Drafted by the team he grew up rooting for, the rookie tight end is suddenly Lindenhurst, New York’s biggest rock star since Pat Benatar.
Can Tiger Woods pull off a miracle at St. Andrews? Will Rory McIlroy break his drought? Will a no-name shock the world? We go through the list of contenders and hopefuls.
TRUCKEE, Calif. – Preston Stanley led the way at the Barracuda Championship’s Monday qualifier, carding 7-under 65 at Hidden Valley CC in Reno, Nevada to earn one of four available spots in this week’s PGA TOUR/DP World Tour co-sanctioned field. This will mark Stanley’s second TOUR start in three weeks; he also Monday qualified into the John Deere Classic, made the cut and finished T51. Justin Warren was one of three players at 6-under 66 earning tee times this week at Tahoe Mountain Club (Old Greenwood), making amends for a missed 1-foot putt in a playoff at last year’s Barracuda Championship qualifier. He was joined at 6-under by Chris Naegel and Josh McCarthy. Three players came one stroke short at 5-under 67 – David Gazzolo, Jeffrey Kang and Zach Smith. In all, 54 players competed for four spots in this week’s field in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Click here for all scores from the Barracuda Championship’s Monday qualifier. Here’s a closer look at the four players who successfully advanced into the Barracuda Championship … Preston Stanley (7-under 65) Age: 29 Hometown: Katy, Texas Alma mater: Houston Baptist PGA TOUR starts: 1 Cuts made: 1 Best PGA TOUR finish: T51, 2022 John Deere Classic Notes: After spanning approximately seven years as a pro before earning his first TOUR start via the John Deere Classic Monday qualifier two weeks back, he has done it again with a six-birdie, two-eagle effort Monday to offset three bogeys … Holds conditional Korn Ferry Tour status this season after finishing T119 at Final Stage of Q-School but has yet to make a start. Finished T36 at the 2021 Chitimacha Louisiana Open in his only Korn Ferry Tour appearance to date … Wife Caitlyn won the 2020 and 2021 Greater Houston Women’s City Amateur Championship. The two met on a junior golf team from Houston that traveled to Scotland. They both played collegiate golf at Houston Baptist … He spent five years working part-time at Pine Forest CC in Houston … Blew a tire on his car in the week between the John Deere Classic and Barracuda Championship but has persevered. Chris Naegel (6-under 66) Age: 39 Hometown: Wildwood, Missouri Alma mater: Missouri Baptist PGA TOUR starts: 6 Cuts made: 4 Best PGA TOUR finish: T16, 2022 John Deere Classic Notes: Carded seven birdies against a bogey on Monday … Finding form this summer after earning a U.S. Open spot via Final Qualifying – then finishing T56 at Brookline – and also gaining John Deere Classic entry via Monday qualifying, proceeding to a notch a TOUR-best T16. He stood T6 into the final round at TPC Deere Run before closing with a 2-over 73 … Currently holds 52 non-member FedExCup points as he chases the equivalent of a season-ending top-200 position that would secure Korn Ferry Tour Finals entry; the No. 200 spot currently holds 79 points … Best TOUR-sanctioned finish is a solo fourth at the Korn Ferry Tour’s 2019 WinCo Foods Portland Open, including a hole-in-one during the final round … Was a frequent travel buddy of TOUR winner Adam Long, a fellow St. Louis-area native, during their formative years in professional golf. Justin Warren (6-under 66) Age: 26 Hometown: Camden, New South Wales, Australia Alma mater: Arkansas – Little Rock PGA TOUR starts: 0 Notes: Made nine birdies against three bogeys Monday … Holds conditional Korn Ferry Tour status this season but has yet to make a start; finished 148th at Final Stage of Q-School last fall … Began his college career at South Mountain Community College in Arizona, winning the 2016 individual national title at the NJCAA Division II level and helping South Mountain to the team title … Played his final two collegiate seasons at Arkansas-Little Rock before turning pro in 2019 … Grandfather Barry Warren defeated Bruce Devlin in the final of the 1957 Australian Amateur … Gained respect for his handling of a distressing situation at last year’s Barracuda Championship qualifier; he missed a 4-footer on the final hole that would have allowed him to qualify outright, then missed a 1-footer on the first playoff hole that awarded Mark Baldwin the final spot. Interestingly, Baldwin is also competing this week on a sponsor exemption. Josh McCarthy (6-under 66) Age: 25 Hometown: Danville, California Alma mater: Pepperdine PGA TOUR starts: 1 Cuts made: 0 Notes: Made seven birdies against one bogey Monday to earn his spot in the field … College teammates at Pepperdine included TOUR pro Sahith Theegala and Korn Ferry Tour pro Clay Feagler … Was part of Pepperdine’s national championship-winning squad in 2021 … Hails from less than three hours from this week’s host venue … Made his TOUR debut at last fall’s Fortinet Championship … Shortly after completing his college career, Monday qualified into Korn Ferry Tour’s 2021 Live and Work in Maine Open and finished T18 … Lists “The Greatest Game Ever Played” as his favorite movie, a biographical sports drama based on the early life of Francis Ouimet and his win at the 1913 U.S. Open at The Country Club.
The back-to-back long ball champ will attempt to defend his crown in L.A. How will the rest of the field — including a young Braves star and a certain Cardinals legend you might know — stack up against the Mets slugger?
The NBA board of governors is also expected to pass a rule that penalizes the “take foul.”
