortunately, technical difficulties emerged on Golf Channel, and I turned my fake T.V. off. (I have YouTube TV for my subscription T.V. service.) Four others who hadn't already made next year's Open Championship at Royal Troon in Scotland also qualified via Joburg and the Aussie Open.

And it's not just overseas golf that was serious last week. The final week of eliminations for Q-school transpired as well. When the dust had settled, 79 golfers took their place alongside 89 others who were already exempt to Final Stage. The latter category includes one Umcee, Frankie Capan III of North Oaks, Minnesota, who doubled as last year's Q-school darling by making the Korn Ferry Tour with guaranteed starts despite starting in prequalifying. Three other Umcees--Van Holmgren, Andre Metzger and Alex Schaake--earned their way to Final Stage in mid-November, and five more had a chance to join the quartet. Four of them, though, fell short of Final Stage, including Matthew Walker, who had won a medal in First Stage to guarantee PGA Tour Americas starts. The most painful shortfall, however, belonged to Derek Hitchner of Minneapolis. The Blake School grad and Pepperdine Waves star, who had helped lead his team to the NCAA meet in May, fell a single stroke short of qualifying out of Valencia, California despite a -4 final round. One fewer bogey and he would have joined nineteen others making it to TPC Sawgrass next week for Q-school finals, including this week's Upper Midwest Connection of the Week...

Thomas Longbella.

The former Minnesota Gopher from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin finished joint-second only to Jeffrey Kang at the same site. It seemed he wouldn't make Final Stage either, but he turned it around in the last thirty holes, doing more than enough to comfortably advance to finals on -8/280. If all else fails, he will at least have PGA Tour Americas status next year.

This week's Upper Midwest Connection of the Week has (for now) two finalists, as Kim Kaufman missed the cut at LPGA Q-Series, while Kate Smith made it. In addition, Erik van Rooyen tees it up for the first time since losing his BFF Jon Trasamar to melanoma. At the funeral mass last Friday, van Rooyen read the lesson from I Thessalonians about the Second Coming. The stream was on the funeral home's website. Now, he is refocusing for the Alfred Dunhill Championship in his native South Africa, and he tees off at 11pm tonight Central (10pm Mountain). I hope he wins another or otherwise kicks ass for his "Gipper."

Edward the Scop

LPGA Q-Series/Upper Midwest Connection of the Week Update

Normally when I post my Upper Midwest Connection of the Week, I usually don't have to adjust the events considered for the honour. After all, the week starting Monday and ending the following Sunday dovetails nicely with most big-time golf events and even minor ones. Even when a Monday finish is required, or at least agreed, to complete all four rounds (unless the event is shortened by a round or two for logistical reasons, as is often the case on developmental tours that normally go 72 holes) in the event of rain and/or wind delays, my designation of one Umcee as the weekly honoree is rarely impeded by waiting until Tuesday or Wednesday by default.

Q-school can be another animal. Non-senior big-time golf includes at least two such series with six rounds in each final. Each of these finals, in turn, has a 72-hole cut. I'm talking about the Q-schools for the DP World Tour and the LPGA. The first, though, takes place from the second Friday in November through the following Wednesday. With four of the rounds in the later week of the two that contains Q-school, held at Infinitum in Spain, it's easy for me to award Upper Midwest Connection of the Week to any Umcee participant who makes the cut. This year's LPGA Q-Series, by contrast, was supposed to run Thursday through Tuesday, so I could've awarded the honours for the just-concluded cycle Wednesday under normal circumstances.

Mother Nature had other ideas. Magnolia Grove in Semmes, Alabama was subjected to three inches of rain Saturday. As a result, the last four rounds of Q-Series were or will be held this week, which means that participants who happen to be Umcees can't get Upper Midwest Connection of the Week for last week. Instead, any Umcees who make the cut may be honoured next week for this week.

In this case, two Umcees--Kate Smith and Kim Kaufman--entered the festivities. Kaufman seemed to get it going after two rounds, one on each of Magnolia Grove's courses, the Crossings and the Falls. Unfortunately, she stumbled Sunday in round 3, erasing her edge on even par, and went par for the course today to miss the cut by three strokes. It'll be another year on the Epson Tour for Kaufman in 2024. Smith, though, showed up the same day Kaufman fell apart, posting a -6/66 at the Crossings. She struggled for momentum today at the Falls, but her -7/279 through four rounds puts her in the last two rounds and T33, which would upgrade her to Category 15 status on the LPGA Tour. This makes Smith eligible for Upper Midwest Connection of the Week for the week ending 10 December 2023 along with former University of Minnesota star Erik van Rooyen, who contests the Alfred Dunhill Championship in his native South Africa on the DP World and Sunshine tours.

Hope this clarifies considerations for my weekly designation!

Edward the Scop

FA Cup Picks 2023-24: Second Round Part III

 Sunday and Monday picks

Sunday:

Eastleigh 3-2 Reading (actual 2-1; 20pt)

Chesterfield 2-1 Leyton Orient (actual 1-0; 20pt)

Aldershot Town 2-1 Stockport County (actual 1-0/3-2; 20pt)

Wrexham 3-1 Yeovil Town (actual 3-0; 28pt)

Monday:

AFC Wimbledon 3-2 Ramsgate (actual 5-0; 20pt)

FA Cup Picks 2023-24: Second Round Part II

 Saturday picks continued:

Cambridge United 2-1 Fleetwood Town (actual 4-0; 20pt)

Bolton Wanderers 3-0 Harrogate Town (actual 5-1; 20pt)

Crewe Alexandra 2-1 Bristol Rovers (actual 2-4; 6pt)

Peterborough United 2-1 Doncaster Rovers (exact score; 40pt)

Gillingham 4-2 Charlton Athletic (actual 2-0; 20pt)

Stevenage 3-2 Port Vale (actual 4-4 with Stevenage advancing 4-3 on pens; 20pt)

Newport County 3-2 Barnet (actual 5-2; 26pt)

Oxford United 3-4 Grimsby Town (actual 2-0)

Sutton United 4-2 Horsham (actual 3-0; 20pt)

(Sunday and Monday picks next part)

FA Cup Picks 2023-24: Second Round Part I

 Here are my picks for the first three second round proper ties of the 2023-24 FA Cup. Last round, I picked 24 of 40 ties correctly, which was a personal best since starting in 2015-16 on various other media, including (but not limited to) my old Twitter (now X) feed. It would've been 25 correct, but Barnsley were thrown out of the Cup for fielding an ineligible player. As with the first round and all rounds, the score predictions are for the whole tie, not necessarily the date of the original fixture.

Friday:

Notts County 2-1 Shrewsbury Town (actual 2-3; 6pt)

York City 3-1 Wigan Athletic (actual 0-1; 4pt)

Saturday:

Alfreton Town 4-5 Walsall (actual 0-1; 20pt)

Maidstone United 6-4 Barrow (actual 2-1; 20pt)

Wycombe Wanderers 3-1 Morecambe (actual 0-2)

Blackpool 4-3 Forest Green Rovers (actual 3-0; 20pt)

(Saturday picks to be continued)