Web.com Tour Recap – Nationwide Championship – by Keagan Scott

One more tournament remains after the third of four events in the Web.com Tour Finals wrapped up this Sunday in Columbus, Ohio. Grayson Murray was this week’s winner after carding a final round 68 to win by one shot over Cameron Smith of Australia. It was a big week for a couple players who just missed earning their tour cards from the Web.com Tour regular season top 25. Xander Schaufelle and Kevin Tway finished in 26th and 27th place in the regular season, but both earned their card this week with top 10 finishes. The runner-up Cameron Smith struggled on the PGA Tour this year, but will give it another go next season as he earned back his card.

Grayson Murray had already earned his tour card after finishing 18th in the regular season standings thanks to six top-10’s in just 14 starts. He entered the final round four shots back of Web.com tour stud Martin Flores, but after Flores shot a four over 40 on the front nine, Murray found himself just two shots back. He birdied three of the first four holes on the back nine, which ended up being enough for the win by a shot. So far this season, he had a second and third place finish, but this was his first win on tour.
Let’s take a look at the others who earned their tour cards and other notable players:

1. Grayson Murray – 1st
After finishing third last week, Grayson Murray got his first win of the season thanks to a final round 68. He’s now finished in the top seven in four of his last seven tournaments so he’s definitely a player who’s hot right now and playing extremely well. He’s going to be someone you’ll want to keep an eye on this fall as he ranks in the top five in driving distance, putting average, eagles, birdie average, par 4 and par 5 scoring. Several of those he actually ranks first. Grayson now is second on the money list, only behind Wesley Bryan.

2. Cameron Smith – 2nd
After finishing T28 in the first event and a missed cut last week, Smith was in serious trouble with two events to go, but he found a way to take second place and a $108,000 check will be plenty to attain his card. The Aussie had a poor sophomore season on the PGA Tour to say the least. He finished in 157th on the FedEx Cup points list after making 13 of 24 cuts, but only finished inside the top 25 three times. I’d stay far away from Cameron until he puts up a few more solid finishes.

3. Kevin Tway – T3rd
I’ve mentioned Kevin Tway several times throughout this past season and for good reason. The Oklahoma State product (he played with Rickie Fowler) first made the PGA Tour in 2013-14, but only made eight cuts in 23 starts. The following season on the Web.com Tour he finished 28th in the regular season standings, just missing earning his card. This past season was extremely similar as he entered the last tournament inside the top 25, but a missed cut meant he would finish in 27th place. After finishing tied for third this week, Tway is heading back to the PGA Tour with a lot more experience and confidence. He earned $58,000 for the week, which moved his Finals money list total to $63,975 and well inside the top 25. Tway is a bomber as he ranks inside the top 10 in driving distance and par 5 scoring so keep him on your radar moving forward.

4. Will Mackenzie – T5th
The 41 year old shot a final round 67 to finish in a tie for fifth and earned back his card after finishing in 151st place in the FedEx Cup points list this past season. He has two PGA Tour wins in 2006 and 2008. Mackenzie has been on the PGA Tour almost every year since 2005 and he’ll be headed back there again.

5. Xander Schauffele – T9th
Another guy I’ve mentioned quite a bit this season has been Xander Schauffele. He was hovering around the top 25 all season long and in the last event of the regular season he finished tied for 38th. Had he shot one stroke better he would’ve been inside the top 25 on the money list, but he finished $975 short and in 26th place. Pretty brutal, but his solid performances in the three events so far has given him enough money to gain one of the 25 remaining cards. He finished in a tie for 9th this week, which is his fourth top-10 in his last nine starts. He has only missed one cut in his last 11 tournaments and he’s definitely one to watch in the fall season. Xander struggles to find the fairway, ranking 127th, but excels in everything else.

6. Ryan Blaum – T18th
Blaum is a 32 year old who has never been on the PGA Tour, until now. He finished in a tie for 18th this week. That, added to his fifth place finish last week, has given him enough money to remain inside the next 25. He’s been one of the better players the second half of the season, making 9 of 12 cuts with seven top-25’s. Blaum relies on everything but his driver on the golf course. He ranks inside the top 30 in almost every category besides driving distance.

7. Notable Cuts
a. Rory Sabbatini
b. Andrew “Beef” Johnston
c. Ollie Schniederjans
d. Bryson DeChambeau

That’s it for this week. Congrats to Grayson on an awesome week and he’ll look to follow it with a strong showing at the Web.com Tour Championship to overtake Wesley Bryan for the overall money leader. There’s only one tournament remaining for these guys to grab a PGA Tour Card. The Web.com Tour Championship will begin Thursday, October 6th so they have an extra week to prepare and maybe get some motivation from the Ryder Cup. 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. Thanks again and follow me on Twitter! @Keagan28.