Web.com Recap – News Sentinel Open – by Keagan Scott

The Web.com Tour was in Knoxville, Tennessee for the News Sentinel Open presented by Pilot this week. It was the 20th of 21 regular season events on the Web.com Tour, meaning there is only one more tournament left for players to earn the first 25 cards given out. This tournament once again came down to the 18th hole with two players in the final group having birdie putts for the win. The man that made the putt was J.J. Spaun, securing his first win in his rookie season and locking up his tour card for next year since he’s third on the money list. The man that missed the putt was Sam Ryder who came into the final round with the lead, but missed the 8 footer for birdie that would’ve forced a playoff with J.J. Had things gone his way, he would’ve found himself inside the top 15 ($40,000 difference from 1st to 2nd place) on the money list with his PGA Tour card secured, but instead he sits in a scary 29th place and needs to play well next week to get into the top 25. Goes to show you just how crucial a win can be for these guys and how one single shot can be the difference between a PGA Tour card and another season on the Web.com Tour.

Many things to talk about with only one week left in the regular season so let’s take a closer look at the players this week and where they stand.

1. J.J. Spaun: 5th to 3rd
This is Spaun’s first season on the Web.com Tour. He turned pro in 2012 out of San Diego State University and has spent the last two season on the PGA Tour Canada. In 19 events so far this season he has made the cut in 13 times with one win, seven top 10’s and two runner up finishes. In his last seven starts, he’s made the cut six times and has been inside the top six in four of those events so he’s definitely turning it on late in the season. He now sits in third place on the money list, passing Ollie Schniederjans and Martin Flores. To get the win this week, he hit 65 of 72 greens, which I’m pretty sure we can all agree is absolutely phenomenal. He didn’t bogey a hole until the 4th hole on Sunday and needed a -5 score on his last 9 holes to win by one shot. He’s had a fantastic season and his statistics back that up as well. His strength is his GIR %, in which he’s second on tour at 77%. The other statistics he ranks 10-30, but he is fifth in par 3 scoring average.

2. Sam Ryder: 55th to 29th
The heartbreak this week went to Sam Ryder, who finished in 2nd place. It was down to the 18th green where he had an 8 footer compared to the 12 footer for J.J. After J.J. made his, Sam now needed to make his to tie, but it slid on the left side and he settled for second. I’m not sure if he knew it or not, but had he gone on to win, he would’ve been on the PGA Tour next season. Now, he sits in 29th on the money list and will need to play well next week to jump into the top 25. From Stetson University, Sam turned pro in 2012 and finished 4th last year on the PGA Canada Tour sending him to the Web.com Tour. It’s definitely been an up and down season for Sam as he’s made the cut in 8 of 16 starts with three top 10’s. Two of those have come in the last two tournaments, so he’s made a gigantic leap to give himself a chance next week. If he’s going to do it, he needs to putt much better. Sam is 1st on the tour in total driving (which combines distance and accuracy) and ball striking (which combines total driving and GIR). The problem is the flat stick where he ranks 113th. If he can get that figured out, look out for this guy because he can go tee to green with the best of them.

3. Ryan Brehm: 39th to 30th
Another product of PGA Tour Canada, Ryan Brehm took 3rd place this week. He turned pro in 2008 so he’s a little older than most the players out here, but he made a big move to put himself in a good spot for next week’s regular season finale. In 20 starts this season, he’s made 14 cuts with four top 10’s. From Michigan State University, Ryan uses his 6’4” frame to his advantage ranking 8th on tour in driving distance at 314 yards. The distance, of course comes at a cost of accuracy where he ranks a dreadful 132nd. He’s definitely a bomber given he ranks 3rd on tour in par 5 scoring and eagles so definitely keep that in mind if he does earn a card for next season.

4. Rick Lamb: 38th to 27th
Lamb made a solid jump this week thanks to his 3rd place finish. In just 9 events this season, Rick has only made 4 cuts. The only reason he’s near the top 25 on the money list is due to his win at the LECOM Health Challenge in June. We’ll see if he can keep up the good play next week to crack that top 25. He hasn’t made enough starts in order to rank in any statistics, but he has hit nearly 74% of his greens in regulation which would be near the top 10.

5. Kevin Tway: 27th to 23rd
Kevin was the only man this week to jump inside the top 25 and now has back to back top 10’s thanks to this 8th place finish. He sat in 46th just two weeks ago, but now is in 23rd thanks to those great results. I wrote about Kevin last week and one thing you should definitely keep in mind is that he’s a bomber. He ranks inside the top 10 in driving distance and par 5 scoring. The 12 times he played par 5’s this week, he was -8. The problem, once again, is he struggles with the flat stick.

6. Grayson Murray: 25th to 21st
Just three weeks ago, Grayson sat in 54th but has since moved securely inside the top 25 and is extremely likely to stay there. His last three tournaments have been huge finishing 2nd, 17th and 7th this past week. Those strong finishes have basically guaranteed a PGA Tour card and a dream come true I’m sure. He’s made the cut in 7 of 13 starts this season, but in 6 of those he’s finished inside the top 10 which is quite remarkable. He definitely needs to find some cut making consistency if he wants to remain on the PGA Tour next season. If he can do that, you might want to keep an eye on him in the coming fall season given some of the things he excels in. He ranks inside the top 5 in driving distance, birdie average, scoring average, par 4 scoring, par 5 scoring and birdie or better percentage.

That’s it for this week. With only one week left on the Web.com Tour regular season schedule, I’m definitely excited to see which of the guys on the bubble can secure their spot for the 2016-17 PGA Tour wraparound schedule. There is a ton on the line next week as players inside the top 25 earn a PGA Tour card and players inside the top 75 qualify for the final 4 weeks of play to determine 25 more cards. Several guys made big jumps this week and it’s probably going to happen again next week. It’s going to be a big advantage if you continue to read these articles and become more familiar with the next generation of young golfers. Below is the Top 25 on the money list as it currently stands. Next week the Web.com Tour heads to Oregon for the WinCo Foods Portland Open. Thanks again and follow me on Twitter: @Keagan28.

RANK          PLAYER        COMBINED
1           Wesley Bryan           $449,392
2           Richy Werenski       $336,370
3           J.J. Spaun                $335,432
4          Ollie Schniederjans $277,271
5           Martin Flores           $272,043
6           Dominic Bozzelli     $214,307
7           Trey Mullinax          $210,008
8           JT Poston                 $199,673
9           Ryan Armour           $198,380
10         Seamus Power         $194,190
11          Brad Fritsch             $192,881
12         Jonathan Randolph $179,848
13         Brian Campbell        $177,828
14         Cheng Tsung Pan     $176,132
15         Mackenzie Hughes  $165,248
16         Brandon Hagy          $158,966
17         Julian Etulain           $158,860
18        Nicholas Lindheim   $158,654
19        Sebastian Munoz      $156,671
20       Max Homa                 $155,653
21        Grayson Murray       $155,383
22       Joel Dahmen              $150,267
23       Kevin Tway                $148,746
24       Stephan Jaeger          $147,024
25       Andrew Svoboda       $146,680

Just out of the mix…
26       Xander Schauffele    $145,926
27       Rick Lamb                  $145,008
28      Matt Atkins                 $138,748
29       Sam Ryder                  $137,961
30       Ryan Brehm              $137,808

• Moved into the top 10
o Kevin Tway: 27th to 23rd

• Moved outside the top 10
o Xander Schauffele: 23rd to 26th