Upper Midwest Connection of the Week Ending 31 March 2024

Last week in tour golf treated Umcees much better than the week before or the week before that. Though only seven Umcees were part of eligible fields, four made the cut and did so to the tune of top-20 finishes across the board. Two of these, in turn, recorded top 10s and moved into the top 1000 of the OWGR. In fact, we were close to having as many as SIX Umcees make the weekend, as Wisconsinites George Kneiser (Oconomowoc) and Emily Lauterbach (Hartland) MC by just one stroke each at the Totalplay Championship in Guadalajara, Mexico on the PGA Tour Americas and the Ford Championship near Phoenix on the LPGA Tour, respectively. Another Wisconsinite was also among the unlucky at the PGA Tour Americas event, as Harrison Ott of Brookfield missed out due to a ruinous Friday +5/76.

Of those who made the cut, Tom Hoge was the only one playing the PGA Tour's Houston Open. Playing in the same state (Texas) where he went to college (TCU), Hoge opened his week with a poor +1/71 Thursday. It was his third straight over-par round, dating to the Players two weeks before. But then Hoge put together his best round of the week, carding a -4/66 to make the cut with ease. Though to be fair, an even-par round would have sufficed to get him to the weekend. He then broke 70 again the next two days with rounds of 68 and 67. When the dust settled, Hoge had finished T14, inching up to #13 in the FedEx Cup. Unfortunately, the good showing wasn't good enough to make this week's OWGR top fifty; and since he isn't playing this week, his chances of a third straight Masters appearance are dead. Try again next year, I guess.

As for the Totalplay Championship, Matthew Walker of Ottumwa, Iowa was the least satisfactory, but he still mustered a T17 and moved up to #35 in the Fortinet Cup standings. A +1/72 Friday definitely kept him from doing even better. That leaves the two top ten finishers. Thomas Longbella had an improved finish, going under par all four days (even Thursday, when he was merely -1/70). But he only climbed to #17 in the Fortinet Cup. That means the final Upper Midwest Connection of the Week for March 2024 is...

(Golf Channel)

Derek Hitchner.

The Minneapolis Blake School product and Pepperdine alumnus has yet to win a PGA Tour pyramid event but had one of the best finishes of his short pro career so far, tying for third despite a rough final round of E/71. Indeed, had he even parred No 8 Sunday, he would have had his outright best finish ever as a professional. Of course, it is unlikely he would have beaten Jose de Jesus Rodriguez, who has established himself as the King of Atlas Country Club this decade, dating back to the PGA Tour Latinoamerica 2022 season. Even so, Hitchner's finish enabled him to soar to 11th in the Fortinet Cup standings (up from T59 coming in) and jump to #910 in the OWGR. It's too bad he won't have another chance for a couple weeks, as the circuit doesn't reconvene until the Brazilian Open the week after the Masters.

This week is a bit quieter, at least as far as the developmental tours are concerned. However, the PGA Tour will have three Umcees competing in the same event--the most since the Players three weeks ago--at the Texas Open. Though Hoge has eschewed his last opportunity for this year's Masters Tournament, Erik van Rooyen returns after a fortnightly hiatus, while Troy Merritt and Zach Johnson (both of whom took last week off) return to competing as well. In fact, Johnson is a past champ in San Antonio, having won in consecutive years (2008-09).

As for the developmental side of things, the Korn Ferry Tour finally awakens from its post-Latin American hiatus with the Club Car Championship. Only Frankie Capan III made the field, as Van Holmgren still hasn't benefited from the reshuffle that will follow the LECOM Suncoast Classic two weeks out.

Edward the Scop

Upper Midwest Connection of the Week Ending 24 March 2024

 It was another underwhelming week for Umcees on tour. Of the nine such players across three events--the PGA Tour's Valspar Championship, the PGA Tour Americas' Bupa Championship and the Epson Tour's Atlantic Beach Classic--only two (Thomas Longbella in the Bupa and Kim Kaufman in the Atlantic Beach) made it with room to spare. Two other PGA Tour Americas Umcees--Derek Hitchner and Matthew Walker--didn't know they'd be playing the weekend until Saturday because the second round was interrupted by darkness. Only when the cut reached +5 did they have assurance that they'd play on. The other five Umcees--Troy Merritt and Zach Johnson, both playing the Valspar; Wisconsinites George Kneiser and Harrison Ott, both at the Bupa; and Kate Smith-Stroh at Atlantic Beach--missed out on prize money. It's especially been a slow start for Smith-Stroh. She finished 19th in the Race for the Card last year, although she finished short of an LPGA Tour card in both that regard and Q-Series. But this year, she has made just one cut out of three events.

Of the four Umcees who did make the cut, the two who made it by the skin of their teeth failed to impress that much at the weekend. Thomas Longbella, native of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin and a former Minnesota Gopher, showed up in the final round in particular, posting by far his best round of the week (-4/68) to surge 26 spots to a T21 finish. This sufficed to help him climb to #1034 in the OWGR, though he will still likely have to enter local qualifying for the U.S. Open, if not the Open Championship. But it's clear that he was outshined by none other than...

(Source: Epson Tour)

Kim Kaufman.

For the first time in Devilish Rake history, a woman repeats as Upper Midwest Connection of the Week! The Clark, South Dakota native and thrice winner on the Epson Tour almost pulled off a fourth win on the circuit in her career. She got off to a fast start with rounds of -4/67 and -2/69 Thursday and Friday, respectively. Even Saturday, when she bogeyed twice in her first four holes, Kaufman held in there and got back to hovering around even par the rest of the day. Only a missed birdie at the last kept her from forcing winner Briana Chacon into a playoff. As it is, Kaufman is fifth in the Race for the Card now on 404 and two-thirds points, and she has jumped to #565 in the women's world rankings! While it's too early to say she'll be back on the LPGA Tour in 2025, things are definitely looking up for Kim Kaufman as we speak.

This week is a bit quieter on the tour scene. The Korn Ferry Tour is reaching the end of its March hibernation, while the Epson Tour goes into a hibernation of its own starting this week. Moreover, on the PGA Tour, Tom Hoge is the only Umcee participating in this week's Houston Open, as he returns to competition after the disappointment of TPC Sawgrass. He likely needs at least a third-place finish to reach Augusta National for the third year running or a win at next week's Texas Open, according to the Associated Press, for such a finish would get him into the top-50 OWGR category set for the Masters. Troy Merritt and Zach Johnson are sitting out this week, while Erik van Rooyen has no incentive to participate either, having won last November's World Wide Technologies Championship to qualify.

The PGA Tour Americas, though, will roll on to the Totalplay Championship in Guadalajara, Mexico at the Atlas Country Club, and the same five Umcees who played last week on the tour will also be involved in this week's event. The tour was originally supposed to go into hibernation as well until the Brazilian Open the week of the Masters, followed by the Termas de Rio Hondo Invitational in Argentina the next week, but unrest in Argentina forced the PGA Tour group to substitute a backup event. Lastly, Hartland, Wisconsin native Emily Lauterbach passed her open-qualifying test for this week's Ford Championship with a birdie at the first playoff hole. It will be her LPGA Tour debut.

Edward the Scop