Monday Qualifiers: Houston OpenMonday Qualifiers: Houston Open
On Friday, Julian Suri was two holes from beating Bubba Watson at the World Golf Championships-Dell Match Play. Â A win by Suri would’ve forced a playoff with Watson for a spot in the Round of 16. Watson birdied the final two holes to halve the match, then went on to dominate Kevin Kisner, 7 and 6, in the final. While Watson was celebrating his second win of the season on Monday, Suri was competing in the Houston Open’s qualifier. It’s exceedingly rare for a top-100 player to compete in a Monday qualifier, even those who aren’t PGA TOUR members. They usually wait for sponsor exemptions instead. Houston’s proximity to last week’s event in Austin, and the opportunity to earn an 11th-hour Masters invitation, likely contributed to his decision. Suri, who’s ranked 72nd in the world, showed Monday that he was a step above the competition at Woodforest Golf Club, firing a bogey-free 64 to win the Houston Open’s qualifier by two shots. Suri, who won on the European Tour last year, has competed primarily in the United States this season. Last week’s T29 at Austin Country Club, where he went 1-1-1, was his best finish in four PGA TOUR starts in 2018. Here’s a look at the four qualifiers for this week’s Houston Open: Julian Suri (64) Age: 26 Hometown: Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Alma mater: Duke PGA TOUR starts: 5 Best PGA TOUR finish: T29, 2018 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Notes: Suri has made the cut in three of four PGA TOUR starts this season, but last week’s T29 was his only finish inside the top 60. He has earned 36 non-member FedExCup points. He won once on the European Tour and once on the Challenge Tour last year. Dawie van der Walt (66) Age: 35 Hometown: Kingwood, Texas Alma mater: Lamar PGA TOUR starts: 28 Best PGA TOUR finish: T17, 2015 OHL Classic at Mayakoba Notes: Van der Walt, who was born in South Africa, won two Web.com Tour titles in 2015. He played his lone PGA TOUR season in 2016, finishing 171st in the FedExCup. Zach Cabra (66) Hometown: McKinney, Texas Alma mater: Sam Houston State PGA TOUR starts: 1 Best PGA TOUR finish: MC, 2017 Valero Texas Open Notes: Cabra, whose alma mater is located an hour from Golf Club of Houston, also qualified for last year’s Valero Texas Open. He finished his career at Sam Houston State in 2015. Ryan Baca (67) Age: 35 Hometown: Sugar Land, Texas Alma mater: Baylor PGA TOUR starts: 2 Best PGA TOUR finish: MC, 2006 U.S. Open; MC, 2010 Valero Texas Open Notes: Baca won the 2002 and 2003 Texas Amateurs. LAST WEEK Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship qualifiers T19. Tyler McCumber, 67-70-67-75 T35. Ryan Brehm, 73-69-71-69 T50. Vince India, 73-70-71-71 MC. Zach Zaback, 74-76 THIS SEASON Qualifiers:Â 47 Made cut:Â 16 (34.0%) Top-10s:Â 2 (Scott Strohmeyer, T4 at Sanderson Farms; Trey Mullinax, T8 at Valspar) Top-25s:Â 4 Most times qualified:Â T.J. Vogel (3)
