Patrick Reed appears to be from a bygone era of the PGA Tour, when a large number of available spots in each tournament were awarded at Monday qualifiers.
Times have changed and players are given tour status – and thus tournament starts – through multiple achievements, but most events still award four spots to Monday qualifiers, which is how Reed has made a name for himself this year.
A 21-year-old who helped Augusta State win two NCAA titles, Reed has no status on the PGA Tour. But that hasn’t stopped him from trying. Reed has played his way into four tournaments this year through Monday qualifiers, in four attempts. Last week’s Travelers Championship was his fourth successful try, and he made the cut and tied for 47th, earning $14,584.
“I’m 4 for 4, I’ve done it four times and I’ve qualified all four times,” Reed said. “It’s a great feeling. You know how hard it is just to get sponsor’s exemptions, with all the great players that are out there. I’m really proud .’’
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Twice this year Reed has been given exemptions from the tournament sponsor, so he’s made six starts on the PGA Tour. He’s made four cuts, earning $130,790, and hopefully getting the attention of upcoming tournaments that might be looking for qualified, deserving sponsor’s exemptions.
The money will also come in handy since Reed and Justine Karain – who also serves as his caddie – are getting married Dec. 29. The couple headed home to Houston after the Travelers and had the week off from Monday qualifying, because the AT&T National is an invitational. He’s expecting to head to West Virginia for next week’s Greenbrier Classic, where he’ll try to make it 5 for 5.
Welcome back
Reed didn’t get a sponsor’s exemption into the AT&T National, but Beau Hossler did, returning to Congressional Country Club one year after playing there in the US Open. Hossler missed the cut in last year’s US Open as a 16-year-old, but tied for 29th this year, when he led during the second round . . . It got lost because it came on Saturday morning (and was followed by a third-round 75), but it was nice to see J.B. Holmes shoot a 62 at the Travelers. Holmes, a two-time PGA Tour winner, had brain surgery last September, took the rest of 2011 off to recover, and has made 15 starts this year, with two top-10 finishes. He tied for 37th last week . . . The PGA Tour announced Wednesday that its developmental tour will have a new name for the next 10 years: the Web.com Tour. Since its inception in 1990, the circuit has been known as the Ben Hogan Tour (1990-92), Nike Tour (1993-99), Buy.com Tour (2000-02), and Nationwide Tour (2003-current).
Count them in
A pair of players with local connections qualified for next month’s US Junior Amateur, to be held July 16-21 at the Golf Club of New England in Stratham, N.H. James Park (74-70) of Deerfield, Derek Bard (71-74) of New Hartford, N.Y., and Clancy Waugh (70-75) of North Palm Beach, Fla., advanced in a rain-delayed qualifier at Longmeadow Country Club. Waugh is the son of Seth Waugh, who is the CEO of Deutsche Bank Americas and has been instrumental in his company sponsoring the PGA Tour event at TPC Boston . . . Leaders after the first day of the New England PGA Junior Championship, held at Black Swan Country Club, were Nicole Scola (74, girls 16-18), Megan Khang (67, girls 13-15), Patrick Frodigh (70, boys 16-18), and Owen Picariello (75, boys 13-15). The final round is Thursday . . . Jared Sullivan and Jack Griffin, 15-year-olds from Duxbury, shot 73 to win the Junior Division at the Braintree Junior Four-Ball. Because their score was lower than the 74 from Senior Division champions Jon Spitz and John Ducharme, Sullivan and Griffin were declared overall winners as well . . . Pam Kuong of Charles River Country Club shot 77, then beat Tracey Martin of Butter Brook in a playoff to win the championship flight of the Edith Noblit Baker Trophy, a tournament at Woods Hole Golf Club put on by the Women’s Golf Association of Massachusetts. Mary Harris (Ellinwood) shot 85 and edged Laura Stamm (Belmont) by one stroke in the tournament flight . . . Frank Vana was the top Massachusetts finisher at the Northeast Amateur, shooting 74-68-69-71 at Wannamoisett Country Club in Rumford, R.I. The only other Bay State golfer to make the cut was Richy Werenski (68-74-71-70) of South Hadley, who tied for 38th. The 51st Northeast Amateur was won by Justin Shin of Canada, who will be a senior at New Mexico State. Shin shot 68-71-65-65, then beat Jordan Russell of College Station, Texas, in a three-hole aggregate playoff.
Dobyns cruises
Matt Dobyns of Lake Sessions, N.Y., shot a final-round 70 and rolled to a commanding eight-stroke victory at the PGA Professional National Championship, held in Seaside, Calif. Dobyns finished at 13 under par, earning one of 20 spots into this year’s PGA Championship . . . Sherri Turner captured the inaugural Hannaford Community Challenge, a Legends Tour event held at Falmouth Country Club in Maine. Turner, a 55-year-old who won three times on the LPGA Tour, shot 71-67 to beat Rosie Jones and Val Skinner by four strokes. Turner earned $30,000 for her second Legends Tour victory.
Sweet 16th
Gil Barr likes the 16th hole at Meadow Brook Golf Club. As in, he really, really likes it, because he made a hole-in-one there for the third time recently. Barr was playing with Jerry Comeau, Jim Guarente, and Dan Antonellis; it was his fourth career ace . . . Speaking of impressive hole-in-one stories, Tom and Lynne Malone have authored one, because they made two. Members at Shelter Harbor Golf Club in Westerly, R.I., the New York couple each made aces on the same hole in consecutive days. Lynne went first, using a 5-wood to make her hole-in-one at No. 4, which was playing 178 yards. Playing in an outing the next day, Tom, Lynne’s husband, aced the fourth with a 7-iron from 152 yards . . . The Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund will hold its annual marathon on Aug. 8 at Stow Acres Country Club. The marathon, in its 20th year and the largest of its kind in the country, raises money for the charitable organization, which awards college scholarships to area students who have worked in golf. Players pledge to play at least 100 holes in one day, and spots are still available. To register, or to donate, call Colin McGuire at 774-430-9090 or e-mail colinm@ouimet.org..