Last fall, when I was reporting on various Q-schools, there was one glaring omission I made concerning Umcees involved. You see, former University of Minnesota star Angus Flanagan, whom I had named to my All-Umcee Second Team for registering greater consistency in tour golf in 2023, had struggled at DP World Tour Q-School, missing out on Second Stage, and had also missed Final Stage at PGA Tour Q-School. Unbeknownst to me, though, he had entered Asian Tour Q-School and made it to Final Stage, finishing 40th. While only 35 get Asian Tour cards, Flanagan should have general access to the Asian Developmental Tour and might even sneak into an Asian Tour event or two. I will say I hope he avoids the LIV temptation if he becomes big enough, though if he falls for it, it won't deter me from giving him Upper Midwest Connection of the Week, etc. or All-Umcee consideration.
But back to last week. My last name, Genereux, is of French origin, reflecting much of the heritage on my late dad's side. (He died in 2015.) As such, I was right delighted to see Matthieu Pavon of Toulouse, France win the Farmers Insurance Open, becoming the first-ever Frenchman to win a true PGA Tour event. The way I will always describe his win, Pavon had already beaten one Hojgaard twin in Rasmus, denying him the right to play at the Farmers (or most PGA Tour events, for that matter) with a late surge at the DP World Tour Championship last November in Dubai. Now, with a nearly eight-foot winner for birdie at Torrey Pines South Course #18, he has defeated Rasmus' brother Nicolai without needing a playoff. Still, it was a pretty good week for Danes, with Rasmus finishing second only to the Hojgaards' countryman Thorbjorn Olesen at the Ras Al-Khaimah Championship in the United Arab Emirates on the DP World Tour.
European euphoria--Europhoria?--is refreshing to see in an increasingly U.S.-centred traditional ecosystem being challenged by the Saudis. And I say that as an American, lest xenophobic thoughts give me a bad reputation against the arguments that the PIF is only trying to grow the game globally. But oh yeah, we're here to talk the performances of the three Umcees in action last week, not to wax poetic about countering the sportswashing spectre.
Unlike the week before, when at least six Umcees had been involved across tour golf and the Latin America Amateur Championship, there were only three such players. Zach Johnson is winding down his Hall of Fame-worthy career, and Erik van Rooyen was confident (and rightly so) that he would get into this week's Pebble Beach Pro-Am on the merits of his FedEx Cup Fall alternate standing. Of the three competing across the Farmers and the Korn Ferry Tour early-week event in the Bahamas, only Troy Merritt missed the cut. However, Tom Hoge also underwhelmed, carding a -1/287 for the week. Though to be fair, when he won at Pebble Beach two years ago, he had missed the cut at the Farmers. This leaves only one clear choice for Upper Midwest Connection of the Week...
Frankie Capan III.
Well, it looks like January's race for Upper Midwest Connection of the Month can't be decided on UMCOW honours alone! Heading into last week, FC3 was coming off a so-so performance in the Great Exuma Classic in the Bahamas. But he had at least made the cut, and it fuelled a good performance at the Great Abaco Classic, also in the Bahamas, as he finished T20. This marked some improvement on last year's Bahamian excursion for the North Oaks, Minnesota native, as he is now #36 on the KFT points list. His best round was Wednesday, 24 January, as he carded a -2/70 in difficult conditions, finishing on -1/287 for the week. But the fact that four different Umcees were tops for their respective weekly contingents means I'll need to apply tiebreakers to determine an Upper Midwest Connection of the Month. This shouldn't be too hard to do, though.
Looking ahead to this week's action, there will once more be but three Umcees in action, as the PGA Tour observes its second signature event at Pebble Beach. After years of struggling to attract players, what with the Phoenix Open enjoying a Super Bowl-sized lead-in since the 1970s and the Genesis Invitational (formerly Los Angeles Open) the next week, the foul weather often seen around this time off the Monterrey Peninsula and--perhaps most importantly--the insufferable proliferation of has-been celebs like Bill Murray making futile attempts to play with the best, expect the fourscore golfers to represent a return to the good times for the tournament. Even with only eighty players this year as a signature event, the field is so strong that over 72 OWGR points are on tap for winning. Two Umcees are among this elite. In addition to van Rooyen, who got in via the alternates list stemming from the FedEx Cup Fall, Hoge finished in the top 50 a year ago, so he gets into every signature event in 2024.
As for FC3, he tees it up at the Panama Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour. This week's field is the strongest on that circuit so far this year, according to OWGR, with 13+ points available to the winner. If a winner from the last 52 weeks prevails in either, though, he'll get another four winner's points to apply to his rating. (It's technically 60 to 70 per cent, but it's also capped at 4pt/win for multiple wins within a year.) Only EVR would qualify for this bonus among Umcees, having won at the World Wide Technology Championship last November. I don't see him getting PGA Tour win No 3 here, but we'll see.
Edward the Scop
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