Matt McCarty and the Pros and Cons of Starting Early

Before the 1997 season, the Nike Tour (as the Korn Ferry Tour was then known) introduced a new rule that any participating golfer who won three times on the circuit in the same season would be promoted to the PGA Tour with immediate effect. Furthermore, all such honorees would have full membership and would be subject to just the next reshuffle for the rest of the year and free from facing them next year. The first beneficiary of this reform was Chris Smith, who that year won the Nike Upstate Classic (now the BMW Charity Pro-Am) in Upstate South Carolina and followed it up later on with consecutive wins at the Dakota Dunes Classic and the Omaha Classic. He earned his card on 10 August 1997 and went on to win the Westchester-Buick Open in 2002.

Twenty-seven years later, Matt McCarty must have sensed that this season would be a year of destiny for his career. Having come up just short last year in the KFT Final Series, the 26-year-old Santa Clara alumnus got off to a decent start before missing four cuts in the first six stateside events. Yet as late as mid-July, he was winless in his pro career, his highest finish being T3. That changed in Springfield, Missouri at the Price Cutter Classic on 21 July. McCarty's winning score of -25 was good for a three-shot win over Tommy Gainey. Three weeks later, McCarty took the Pinnacle Bank Championship in Omaha for win No 2 and then completed the battlefield promotion on 25 August at the Finals-opening Boise Open to earn immediate promotion to the PGA Tour. Because the FedEx Cup Playoffs were going on, the first opportunity to flaunt his membership would be the Procore Championship (formerly the Fortinet Championship), which kicks off the FedEx Cup Fall.

Unless you consider a certain something in the pot of gold at the end of the KFT rainbow. You see, the top graduate (there are now thirty per year) is also eligible for all normal events and free from the reshuffle, and he gets to play both the Players Championship and the U.S. Open. For all his season-long success, McCarty led second-place Max McGreevy (who himself could get promoted immediately by winning next week's KFT Championship, having won both the Memorial Health Championship and the Magnit Championship this year) by fewer than 700 points. After consulting with his connections, McCarty opted to pursue No 1 at season's end, regardless of the costs to his chances of a PGA Tour win.

At the Simmons Bank Open in Nashville the same weekend (9-12 September) as the Procore, McCarty's points-list lead dropped from 687 to 570. This left unfinished business at the following week's Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship in Columbus, Ohio. McCarty would have to outscore McGreevy by thirty points and stay more than 600 ahead of both Steven Fisk and Tim Widing (the only two others capable of chasing him down). Fortunately, Widing missed the cut; Fisk was a non-factor; and McGreevy mustered a measly T23 to McCarty's T5, enabling the promotee to secure top spot, no matter what happens in Larry Bird's hometown.

Which is what led to the field announcements today. The PGA Tour announces its member circuits' fields after 5pm Eastern every Friday before a tournament. As I awaited the field announcements for both the KFT Championship and the main tour's Sanderson Farms Championship, I tried to put myself into McCarty's shoes. The temptation to have guaranteed OWGR points and prize money (which the KFT Championship offers all qualifying players, as it is now a no-cut event) could be overwhelming. Indeed, at the end of the year the top fifty players according to the world ranking get into next year's Masters, so that must've been a consideration. However, the Sanderson Farms Championship will probably offer a bigger OWGR bounty to all who make the cut (to say nothing of a guaranteed spot for the winner at Augusta, let alone Quail Hollow for the PGA Championship) and also a bigger check for any given cut-making finish. While the going can be more difficult on the PGA Tour, then, the rewards are clearly far more lucrative--even during the fall series.

Matt McCarty will make his PGA Tour membership debut at the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi (PGA Tour).

As it turned out, McCarty had indeed committed to the Sanderson Farms. It will be his first start as a PGA Tour member, and he is exempt into five of the remaining six events (Black Desert, Shriners, World Wide Technology, Bermuda, RSM) as well. The only exception is the Zozo Championship in Japan, which is reserved for top-performing PGA Tour members on the FedEx Cup season as well as select Japan Golf Tour members. Good luck to Matt McCarty on the next step in his journey!

Edward the Scop

Memorial Tournament et al. Recap and Weekly Preview

Last week saw some Umcee noise...but not from the places you'd expect.

At the Memorial Tournament in the Columbus, Ohio suburb of Dublin, Scottie Scheffler won his fifth event in eight starts. Much of the drama, then, centred around how he held on to win, rather than that he won again, in that he was forced to par the last hole to prevent a playoff against Collin Morikawa. As is recent tradition, the Memorial is also an Open Qualifying Series event, awarding exempt places in the Open Championship every year. Or, this year, a place since, due to the reworking of the tournament as a signature event (in part against Jack Nicklaus' wishes, as Muirfield Village is AKA Jack's Place) there were just 73 entrants.

(USA Today/PGA Tour)

Only one of the limited field's threescore and a baker's dozen was an Umcee. Tom Hoge, who qualified for every signature event this year by virtue of reaching last year's BMW Championship in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, started out brightly, but he collapsed during the weekend, struggling to avoid needing 300 strokes on the par-72 course (+10/298) over four days. He finished T45, but he at least cracked the top sixty--hell, the top forty-five--for the first time at Jack's Place, albeit against a reduced field.

And with Hoge's endeavours, the Memorial had an Umcee make the cut. The same can't be said of the Korn Ferry Tour's BMW Charity Pro-Am in Greer, South Carolina. Given the format, scoring was bound to be low, and this reflected in a cutline of -5/138 after two days on two courses--one par-72, the other par-71. It was an eminently forgettable week for both Umcees involved, to say the least. With Frankie Capan III taking the week off to prep for the U.S. Open, AKA the masochist's major, a wipeout might have been expected. Sure enough, Van Holmgren missed the cut by five strokes (even par), but Andre Metzger, who is prominent on the Dakotas Tour, was far worse. He went +9/152 in his two rounds! That does NOT cut it at a pro-am tournament, regardless of the level of competition!!!

Add to this O.J. Farrell (former Wisconsin Badger) MCing on the Clutch Pro Tour in England and heading into Saturday, it didn't look good for any big time moving up by Umcees anywhere in the world. That changed when Kim Kaufman started to kick ass at the Firecrackers Casino-Hotel Championship in Battle Creek, Michigan, AKA the home of Kellogg's cereals, on the Epson Tour. Kaufman was a modest even-par 72 heading to Saturday, which wasn't going to move her up in the Race for the Card, period. But then she went under par in the difficult conditions and was T15 heading to the final round Sunday. She then matched her -1/71 from the day before and moved up to T8 at the last for a check of $4379. Moreover, the R4C points she earned moved her to fifth on the list. It increasingly looks like a return to the LPGA Tour in 2025 awaits Kaufman.

This week, of course, is dominated by the U.S. Open. In addition to Hoge, who qualified by a top-60 placement in the world rankings after the PGA Championship last month, former Minnesota Gopher Erik van Rooyen was automatically exempt as one of the top five "leftovers," according to the FedEx Cup. Furthermore, three other Umcees qualified for the event on their own. As mentioned in the post I linked, Capan qualified as the Durham, North Carolina medallist, while Carson Schaake earned his way via Springfield, Ohio. Finally, Gunnar Broin, who will be a grad student at Kansas in the fall, held on to a place via a 4-for-3 playoff. Though as it turns out, he would've been granted a place if he'd been the odd one out, as this week's OWGR top sixty added just two--Bob MacIntyre of Scotland, who won the Canadian Open earlier this month, and Australia's Adam Scott, whose 92nd successive major appearance should come with an apology to the loved ones of Grayson Murray. This left four places for alternates, and the Columbus first alternate got in. There are currently twenty alternates on the USGA's master list, eight of whom are first alternates. The remaining twelve, of course, are all the second alternates except for Springfield, Ohio. That's because Maxwell Moldovan moved into first alternate after Scott's exemption, allowing him relative dibs.

Among other events, the Wichita Open once more sees Metzger take on a field of 156, and Iowa native Charles Jahn will be there, too. However, Holmgren will sit this one out. The Epson Tour also rolls on into Columbus, Indiana, home of the Otter Creek Championship. Kaufman and Kate Smith-Stroh, who missed last week's cut by two strokes, will tee it up as of Monday night, while Emily Lauterbach, coming off a failed attempt to qualify for a second LPGA Tour start this year, is fourth alternate. Over in England, Farrell will try to pick up the pieces from another missed cut at the Manor House on the Clutch Tour.

Lastly, the final Q-school session for the PGA Tour Americas' North American segment tees off tomorrow. Former Gopher Angus Flanagan will try to get back his status on the pyramid, and he'll be joined by Ben Sigel, the Minnetonka High School alumnus who preceded Broin at KU. The top nine finishers (no ties, which must be broken by playoffs if needed) will be exempt, and the rest of the top 25 and ties will be conditionally exempt in a rotation among the six sites and the finishers on the Latin American segment outside the top sixty.

Edward the Scop

Canadian Open et al. Recap

 I was going to post yesterday about this past weekend's tour action, as well as about the U.S. Women's Open. But as you know if you're a true golf fan, yesterday was the "longest day in golf," in which ten 36-hole qualifiers for 44 spots at the 2024 U.S. (men's) Open at Pinehurst No 2 in North Carolina took place. Following that when I wasn't at work, needless to say, took the utmost precedence, and I had to put off writing this as a result. Don't worry, I'll get to yesterday's action in my next post.

Anyway, we start with the second major of the women's golf season, held in Pennsylvania German country at Lancaster Country Club in Pennsylvania. The Amish must have prayed a sort of divine curse upon the course, as even by USGA tourney standards, the event was nothing short of masochistic. When the course's bloodlust was sated, Yuka Saso of Japan and her countrywoman Hinako Shibuno were the only two under par (-4 and -1, respectively). Saso now has two Semple Trophies, adding to her 2021 victory...representing the Philippines. That's right, Saso is the first-ever repeat offender at the U.S. Women's Open to be a heroine of two lands.

The sole Umcee at the event was Kim Kaufman of Clark, South Dakota. Having won her qualifier in Arizona, she started slowly with a round of +6/76 but improved to +2/72 Friday to make the cut on the number. She then had her best round Saturday, an even-par 70, before falling back with a +6/76. Despite her mediocre finish, Kaufman earned over $23K, about half of what she's made on the Epson Tour so far as she tries to gain back her LPGA Tour card.

The drama, though, was at the Canadian Open, where Scotsman Robert MacIntyre edged out Ben Griffin to claim his first PGA Tour win. It looked uncertain Sunday when Mackenzie Hughes, who is from Hamilton, Ontario--where the event was held this year--took a share of the lead with MacIntyre struggling. But Hughes fell back and finished a disappointing -10. MacIntyre then rebounded, only to suffer consecutive bogeys at 12 and 13, while Rory McIlroy surged alongside Tom Kim. Both eventually finished -13. Victor Perez of France finished -14 as MacIntyre and Griffin approached the final hole with Griffin at -15 after three straight birdies and his playing partner at -16. Fortunately for the Scotsman, he landed his approach on the green, while Griffin missed to the left. Griffin tried an off-the-green putt to tie it but came up short, enabling MacIntyre to two-putt for the win.

Before I get to my Umcee breakdown, I should note that the Canadian Open, as an Open Qualifying Series Event, got three top finishers who weren't otherwise exempt into the Open Championship next month. Griffin and Hughes joined Maverick McNealy in earning their way via this conduit.

Three Umcees were in action. With Tom Hoge skipping ahead to this week's Memorial Tournament (which is a signature event), Erik van Rooyen, Troy Merritt and Zach Johnson competed in Hamilton. The latter two missed the cut, and van Rooyen, despite a strong first-round -4/66, cooled off afterward to back-to-back even par rounds before struggling with a final-round +3/73.

Lastly, the Korn Ferry Tour's UNC Hospital Championship was in action, and like the U.S. Women's Open, it was won by a Japanese in Kaito Onishi. As for the Umcee contingent, Frankie Capan III, Van Holmgren and Andre Metzger played there. Unfortunately, only FCIII made the cut, and he generally struggled, finishing over par for the week and not really showing up. That's why he wasn't in the best of the week televote on my YouTube channel. He's still #8 on the KFT points list.

My next post concerns the U.S. Open qualifying action yesterday, 3 June 2024.

Upper Midwest Connection of the Week Ending 26 May 2024

 Although all five Umcees made the cut at their respective events, three--Troy Merritt and Zach Johnson at the Charles Schwab Challenge and Van Holmgren at the KFT Visit Knoxville Open--may be safely removed from the board as a result of their poor performances after making the weekend. That left two of them for this week's poll.

For the second straight week, the televote was overridden by the expert jury. I received two votes, and both went to Tom Hoge, who won the honours last week after a good performance at the PGA Championship. However, I don't see how a tie for 17th, as much as that matches his personal best at the Schwab Challenge, lifts Hoge to Upper Midwest Connection of the Week. Not when the Visit Knoxville Open went to a sudden-death, two-hole playoff involving...

(PGA Tour/Korn Ferry Tour)

Frankie Capan III.

Heading into Sunday's final round, FCIII had a one-stroke lead. The North Oaks, Minnesota product has never won an OWGR-sanctioned event but already had matched his top-ten finish total coming into the week with three on the season. Capan, though, was charged down by Harry Higgs, who is a former PGA Tour member seeking to get back his card. Higgs came to the final hole leading by one himself until FCIII birdied the last and Higgs settled for par, triggering a playoff.

Normally a birdie-birdie playoff showing would hand a given player the win, but on the second hole of the playoff--both holes were replays of No 18--Higgs drilled a 37-foot eagle putt for the win and Capan missed his from a third of the distance by seventeen inches. Even so, FCIII got to reap great rewards in his own right with 300 KFT points, lifting him to within some reach of the PGA Tour at #7 on the points list, as he is closing in on 700 total. (Higgs, along with Swedish hotshot Tim Widing, already is thought to have enough points to graduate back to the big Tour with over 1100 so far.) Furthermore, Capan jumped to #172 in the OWGR.

This week's action revolves around two foci. On the men's side, the big event is the RBC Canadian Open. Hoge won't be playing the event, but the other two Umcees from last week's Schwab Challenge will be joined by the well-rested Erik van Rooyen, who tied for 20th at the exact same course in Hamilton, Ontario five years ago. Of course, the place has since undergone a renovation, so course history may not be that relevant for handicapping. There are multiple extra incentives for success. Firstly, the Presidents Cup is being held at Royal Montreal this fall; and as an International Team-eligible player, van Rooyen will want to impress Mike Weir, the 2003 Masters champ who hails from Canada and is captaining the team, this week. Secondly, the Canadian Open is an Open Qualifying Series event, which means that a certain number of top finishers who aren't otherwise exempt get into next month's 152nd Open at Royal Troon in Scotland. In this case, three spots are available; and unlike previous OQS stops, this and subsequent such events fall after the deadline for Open entries (30 May this year), so the bids are nontransferable. 

Meanwhile, the Korn Ferry Tour features three more Umcees, as Capan and Holmgren are joined for once by conditional member Andre Metzger. Metzger is legendary on the Dakotas Tour, which is one of my favourite minitours in golf. Not only does it conduct events in the Upper Midwest (except Wisconsin), but it partners with locals to quarter cash-strapped players and distributes prize money with great efficiency. Anyway, Metzger makes some residence in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, especially during the Dakotas Tour season.

As for women's golf, the U.S. Women's Open goes down at Lancaster Country Club in the Pennsylvania Deutsch Country (and yes, the Amish historically spoke German, not Dutch--hence the spelling). Earlier in the spring, Kim Kaufman of Clark, South Dakota won an open qualifier to make this women's major, giving her a playing opportunity while the Epson Tour is on another hiatus. At some point during the tournament or afterward, I might also comment on Lexi Thompson's retirement, which she announced at the event this week.

Facere pro Qui Non Possunt.

Edward the Scop

Post 100: Charles Schwab Challenge and Other Events Recap

 Lost amid the tragic backdrop at Colonial National was the actual playing of golf. But at the Devilish Rake, the show must go on, and this past week's events followed that rule, at times magnificently. I mentioned in the above-linked post that most felt it's what Grayson Murray would have wanted.

Anyway, just like last week's PGA Championship, this week's Charles Schwab Challenge featured three Umcees. While Erik van Rooyen sat out an event at which he's never done well (0-for-3 in cuts made), Troy Merritt and Zach Johnson came back to action after missing out on the season's second major. All three made the cut, but Merritt and Johnson both finished +2/282 for the week. Johnson had an especially ugly final round, carding +3/73 to lose four places in the FedEx Cup. He is teetering closer to the threshold for so much as conditional status retention, as it's clear his day has come and gone. Merritt is in a somewhat more favourable position, but he is also on track to fall to the conditional category, slipping a place in the list.

Tom Hoge, though, saved his best for last. After struggling in the odd rounds (with a -1/69 in between Friday), he showed up to finish under par (-2/278 overall, -3/67 Sunday). Hoge only suffered one bogey Sunday, and his efforts propelled him to #20 in the FedEx Cup and #59 in the OWGR. While the latter wasn't good enough to make it to the Open Championship yet, there is still time for him to secure his place at Royal Troon this July.

While the Schwab Challenge was won comfortably by Davis Riley, who polished off Scottie Scheffler and Keegan Bradley by five shots each (-14/266), there was considerable drama on the Korn Ferry Tour at the Visit Knoxville Open. Last week's people's choice as Upper Midwest Connection of the Week, Van Holmgren, made the cut for the second straight week but stumbled with a +3/73 final round, tying him for dead last among the 75 who made the cut in Knoxville, Tennessee. At the other extreme was Frankie Capan III. After a phenomenal -8/62 third round Saturday, FCIII matched veteran Harry Higgs' -19/261 regulation finish with a birdie at the last, followed by two more at No 18 in the playoff. Which would have won Capan his first KFT title...except Higgs sank a 37-foot eagle putt on the last playing of the hole to win by one. Even so, Capan is up to seventh on the KFT points list and is arithmetically on track to be PGA Tour-bound by the time the KFT finals roll around in the fall. He also has a personal-best four top-ten finishes on tour, and even in playoff defeat, this is his best KFT finish ever.

I will ask it again: Whom do you think was the best Upper Midwest connection of the past week in tour golf? I pose this question again to both this blog and YouTube, so answer away!

Edward the Scop

Facere pro Qui Non Possunt

Upper Midwest Connection of the Week Ending 19 May 2024

 Having started a YouTube channel affiliated with this blog, I recently got clearance to add community posts, including polls. To that end, I decided to run a viewer/reader poll on people's opinion of who should be crowned Upper Midwest Connection of the Week. Although the poll is still running, I decided to cut off consideration for the "people's choice" alongside my own opinion.

Since YouTube limits polls to five choices but more than four Umcees made the cut at their respective tournaments (at least seven did), I took a representative sample of Umcees, basing my selections on the principle of one per event. In the end, Tom Hoge at the PGA Championship, Van Holmgren at the Korn Ferry Tour's AdventHealth Championship, Kim Kaufman at the Epson Tour's Copper Rock Championship and Thomas Longbella at the PGA Tour Americas' Inter Rapidisimo Golf Championship made the poll. By popular vote (if one vote counts as such, since that's how many I got), Van Holmgren was people's choice for the week. To his credit, unlike the other three finalists, Holmgren lacks full membership on the tour he primarily plays on these days but made the cut and finished in the top twenty and ties. This sufficed to get him into this week's Visit Knoxville Open in Tennessee, which is the third event in this reshuffle period. After next week's UNC Health Championship in Raleigh, North Carolina, the reshuffle falls again, and players will be ordered for priority reasons according to their points-list position. Holmgren is in a very good position to get more starts on the Korn Ferry Tour this year.

However, this is a time when expert or semi-expert opinions trump those of the crowd. See, I don't even consider Holmgren's performance the second-best of the week in tour golf. Two golfers from the Dakotas top my list. Kaufman had the better rank and moved up in the Epson Tour's Race for the Card with her simple T10, but given that she played just three rounds (the length of most Epson Tour events), she just loses out to...

Tom Hoge finished T23 at Valhalla (Fargo Forum).

Tom Hoge.

Hoge has made the cut at every PGA Championship since Harding Park 2020, and this year fit the bill as well. His finish of three-way T23 at Valhalla Golf Club was his second-best major finish ever only to a T9 at Southern Hills in 2022, also at the PGA Championship. He moved up to #21 in the FedEx Cup, and his OWGR remained at the minimum #60 to enter the U.S. Open, no qualifiers needed.

Speaking of U.S. Open qualifiers, another Umcee, Erik van Rooyen, secured his exemption straight to the event at Pinehurst as the fifth-leading FedEx Cup placement among those not yet exempt by any other category, including world rankings, after the PGA Championship. His T53 at Valhalla got him 10 FedEx Cup points, which enabled him to edge out Patrick Rodgers by about six points for the final spot for now.

Anyway, this week's action revolves mostly around the PGA and Korn Ferry tours. The Inter Rapidisimo wrapped up the Latin American Swing on the PGA Tour Americas, and a series of Q-school events follow to help fill fields for the North American (mostly Canadian with one U.S. event) Swing. As for the Epson Tour, it has the rest of the month off, both for Memorial Day and the week of the U.S. Women's Open, two weeks before the men's version (Kaufman did qualify for the former). Three Umcees--Hoge will be joined by Troy Merritt and Zach Johnson, both of whom are struggling to keep PGA Tour membership--will contest the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial National in Fort Worth, Texas. The aforementioned Visit Knoxville Open involves two more, as Holmgren is joined by Frankie Capan III, who missed the cut last week but remains in the top 30 of the KFT points list. The only other Umcee of note is O.J. Farrell, former Wisconsin Badger, who is on the Clutch Pro Tour in his native England. Farrell competed in European Q-school last winter but missed the 72-hole (out of 108 holes) cut, losing access to DP World Tour events and having few opportunities to play the Challenge Tour.

Edward the Scop

Update on the Blog and Kindred Activities

I know it's been a while since I wrote last, but there have been some developments here. Firstly, I now have a YouTube channel. On it you can find announcements in short-video form as to whenever I put out a new blog post, usually in advance of the same. From time to time, I'll put out longer-form content, but it's mostly going to consist of videos lasting no more than one minute each. It's taken some time to figure out a direction for the channel, but I plan to mostly use it to get people to read the Devilish Rake. There's still some sawdust, but it's coming along.

Anyway, to get you up to speed, the first Upper Midwest Connection of the Week I missed was Frankie Capan III. He secured the honours twice, at the LECOM Suncoast Classic and the Veritex Bank Championship, both on the Korn Ferry Tour. He set an official course record of -13/58 in his first round! Though he was unable to hold on in the face of Sweden's Tim Widing, who played this week's PGA Championship and made the cut at Valhalla (more later), FCIII still kicked ass, as this was his third straight finish in the top ten on the Korn Ferry Tour. It also secured his status as Upper Midwest Connection of the Month for April 2024.

The next week on the PGA Tour Americas, Thomas Longbella won the KIA Open in Quito, Ecuador for his first win that counts in the world rankings. Longbella is from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, and attended the University of Minnesota, playing alongside Angus Flanagan and current Gopher star Ben Warian, among others. He sank an eagle at No 17 to take a one-stroke lead heading into the final round...which was cancelled due to rain and unplayable conditions. On the PGA Tour, they would have tried to play the final round and would've extended it to Monday if necessary. On developmental circuits, though, where the players are often stuck for money, the threshold for Monday finishes is stricter. Since so few were able to start that Sunday, the tournament was curtailed on 54-hole scores, which sufficed for Longbella to secure the win.

Last week, Erik van Rooyen secured Upper Midwest Connection of the Week honours for the first time since the Masters Tournament with his tie for fourth at the inaugural Myrtle Beach Classic. It was his third finish in the top ten on the PGA Tour this year. (For the record, the tourney was won by Chris Gotterup, who had previously been in the reshuffle but earned a trip to this past week's PGA Championship as a result.)

The next post deals with various tidbits on the week that was in tour golf, including (but NOT limited to) the second major of the year.

Upper Midwest Connection of the Week Ending 7 April 2024

 By now, you would expect a piece like this to be published two days from now, as I typically need time to account for the Monday qualifiers for the following collection of events and any late withdrawals. This ensures my preview portion of each such post will include all Umcees participating in a given week and omit any who drop out. However, I don't expect (barring an injury, of course) that either of the two Umcees participating in this week's Masters Tournament will drop, and the Monday qualifier for next week's event in the Dominican Republic has already been decided. More on those matters later.

Anyway, last week was the last chance to qualify for "glory's first shot" at the Valero Texas Open. There was a full field of 156 players. Three of them--Erik van Rooyen, Zach Johnson and Troy Merritt--are Umcees, but only Merritt had yet to qualify for this year's Masters. Van Rooyen won in Cabo for his invite last November, while Johnson, of course, took the maillot vert in 2007, entitling him to tonight's Champions' Dinner in the clubhouse at Augusta National for the 17th year running. Meanwhile, on the Korn Ferry Tour, the Club Car Championship in Savannah, Georgia--down the river Savannah from Augusta--involved 156 more players trying to get to the PGA Tour. Only one Umcee, Frankie Capan III, was among them.

(FGCU Athletics)

As it turns out, the Umcee contingent at TPC San Antonio wiped out--the two Umcees already qualified for this week's major were closest to the cut, finishing round 2 at +2/146 overall--but Capan got his first top-ten finish of 2024, finishing T9! His only poor round was a +2/74 Saturday, and he shot -2/70 or better the other three days, including -5/67 both Friday and Sunday. This performance moved him to #49 in the points list and a new career best of #324 in the OWGR.

This week, as I mentioned above, the Masters Tournament takes centre stage in the world of golf. I called it "glory's first shot" in reference to the fact that, when it was the last major of the season, the PGA Championship was referred to as "glory's last shot." I don't expect ZJ to don the green jacket for the second time or EVR to do so either. But if either can make the cut, I will be satisfied.

Meanwhile, today (Monday, 8 April) was the open qualifier for next week's Corales Punta-Cana Resort Championship in the Dominican Republic. Three Umcees--two former Minnesota Gophers (Angus Flanagan and Thomas Longbella) and a former Iowa Hawkeye (Alex Schaake) --were among the sixty golfers participating. Schaake fell short by four strokes and Flanagan by two. But Longbella won the qualifier, making his second straight trip to the DR to play on the PGA Tour. He missed the cut last year but hopes to improve significantly this year. Of course, he won't be in that week's Brazilian Open at the site of the 2016 Olympic golf tournament won by Justin Rose. I still think it's a desirable tradeoff.

Edward the Scop

Upper Midwest Connection of the Week Ending 10 March 2024

 Firstly, I'd like to apologize for being a day late. There's been an overload of work at my job of late and I couldn't get around to working on the blog since my daytime work took precedence. Now that the load is lightening, I can resume with my usual blog duties.

Anyway, I finally got the prehistory of the Devilish Rake up and running earlier this week. It explains what led up to the blog's creation last July. As my "What to Expect This Year" post had incorrectly predicted, I had intended to publish it earlier, around January or early February, but it never works out that way since I had THREE rounds of FA Cup picks to disseminate and Upper Midwest Connection of the Week and Month honours to designate. The next general page will be the glossary of terms, which you can expect to see the first entries for later this spring. As for the Patreon, I plan to set aside whatever I get from my tax refund to set that up and maybe support content creators I like.

But back to the golf. As I foretold last week, it was a busy four days from Thursday through Sunday for Umcees in tour golf. Firstly, let's consider the Korn Ferry Tour's Astara-Chile Classic, which involved the five Umcees who made Q-school finals last December: Frankie Capan III, Van Holmgren, Thomas Longbella, Andre Metzger and Alex Schaake. Unfortunately, four missed the cut; the only exception was, of all of them, Metzger. "Dakotas Dre" is, as the epithet I confer on him indicates, a legend on the Dakotas Tour, which is my favourite minitour in North American golf. He finished T44, good to enter the KFT points list at #139. Probably not enough to get very many starts, but it's a start.

The other developmental tour with OWGR or Rolex Ranking points to involve Umcees last week was, of course, the Korn Ferry's women's equivalent--the Epson Tour, which kicked off its season with the Florida's Natural Charity Classic. This year, the tour has switched to a points-based system for its order of merit, which means I will no longer regularly quote paychecks of prize money earned for applicable golfers. That aside, Kim Kaufman fared significantly better than Kate Smith-Stroh, especially in the last two rounds. Kaufman had a -5/67 Saturday to highlight her weekend, collecting 81 2/3 points in the Race for the Card. This year, there will be a further five cards awarded, bringing the total to fifteen spots on the 2025 LPGA Tour.

On the PGA Tour, though, there were two events! That's because last week had a signature event in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and an opposite event in the Puerto Rico Open. Of the three Umcees who participated on the Tour last week, only Troy Merritt was unfortunate to miss out on Bay Hill. He did an okay job in Puerto Rico, finishing T23 and climbing to #119 in the FedEx Cup. Back on the mainland, Scottie Scheffler's performance clearly overshadowed the rest of the field, winning by five strokes. Even so, Erik van Rooyen mustered a T25 and inched up to #18 on the points list. The big winner among Umcees, though, was...

Tom Hoge.

I was tempted to put Kaufman atop the Umcees for the week, what with her top-ten finish. But Hoge saved his best for last. Though he still has some work to do to reach this year's Masters, which would require a win in any of the remaining PGA Tour events beforehand (yes, all of them are full field) or a top fifty showing after the Houston Open in the OWGR, he took an important step towards a third straight appearance with his T12, which enabled him to crawl up to #56 in the world rankings. He also jumped to #12 in the FedEx Cup standings, putting him well on his way to the playoffs yet again. Lastly, he is now up to #15 in the Presidents Cup standings for Team USA thanks to yet another top-fifteen showing. I suppose his progress has Jim Furyk on notice by now, especially with this week being the week of the Players Championship.

Speaking of which, this week brings the big three Umcees together with 140 others as of this writing. (Tom Kim of South Korea was the 144th player, but he withdrew due to illness eight holes in.) After one round, Hoge was on his way to an UMCOW repeat, two strokes off the -7/65 lead at -5/67. Van Rooyen was less lucky, finishing -1/71 for his opening round, but was on the right side of the cutline for now. The same can't be said for Merritt, though, as he was +1/73 to start his Players.

As for the Korn Ferry Tour, it goes back into hibernation after the Southern Fortnight until the Club Car Championship in Savannah, Georgia at the start of April. I say Southern Fortnight because this is the first time that the Argentine Open and Astara-Chile Classic were contested as consecutive yet isolated KFT events, and both are in the Southern Hemisphere--the only two such KFT tourneys. But that doesn't mean that the developmental scene has run dry for Umcees. Instead, Kaufman and Smith-Stroh will contest the IOA Golf Classic on the Epson Tour, and they will be joined by Emily Lauterbach of Hartfield, Wisconsin.

Lastly, the inaugural PGA Tour Americas season launches next week with the Bupa Championship in Tulum, Mexico. As a result of the Termas de Rio Hondo Invitational getting scrapped due to economic strife in Argentina, it's part of a Mexican fortnight to open the season this year. Plenty of Umcees are expected to populate leaderboards during these two events such as Holmgren and Longbella, but also Derek Hitchner, Andre Metzger and a hopefully contrite Justin Doeden.

Edward the Scop

Upper Midwest Connection of the Week Ending 11 February 2023

 Another week, another longshot winner on the PGA Tour, as Nick Taylor beat fellow-underdog Charley Hoffman in two playoff holes with five daylight minutes to go in the Phoenix Open, thereby avoiding a Monday finish. It's Taylor's second extra-holes win in less than eight months, having defeated Tommy Fleetwood in four holes to please a home-soil Canadian crowd at the Canadian Open. But Hoffman can't be too grumpy with his finish, as it garnered him enough FedEx Cup points to secure a trip to this week's Genesis Invitational, reduced to seventy or so players from the 120 of recent years as a signature event via the "Swing Five."

That's not what this article is about, of course. It's about the six Umcees who played last week on tour, all on circuits that are part of the PGA Tour pyramid. Four of them--Tom Hoge, Erik van Rooyen, Troy Merritt and Zach Johnson--played the Phoenix Open. The other two--Frankie Capan III and Van Holmgren--both played the Korn Ferry Tour's Astara Bogota Championship. Incidentally, Holmgren was making his KFT debut, having earned conditional status via Q-school last December. So, how did each of these guys do?

Unfortunately for the newbie, it didn't go according to plan. Holmgren missed the Astara cut by six strokes (E). However, FCIII made it with three to spare and eventually tied for 20th (-14). Meanwhile, the Phoenix Open saw a seeming bazillion acts of God that followed from the previous week's Pebble Beach debacle, which meant that van Rooyen saw the weekend, only to miss out on the cut by one stroke (-1/141 after two rounds). Merritt was even worse, and Johnson wasn't much better, though he did pick up a few valuable FedEx Cup points. I was tempted to anoint FCIII the Upper Midwest Connection of the Week, and I might have done so but for our returning UMCOW...

Tom Hoge.

For the first time this year, we have a repeat honoree! Hoge figures to have nailed down Upper Midwest Connection of the Month honours for February, as he again cracked the top 20 in the desert. His final score of -10/274 was good for T17 and lifted him to #56 in the OWGR and #21 in the FedEx Cup. Remember, one of the last categories to be invoked for the Masters Tournament before the "tradition unlike any other" goes down anew is top 50 in the world rankings (such as they are) after the penultimate event preceding the first major of the year. With the tragic passing of the WGC Match Play after last year, this year's checkpoint is the Houston Open.

This week, there won't be an Upper Midwest Connection of the Week, unless Hoge wins the Genesis Invitational. That's because he's the only Umcee in the field for this signature event, and the Korn Ferry Tour is on a fortnightly hiatus between the Astara of Colombia and the Argentine Open. The winner of the Genesis Collegiate Showcase isn't an Umcee, and that event's exemption now doesn't take effect until July's Scottish Open due to this week's signature status.

However, it may be noted in passing that the Mexico Open qualifier took place the other day. As with all open qualifiers for PGA Tour and KFT events held outside the United States, it was held a week early to allow for travel planning in Richmond, Texas. When the dust settled on regulation, five players were among the top four and ties, including Minnetonka (Minnesota) High School alumnus Ben Sigel. However, only Preston Stanley of Katy, Texas made it outright, leaving the other four to contest an odd-man-out playoff. Fortunately, Sigel made it, so expect multiple Umcees to participate in next week's Mexico Open, allowing for honours after the event (provided at least one such player makes the cut, of course).

Edward the Scop

Upper Midwest Connection of the Week Ending 28 January 2024

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

Upper Midwest Connection of the Week Ending 21 January 2024

The last time I posted, I had just begun to develop a cold from hanging out with friends in the Twin Cities. You see, part of our escapades involved a brief stroll in subzero temps, and I wasn't particularly bundled up, thinking the genes on my dad's side sufficient to bear the cold. That totally backfired, and I had to go to urgent care yesterday to make sure nothing serious was afoot. (Verdict: I tested negative. Woohoo!) I still have a hoarse voice, but I'm doing what I can to not push myself too vigorously. As a result of the upheaval, I will be posting twice today with any luck, as FA Cup Proper Round 4 is upon us as well.

One of the Korn Ferry Tour's early-season quirks is to hold its first two events of the year, both in the Bahamas, on a Sunday-Wednesday basis. Because of this, I will usually post my Upper Midwest Connection of the Week for the previous week on the Tuesday of a KFT Bahamas week. The same goes for the Tuesday after the Farmers Insurance Open, which tees off today (Wednesday), but for the different reason of that event's Wednesday-Saturday format (adopted to accommodate the NFL's semifinals). However, the disruption, coupled with the long day yesterday, forced me to delay posting to today. The regular schedule will really start in two weeks after the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Even if only one Umcee (Tom Hoge) is able to participate--it's a signature event now--there are other events like the Panama Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour that will feature at least one such player.

With scheduling out of the way, let's examine how last week's six UMCOW candidates fared. Troy Merritt is out, seeing as how he didn't make the cut at the Amex, missing by one lousy stroke. Of those who did make the cut, the weakest case belongs to Frankie Capan III. About all that can be said in his favour is that he at least made the cut in the KFT season opener this time, getting his quest for a PGA Tour card for 2025 off to a better start than a year ago. Eduardo Galdos had a better showing at the Latin American Amateur Championship. The University of Minnesota junior made the cut on his third attempt in this event and finished T35 despite a ruinous opening +12/82. Fortunately, much of the field struggled to keep scores low, enabling Galdos to make the cut with his best round of the week the next day, a -1/69. (For the record, Santiago de la Fuente of Mexico won the LAAC, suffering only one bogey en route to a -10/270 on the week. He sealed it with back-to-back birdies and gets to play the Masters, the U.S. Open and the Open Championship this year if he stays amateur.)

That leaves three candidates, all playing the Amex alongside Merritt and (unlike Merritt) making the cut. For a time, it seemed like Erik van Rooyen wouldn't make the cut, but the former Minnesota Gophers captain birdied his last two Saturday to make it on -14/202 with but one stroke to spare. That's right, the cut was -13, which I absolutely do NOT like! He ultimately finished T25 and moved up one spot to #27 in the FedEx Cup standings. Moreover, he inched up to #84 in the world rankings, although he dropped to fourth among South Africans, as Christiaan Bezuidenhout was the top pro in the Coachella Valley, losing only to Alabama Crimson Tide sophomore Nick Dunlap, holder of the U.S. Amateur. He didn't do quite as well as he had done last year, but he was still pretty good. Also among those tying for 25th was Zach Johnson, formerly of Cedar Rapids, Iowa and twice major winner (2007 Masters and 2015 Open). He jumped to #249 in the world rankings and debuted at #81 in the FedEx Cup. Lastly, Tom Hoge was the top Umcee performer in the field, carding consecutive -7/65s to finish T17. It wasn't enough to budge his world ranking of #63, but he did move to #45 in the FedEx Cup.

It was a difficult decision, one that came down to the three Umcees who made the cut at the Amex. In the end, Tom Hoge took the cake with his strong finish, first to make the cut, then to finish in the top 20. I almost picked Johnson, who would have won UMCOW with so much as a 68 or 69 the final day. Instead, he settled for 70 and tied with van Rooyen and seven others. Nevertheless, it was a pretty good week for Umcees.

This week is a bit quieter, as only three Umcees are competing. As this UMCOW report is going to publication, FCIII is enjoying his week at the Great Abaco Classic in the Bahamas. Again, as with last week's Great Exuma Classic, this week's KFT event concludes today (Wednesday). With FCIII making the cut with ease and continuing to do well thereafter, don't be surprised to see him become Upper Midwest Connection of the Week when that's revealed next week, tentatively Tuesday. Further suppressing the noise is the fact that van Rooyen, perhaps feeling confident that his FedEx Cup Fall performance will get him selected to the Pebble Beach Pro-Am next week by virtue of the alternates' list (he's fifth right now), isn't playing this week, which rules out his hopes of making it via the Swing Five. However, Hoge will have a chance to defend his UMCOW crown and perhaps earn Upper Midwest Connection of the Month honours. Meanwhile, Merritt will get a shot at redemption after missing the Amex cut. Hopefully this isn't the start of another cut drought for him!

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 the Year 2023 Preview

 The PGA Tour season finally wrapped three days ago, as did the DP World Tour season. And just like that...all quiet on the tour front.

Okay, that's a bit premature. There are still four Q-school events--three for the PGA Tour, as well as LPGA Q-Series--to contest in order to determine placement on professional golf tours under those organizations' umbrellas. And just as the DPWT concludes its season every year, it seems to start the next immediately the following week with a few events in South Africa--the Joburg Open, the South African Open and the Alfred Dunhill Championship--plus the Mauritius Open. All these events are co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour, which provides tour golf to southern Africa. Lastly, as far as I know, at least one Umcee--Erik van Rooyen--will be playing the Dunhill. But for the vast majority of tour golfers, both men and women, mid-November is a cutoff point, a time to retreat into unofficial events (if that). About the only truly bigwig event that remains on the calendar is the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, which does carry OWGR points for twenty participants. One of these, of course, will be Tiger Woods, who hosts the event and is playing for the first time since withdrawing from the Masters after making the cut.

It makes sense, then, to start planning a year-end ranking of the top Umcees of 2023. Was this the greatest year for the contingent? No, but there were enough accomplishments among such players (again, both men and women) to fill a top ten, in my opinion. Furthermore, these accomplishments might be increased as a result of Q-school outcomes. As a result of the planning, compilation and ranking of the top ten Upper Midwest connections of the year, coupled with Q-school coverage and work on second-round picks for the FA Cup, it'll be a hectic next few weeks here at the Devilish Rake. I might even consider a poll or two to help select certain entries on the list as the deadline approaches. Stay tuned.

Edward the Scop

Upper Midwest Connection of the Week Ending 8 October 2023 + Q-School Update

 After a fortnight dedicated to USA v Europe team events (it's a miracle I didn't harm myself, even in a benign way, as a result of the outcomes of both!) in which little action took place in tour golf or even in Q-school, the latter two concerns picked up again last week. I was going to name an Upper Midwest Connection of the Week last week for the week before based on the results of the Epson Tour's Tuscaloosa-Toyota Classic in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Both reigning UMCOW (as I shall hereafter abbreviate the honour in conjunction with its full name) Kim Kaufman of Clark, South Dakota, and Kate Smith of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, were due to play the event. But sometime during the week of the event, Kaufman decided to be done for the Epson Tour season and focus on Stage II of LPGA Q-School in an effort to reclaim her card on the LPGA Tour. My next choice was to include former Wisconsin Badger Chris Meyer in the running, as long as he advanced to First Stage of PGA Tour Q-School (from prequalifying, of course). That didn't happen, although he still can look forward to Second Stage of Q-school in Europe for the DP World Tour. With only Smith making the event (though she made the cut as usual), it wasn't worth it to name an UMCOW.

Well, last week offered more options. For the first time since the FedEx Cup Regular Season ended in August, all of the big three Umcees were in the same PGA Tour event--namely, the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi. Smith participated in the Epson Tour Championship, and Frankie Capan III contested the Korn Ferry Tour Championship for a shot at one of thirty cards on next year's PGA Tour. Let's break it down.

FCIII needed nothing short of a three-way share of bronze at the KFT Championship to get a PGA Tour card. Unfortunately, a ruinous 78 Thursday put him stumbling out of the gate, and he had no traction Friday either, settling for even par. His only quality round was a Saturday 66 (-6), and he gave half that progress back with a final-round +3/75 Sunday. Despite these struggles, which kept him from the top 40, Capan didn't slide any more than he had two weeks earlier at the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship. he gets direct entry into Final Stage of Q-school for a top-60 points list finish and, of course, full membership on the Korn Ferry Tour for next year just for making it to the event.

Remaining on the developmental-tour note, Smith fared far better in the Epson Tour Championship. While she was unable to grab the victory she would have needed to grab an LPGA Tour card in all likelihood, she finished par or better in all four rounds, breaking 70--nay, 69--in three of them. Smith's best round was arguably Thursday's bogey free -7/65. She had another flawless round Sunday, though she mustered only -4/68. Her paycheck of $5786 enabled her to finish #19 on the money list, not only ensuring her full membership on the Epson Tour for next year but granting her guaranteed access to the finals of LPGA Q-School, branded as Q-Series. Nor will she have to worry about using two sites over two weeks, as the LPGA reduced Q-Series to a single site of six rounds. The cut of 70 and ties after round four still applies, though.

This brings us to the big tour. As alluded above, Erik van Rooyen, Troy Merritt and Tom Hoge were all involved in the FedEx Cup Fall's second event. Hoge had the least to get out of the event, as his top-50 finish in the playoffs means he'll have access to all non-major events, including the Players Championship. Even so, he was under par all four rounds, as he cracked the top 25 at the event for the first time. He also moved up one spot to #49 in the OWGR. This will loom large for qualifying for the Masters, as one criterion is to finish the year in the top 50 of the world, according to the ranking.

Van Rooyen had much more to gain. Of the three Umcees in action in Jackson, he was the only one outside the top 125 eligibility threshold, so he needed a good showing to move in. Mission accomplished with three breaches of 70, although he struggled Sunday on an even-par showing. He now occupies the last spot for full membership on account of points and also moved back into the OWGR top 200, checking in at #198 this week. It's his third-highest ranking since midyear or so. However, the UMCOW honours belong most clearly to him who has helped take the FedEx Cup Fall by storm, especially from an Upper Midwestern perspective. And that guy is...

Troy Merritt.

Like Hoge, Merritt broke par all four rounds, and like van Rooyen, he broke 70 in three rounds. The guy was some front-nine trouble away from making the deciding playoff a six-man affair, as he finished just two strokes shy of the -18 he would have needed. Indeed, had he gone bogey-free and all else had remained equal, Merritt would have won his third PGA Tour title. As it is, he moved to #177 in the OWGR and #115 in the fall rankings, though he remains among the antepenultimate five survivors. (His last winner's exemption expired in August 2021.) Definitely one to look out for this fall.

Tomorrow as of this writing, the Shriners Children's Open tees off in Las Vegas, and First Stage of Q-School is underway as we speak. One Umcee, Tripp Kinney of Des Moines, Iowa, leads the site in Lincoln, Nebraska, on -12. If he holds on to win the medal, he'll get PGA Tour Americas membership for the first half of its inaugural 2024 season, held in Latin America.

Edward the Scop

Upper Midwest Connection of the Week Ending 24 September 2023

 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

Upper Midwest Connection of the Week Ending 17 September 2023

 After the closing three-week stretch on the PGA Tour Canada, both for its season and its existence, last week was a relatively quiet week for Umcees in tour golf. Only six competed during the week that I know of, but there were still plenty of storylines with the Korn Ferry Finals resuming for a fortnight, the BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour (that circuit's flagship event, akin to the Players on the PGA Tour), the opening of the FedEx Cup Fall and the Epson Tour's Race for the Card all involving Umcees. Let's break it down and name an Upper Midwest Connection of the Week.

Firstly, there was the non-starter in Frankie Capan III. FCIII has yet to secure a single point in the KFT Finals, and he has slipped from the top thirty to just inside the top fifty on the points list, as what was for so long a promising Korn Ferry Tour season is crumbling. It seemed he might get paid last week at the Simmons Bank Open in College Grove, Tennessee, as he followed up an even-par opening round with a -2 Friday. Indeed, at the time he bore off the course, he was on track to make the cut of 65 and ties. Unfortunately, the field as a whole did so well, the cut tightened to -3, and Capan missed out by a single stroke. Even so, I expect him to make it this week at the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship in Columbus, Ohio, and get at least guaranteed entry into Final Stage of PGA Tour Q-School.

My attention then shifted to the Epson Tour, as the Guardian Championship went down in Prattville, Alabama. Following a promising first round of -3/69, Kim Kaufman failed to break 70 either of the last two rounds and finished T50 with three others. More promising was Kate Smith. She has been something of a force to be reckoned with this season on the Epson Tour and, buoyed by successive -5 rounds, finished T11 with four others, moving from #22 to #20 on the money list. With three events left on the schedule, starting with this week's Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout in Arkansas, Smith should, as with Capan, have no trouble getting into her sex's Q-school finals, AKA Q-Series.

That leaves the main tours to consider. The PGA Tour, as mentioned above, opened its reimagined fall series in Napa Valley (as with the previous three falls) at the Fortinet Championship. Unlike previous seasons, which took on a "wraparound" character, fall events from this year will primarily be for lesser-performing golfers, including those who failed to advance to the BMW Championship in last month's FedEx Cup Playoffs. Players who did advance that far aren't allowed to collect points for various exemption perks since they have those in tow anyway (such as entry into all signature events other than majors). As for the DP World Tour, it held its aforementioned flagship event in England at the BMW PGA Championship (no relation to the FedEx Cup Playoff event). Having failed to qualify for the playoffs and needing a good fall showing as a result, Troy Merritt and Erik van Rooyen both played the Fortinet. Tom Hoge, who not only did qualify but reached the (FEC) BMW Championship, had the opportunity to play the (DPWT) BMW PGA Championship as part of a fortnightly British Isles swing.

Van Rooyen was first to show promise, going from -1 to -6 Friday and easily making the cut in Napa Valley. Unfortunately, he stumbled Saturday with a +1 73 and failed to break 70 the next day as well, reaching that number on the dot. Even so, it was a third straight made cut worldwide, and it was van Rooyen's first top-30 finish in a full field PGA Tour event since March's Valspar Championship, as he tied on the number. This shifted my money to Hoge, who tied for 14th in Surrey on the impetus of consecutive -4 rounds. Alas, Hoge slipped to 50th in the world rankings for his trouble. The problem is that the OWGR only counts a maximum of one's last 52 events, and his appearance at the DPWT flagship pushed his runner-up finish from last year's Amex on the PGA Tour off of consideration, costing him some valuable points. His next event will be the Shriners Children's Open in Las Vegas next month. Only one male Umcee moved up in the OWGR after involvement in an approved event last week...

Troy Merritt.

For the first time, the Devilish Rake comes full circle! Having missed thirteen successive cuts in the regular season after the Sony Open, the future for the blood-clot survivor on tour seemed bleak, but he has shown up often the last couple months. He seemed headed for yet another MC after a +2 Thursday, but he scrambled to a -5 Friday to make the cut by the narrowest of margins--one of only 67 players to do so (van Rooyen being another). He then doubled his distance under par Saturday before going wild at the last with a -7 in 65 strokes. Not only did he return to the top 200 of the OWGR, but more importantly, he jumped from #133 to #118 in the FedEx Cup standings, putting him on track to survive to another season on the PGA Tour. At this rate, he might just crack a signature event or two!

This week will be barely audible in tour golf. FCIII is the only male golfer in tour golf this week or next, as the game revolves around the Solheim Cup (women) this week and Ryder Cup (men) next week, both of which pit Americans against Europeans. Expect more noise to kick off October, when the PGA Tour has its Sanderson Farms Championship and both the Korn Ferry and Epson tours have their finales. In the meantime, though, don't hesitate to stay tuned for Q-school news, as PGA Tour prequalifying began last week and continues through next week's Texas site, while the DPWT Q-School runs its first stage through early October. Already one Umcee, Kaylor Steger of Wisconsin, has progressed to Second Stage in Europe.

Edward the Scop

Upper Midwest Connection of the Week Ending 27 August 2023

 Originally, I was going to post this yesterday, as I usually need some time to assess the candidates for Upper Midwest Connection of the Week, but I had a long day yesterday and needed some rest. As I write, I just got done helping livestream the third episode of Ahsoka. I told you I'm a nerd!

Anyway, it was a bit feistier last week than the previous two weeks, as the PGA Tour Canada returned to action for the final three weeks of its existence. Even so, there were only seven men Umcees eligible for last week's honour, along with Kate Smith and Kim Kaufman, winners of the plaudit the last two weeks. A pittance by normal standards, but let's run down the list.

Three of the Umcees--Frankie Capan III, Will Grevlos and Derek Hitchner--missed the cut. Capan is in danger of having to play a second season on the Korn Ferry Tour, though he shouldn't have to compete against the reshuffle, and he might even have to start in Second Stage of Q-school, the way things are going for him. Grevlos will have to First Stage to get any privileges on so much as the PGA Tour Americas for next year, but Hitchner is guaranteed Second Stage because of his PGA Tour U finish (#14). All three were out of the running for Upper Midwest Connection of the Week.

Of the six who made it, Kaufman wasn't that impressive at the Circling Raven Championship in Worley, Idaho, near Coeur d'Alene, only mustering a T63 and pocketing $749. Her final-round 75 was her worst of the week. Back on the men's side of things at the Manitoba Open in Winnipeg, George Kneiser of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin broke 70 the first two days but settled for par Saturday and suffered a +1 Sunday to finish T37. He remains 16th in the Fortinet Cup. His fellow-Wisconsinite Harrison Ott of Broomfield had a similar weekend showing, although his first two rounds were each one stroke better than Kneiser's corresponding performances, earning him a T28 and improving his Fortinet Cup standing to #62 with one last chance to retain his card this week at the CRMC Championship in Pequot Lakes, Minnesota. Returning to the ladies' side, Kate Smith wasn't so lucky, improving each round of the aforementioned Circling Raven Championship from 71 Friday to 70 Saturday and 68 Sunday, but she slipped to #17 in the Race for the Card somehow.

That leaves two Umcees who reached the top 15 at the Manitoba Open to vie for the weekly plaudit. These guys were the tie for 11th. They both hail from Wisconsin--one from Chippewa Falls, the other from Janesville. Both went to Big Ten schools for university, as one left the Dairyland for Minnesota, while the other stayed home and made the short jog to UW-Madison. One reached the top 25 in the Fortinet Cup, while the other gave himself an outside hope of making it to next week's PGA Tour Canada swan song. But when it came to choosing an Upper Midwest Connection of the Week, I knew I had to pick the more milestone-based achiever. Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for...

Thomas Longbella.

With all due respect to Jordan Hahn, who also tied for 11th, Longbella figures to carry more weight in Q-school when that rolls around and going forward. The reason? Longbella's performance lifted him into the top 25 at #22, and since he was all but guaranteed to make the grand finale in Calgary, he'll have two opportunities to consolidate a first-stage bye for the second year running. The CRMC Championship is just a few hours' drive from his alma mater, and the Fortinet Cup Championship doesn't have a cut. To make a long story short, Thomas Longbella has truly merited to become, in the short history of this blog, my first two-time Upper Midwest Connection of the Week.

This week, in addition to the Pequot Lakes event, both European Tour Group top-two tours will feature Umcees in their respective fields, and both are former Minnesota Gophers. Angus Flanagan tees off at the IGG Challenge in Sweden at 7:30 local time Thursday (12:30 Twin Cities/11:30pm Wednesday western Dakotas), and Erik van Rooyen follows suit an hour later at the Omega European Masters in Crans Montana, Switzerland (8:30 local/1:30 Twin Cities/12:30 W Dakotas). This will give fans of these golfers something to get up for during the fortnight in which both the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour are off. Are y'all insomniac enough?

Edward the Scop

Tosti, You're Toast, Part I: The Incident Itself

 Hitherto I've dealt primarily with Upper Midwest connections in the world of tour golf. After all, I am a cradle Upper Midwesterner, having been born in Grand Forks, North Dakota and lived the rest of my life in Minnesota. But this is a story that relates to a theme I've covered before here, and that's the integrity of the game. Thankfully, no Umcees were hurt (or otherwise involved) in the incident or the making of the present report or any sources on which it's based.

If you follow the Korn Ferry Tour on any level, odds are you've heard of the phrase "Tour-bound." This means a given player on the Korn Ferry Tour has accrued enough points (formerly money) to earn his PGA Tour card, which is obviously the goal of all KFT members. For the first few years of the points-list era, 900 was the failsafe threshold needed to be assured of said goal. Of course, this year PGA Tour cards are also available to some degree via Q-school for the first time since 2012, so the KFT Finals were converted into a four-event conclusion to the KFT season from now on. No longer do you have interlopers from the PGA Tour taking advantage of the yo-yo opportunity to bounce back from a disappointing season or seasons. Instead, it's all about the next wave of players, from the rank and file to the stars. Hence, the threshold is now 1100 points. So far, seven players have achieved this milestone. Most recently, Belgian star and Illinois Fighting Illini alumnus Adrien Dumont de Chassart cracked this threshold at last week's Magnit Championship by reaching 1132 to be exact, assuring he'll play PGA Tour events next year--not necessarily signature events, but most events of up to full-field status. For the record, his sole win thus far came at the BMW Charity Pro-Am on his pro debut fresh off his college career.

Another golfer who's reached the threshold is Alejandro Tosti of Rosario, Argentina. Tosti went to Florida for college and has had a somewhat checkered career. As with ADDC, Tosti broke through on the KFT this year...after five years in the pros. Two weeks ago, he won the Pinnacle Bank Championship in Omaha to secure his PGA Tour card, and he finished the regular season with nine straight cuts made. Next year, he'll finally take his talents long-term to the big tour, where he made the cut in all three events he played there as well, highlighted by a T10 at the Mexico Open...or will he? That is the crux of this article.

Yesterday as of this writing, Tosti opened with a 67 at the Albertsons Boise Open, which is not only one of the four remaining founder KFT founder events from the 1990 Ben Hogan Tour (as it was known then) but serves as the opener to the KFT Finals. It goes without saying that it's a big event, as only the 156 leading available players according to the points list get to play it. (There was one Umcee involved--#43 Frankie Capan III of North Oaks, Minnesota--but he was expected to MC.) According to Golf Digest, though, the round featured several concerns about Tosti's behaviour, and he was forced to WD.

That's not all. Ryan French of Monday Q Info noted various "alleged incidents" on Tosti's part this year, which have combined to incur a suspension from the Korn Ferry Tour.

Monday Q Info on X: "Breaking: According to sources, Alejandro Tosti who is in points, on the KFT has been suspended after an incident yesterday. This comes after numerous alleged incidents throughout the season that have lead to him being suspended. Full story coming." / X (twitter.com)

Without regard to how many such incidents he perpetrated, Tosti did make unwanted headlines at the LECOM Suncoast Classic earlier this season by freeloading on a cart. The Model Local Rule in question states that golf carts may only be used to enforce stroke and distance penalties or in playoffs. However, Tosti got an unauthorized volunteer to drive him from the 18th green to the 1st tee box in violation of this rule. (He had started his round on the 10th tee.)

I can only assume Tosti is strong and fit, as well as of a sustainable weight. For comparison, I am strong and fit but grossly obese, and yet I have generally pulled my own bag rather than relying on motorized transport during golf rounds. That said, I will have to await more word from sources, including the aforementioned Monday Q Info, before suggesting a punishment for Tosti.

To be continued...

Edward the Scop

You know what they say...all toasters toast...TOSTI!!!