Web.com Weekly Summary – Portland Open – by Keagan Scott

First thing I wanted to mention is this article is going to be a bit longer than most since it was the final regular season event and many things were decided. So stick with me and I promise it’ll be worth your precious time. Let’s be honest though, you have nothing better to do besides maybe do your 12th mock draft figuring out the best way to utilize that 7th overall pick. Hmm Deandre Hopkins or A.J. Green. I’d go Hopkins, but that’s just me. Now let’s get back to why we’re all here. Golf!

The final week of the Web.com Tour Regular Season has concluded and what an awesome week. The tournament this week was the WinCo Foods Portland Open in Oregon at the Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club. Up for grabs were the 25 PGA Tour cards given out to the top 25 on the regular season money list. A high finish could mean a jump inside for players further down on the list and a missed cut could mean falling outside the top 25 for players near the bubble. Spoiler alert: it came down to one single stroke to determine who finished 25th and who finished 26th. We’re going to do this in two parts: the guys who played well and finished near the top of the leaderboard and the guys who were on the bubble and what transpired there.

Ryan Brehm took home first place this week and made the leap inside the top 25, going from 30th to fourth with the win. He shared the 54 hole lead with Web.com Tour stud C.T. Pan and was quickly down a stroke after his second bogey on the fifth hole. He then birdied three in a row and made the turn at one under for the day and tied for the lead. The back 9 was no different when he birdied 10, 14 and 15. He stood on the par five, 18th with a two shot lead. He went conservative with iron off the tee and took the three shot approach. After hitting his third in the sand, he hit that to 40 feet. A two putt from there for bogey and he was now guaranteed membership on the PGA Tour next season. The man he beat by one was Marc Anderson who made a huge leap from 51st to 16th with the runner up finish. Marc birdied five holes on the back 9 to shoot a Sunday 68.

To the bubble we go. We all know that feeling of rooting for our favorite college basketball team, just praying that the win on the road against a solid Pittsburgh team was enough to make the big dance. This is the life on the bubble and it’s never fun. Most of the focus on this tournament was on those bubble spots from 23-27 since everyone knew what was at stake. This is their livelihood and nothing is guaranteed if you miss the top 25. What made it even more interesting was the fact that after Friday, the players that were 23rd, 24th and 25th on the money list all missed the cut. This was obviously huge and meant those three spots were potentially up for grabs in a crowded bubble. The men in 26th and 27th, Xander Schauffele and Rick Lamb, knew this once they both made the cut and probably figured they both had a fantastic chance to jump up a spot or two inside the top 25. This came true for Rick Lamb, as he finished in 19th place and jumped up from 27th on the money list to 24th, earning his PGA Tour card. On the other side of the equation, Xander finished in a T38 and fell $975 short. Had he finished only one stroke better he would’ve been in a T32 and gained an extra $1,214 meaning a spot on the PGA Tour next year. This is a great example of how brutal this system is when one stroke over any tournament in which he made the cut would’ve given him a PGA Tour card. Now he has to fight for the remaining 25 cards over the next four weeks. My guess is he gets one. If you’re curious on the exact eligibility rules, I’ve provided some more background on that at the bottom of this article.

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. Ryan Brehm: 30th to 4th
Took first place this week moving from 30th to 4th on money list. Former college golf coach made three birdies on back 9 to win by one shot. I wrote about him last week after his 3rd place finish. In just two events, he’s gone from 39th to 4th on the money list. He’s another product of PGA Tour Canada. Ryan turned pro in 2008 so he’s a little older than most the players out here. In 21 starts this season, he’s made 15 cuts with five 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 second on tour in par 5 scoring and second in eagles so definitely keep that in mind for the upcoming fall season.

2. Mark Anderson: 51st to 16th
Mark came out of nowhere to be honest. He’s only made the cut in two of his last eight events. The good thing for him is he has a third and a second place finish, which was just enough to get him inside the 25. He had five birdies on the back 9 to take second place this week. The 30 year old from South Carolina University turned pro in 2009. He’s played in 17 events this year, making 10 cuts and has those two top 10’s. He was on PGA tour in 2012 thanks to a 22nd place finish on money list in 2011. He then went on to make 13 of 25 cuts that year, which wasn’t good enough to keep his card, sending him back down to the Web.com Tour. His strengths definitely come around the green where he’s first on tour in scrambling, third in sand save % and seventh in par 3 scoring. He’s short off the tee at only 289 yards and doesn’t possess great accuracy either.

3. Rick Lamb: 27th to 24th
Rick took 19th place this week to jump inside the top 25. He was in 27th place, but with the guys just inside the top 25, Rick had a solid chance to jump them. In just 10 events this season, Rick has only made 5 cuts. One would wonder how in the world he even made the top 25 with only those 5 events to make money on. That came in June at the LECOM Health Challenge where he took first place. Rick has some solid stats to draw from as he’s top ten in GIR %, birdie average, scoring average, and par 3 and 4 scoring average.

4. Xander Schauffele: 26th to 26th
Xander had the door wide open when the three in front of him missed the cut. I’m certain he thought he would get in with a decent showing. His T38 finish and $3,365.72 check was $975 short of 25th place. Had he shot one stroke better over the four days he would’ve tied for 32nd instead of tied for 38th. That would’ve given him an extra $1,214.28, sending him in to 25th place. Ouch. He’s one of the hottest players on tour right now making seven of eight cuts and has three top four finishes in that time. My guess is he grabs one of the remaining 25 cards.

5. Kevin Tway: 23rd to 27th
The man who made the biggest fall outside the top 25 was Kevin Tway. He was in a comfy 23rd place, but a missed cut by four shots moved him to 27th on the outside looking in. He ended up being $1,521 short of 25th place. I’m sure Kevin has done the math himself, but all he had to do was make the cut and he would’ve taken 25th place and a PGA Tour card would be in his pocket today. He was coming in with a third and eighth place finish, but this missed cut would be his undoing. He’ll have to battle it out the next four weeks for the remaining 25 cards.

6. Stephan Jaeger: 24th to 28th
Mr. 58 himself. After setting the Web.com Tour record books on fire only a few short weeks ago and a decently comfortable 20th place on the money list. He then slipped and missed two cuts and had a 62nd and 21st place finish. This week he missed the cut by only one shot. Had he made the cut, he needed to finish inside the top 32 to make the PGA tour and stay inside the top 25 on the money list. In the end, he fell $3,243 short of the 25th spot. My goodness how a few weeks can change everything. Let’s see if he can get some of the 58 magic back and grab one of the remaining cards.

7. Andrew Svoboda: 25th to 29th
The man that had the last spot going into the event knew he needed a solid finish and fell woefully short of that. He ended up missing the cut by seven shots and was $3,587 short of 25th place. Had he made the cut, he would’ve needed a top 32 finish to remain inside the top 25. Being quite honest, he really didn’t deserve to stay inside the top 25 with his play recently. He’s only made two of his last 12 cuts and seven of 21 overall. The only thing keeping him close was the win in April.

That’s it for this week. With the Web.com Tour regular season over, I’m definitely excited to see which guys grab the remaining 25 cards. Those will be determined by a new money list over the next four tournaments. Basically, 125 guys will be competing for those 25 cards (the next 50 on Web.com Tour money list and the guys who finished 126th – 200th on the FedEx Cup Standings). 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 final standings on the regular season Top 25. Next week the Web.com Tour heads to Ohio for the DAP Championship. Thanks again and follow me on Twitter: @Keagan28.

RANK            PLAYER                          COMBINED
1                     Wesley Bryan                  $449,392
2                     Richy Werenski              $351,770
3                     J.J. Spaun                        $350,832
4                    Ryan Brehm                     $281,808
5                     Martin Flores                  $281,403
6                    Ollie Schniederjans         $279,127
7                     Dominic Bozzelli             $214,307
8                    Trey Mullinax                  $212,016
9                     Seamus Power                $209,590
10                  JT Poston                          $205,597
11                   Cheng Tsung Pan           $204,075
12                   Ryan Armour                 $200,629
13                   Jonathan Randolph       $195,248
14                  Brad Fritsch                     $194,857
15                  Brian Campbell               $180,324
16                  Mark Anderson                $169,499
17                  Mackenzie Hughes          $167,369
18                  Grayson Murray              $159,963
19                  Brandon Hagy                  $158,966
20                 Julian Etulain                   $158,860
21                  Nicholas Lindheim          $158,654
22                 Sebastian Munoz              $156,671
23                 Max Homa                         $155,653
24                 Rick Lamb                         $154,368
25                 Joel Dahmen                     $150,267

Top 25 earn PGA Tour Cards
26                 Xander Schauffele            $149,292
27                 Kevin Tway                         $148,746

Moved inside the top 25
• Rick Lamb: 27th to 24th
• Ryan Brehm: 30th to 4th
• Mark Anderson: 51st to 16th

Moved outside the top 25
• Kevin Tway: 23rd to 27th
• Stephan Jaeger: 24th to 26th
• Andrew Svoboda: 25th to 29th

More information on the rules regarding eligibility for the Web.com Tour Finals and the remaining 25 PGA Tour cards.
The Web.com Tour Finals have been in existence since 2013, when the PGA Tour moved to a wrap-around schedule and eliminated offering PGA Tour cards through Q-school.

The four-event series runs concurrently with the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs, and it determines the fate of 50 PGA Tour cards.

A total of 150 players qualify for the series: the top 75 players on the Web.com Tour regular season money list and the players who finished 126th through 200th on the PGA Tour regular season FedEx Cup points list (that is, the first 75 players who didn’t qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs).

While the fate of 50 PGA Tour cards are decided in the Web.com Tour Finals, the recipients of 25 of those cards is already known before the series starts. The top 25 players on the Web.com Tour regular season money list automatically earn PGA Tour status for the next season.

Ultimately, then, 125 players are competing in the Web.com Tour Finals for another 25 PGA Tour cards, and those are determined based on the total money earned during the four Web.com Tour Finals events.

As for the top 25 in the Web.com Tour regular season money list, they are playing in the series to determine their priority order for the start of the next PGA Tour season. Priority order dictates the order in which players gain entry into most PGA Tour events. In other words, the better a player’s priority ranking, the more likely they are to get into a tournament.

The top 25 on the Web.com Tour regular season money list are part of a separate money list for the Web.com Tour Finals, however. Instead of starting at $0 like the other 125 players on the Web.com Tour Finals money list, those players start with all the money they earned in the Web.com Tour regular season, which can be added to their Web.com Tour Finals money.

In addition, a player who finishes in the top 25 on the Web.com Tour regular season money list can improve his priority order for next season by finishing higher on the Web.com Tour Finals money list.

As a reward, two players earn fully exempt status for the next PGA Tour season, meaning their status is not subject to money-based priority reshuffles at key points through the season. Those players are the winner of the Web.com Tour Finals money list and the player among the top 25 Web.com Tour regular season money list to earn the most combined money between the regular season and the Finals. Both players are also exempt into The Players Championship.

Altogether, the priority order for the 50 cards alternates between players on the Web.com Tour Finals money list and the top 25 players from the Web.com Tour regular season money list, ranked based on their combined money between the regular season and the finals.
As for the 100 players who don’t earn enough money to earn PGA Tour cards, their playing privileges for the next season are determined this way:

• Players 26-50 on the Web.com Tour Finals money list earn fully exempt Web.com Tour status for the next season
• Players 51-75 on the Web.com Tour Finals money list are exempt into the finals of Web.com Tour Q-school
• Players who finished No. 26-75 on the Web.com Tour regular season money list are fully exempt on the Web.com Tour for the next season, if they don’t earn a PGA Tour card in the Web.com Tour Finals
• Players who finished Nos. 76-100 on the Web.com Tour regular season money list will have conditional status for the next season on the Web.com Tour and be exempt into the second stage of Web.com Tour Q-school
• All players who make the Web.com Tour Final at least earn conditional Web.com Tour status
• Players finishing Nos. 101-150 on the Web.com Tour Finals money list are exempt into the second stage of Web.com Tour Q-school if they need to improve their status
• Players who finished Nos. 126-150 on the FedEx Cup regular season points list have conditional PGA Tour status, no matter what happens in the Web.com Tour Finals, after the 50 card earners from the Web.com Tour regular season and Web.com Tour Finals money lists, and they’re fully exempt on the Web.com Tour for the next season