2018-19 Korn Ferry Tour graduate reshuffle

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – Notes and observations from the final round of the Mayakoba Golf Classic at El Camaleon Golf Club. LEADING LIGHTS KUCHAR GETS IT DONE: Confidence is everything, Matt Kuchar said after winning the Mayakoba Golf Classic by one over Danny Lee (65). It’s the best kind of fuel, and there’s no telling what it might lead to. After a 4 ½ year win drought, including a sub-standard 2017-’18 season that saw him miss the TOUR Championship, Kuchar is excited to see where he can go from here. “I aspire to make Presidents Cup, I aspire to make the TOUR Championship, I aspire to win multiple times in the ’18-’19 season,� Kuchar said. “A major’s still on my list. Those are all goals for me and I think this will help leapfrog that. That confidence because of winning a tournament hopefully propels me to a great ’19.� There were some tense moments after Kuchar bogeyed the 14th and 15th holes, but he made three pars when he had to on the last three holes. His 22-under total broke the tournament record and also marked his career low on TOUR. (For more on Kuchar’s victory, click here.) NOTABLES BOGEYS PLAGUE FOWLER: Rickie Fowler made plenty of birdies at Mayakoba, where he was runner-up a year ago, but again was plagued by what he called “sloppy� play. He made seven birdies but three more bogeys in a final-round 67 that left him T16, eight shots back. FINAU ENJOYS WORKING VACATION: Tony Finau brought his family to Mayakoba and shot a final-round 69 to also finish T16, his best result here since he finished T7 in 2014. CHAMP FINISHES POORLY: Cameron Champ, who won the Sanderson Farms Championship two weeks ago, had a week of late mistakes. After making double bogey to end his third round, Champ made two doubles in his last five holes for a final-round 69 and T10 finish. PEREZ LOW PAST CHAMPION: Pat Perez, who won here two years ago, shot a final-round 67 to finish T6, five shots back of the winner. A new father, Perez has had a busy fall schedule and said he was looking forward to spending some time with his daughter, Piper. OBSERVATIONS LEE ENCOURAGED: Danny Lee couldn’t convert his birdie putt from 20 feet on 18, but shot a 6-under 65 that left him in solo second, one back. As for that putt on 18? He hit it right where he wanted it, he said, but misjudged the speed. The ball never took the break, and missed on the right side of the hole. “I really did hit it on my line where I was looking, but it was a right-edge putt all day,� said Lee, who picked up his best finish since he won the 2015 A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier. “I didn’t want to leave it short and I gave it a little extra, but sometimes it just happens, I guess.� It was Lee’s second runner-up finish on TOUR (T2/2015 TOUR Championship). PIERCY FLIRTS WITH 59: Scott Piercy (62, T6) tied for best round of the week and briefly had designs on breaking 60. He was 9-under through 15 holes, and finished with 12/14 fairways hit, 15/18 greens and 26 putts. “When I birdied 15 I got it to 9 (under par), I was like, I can shoot 59 if I put it in the fairway on 16,� Piercy said. He made three pars coming in to finish T6, his third straight top-10 of the season (T5/THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, T10/Shriners Hospitals for Children Open). “Just excited to end the year on a good note,� he said. “That was my goal for the day.� QUOTABLES They hadn’t seen me win in a long time.I found a little something on the range yesterday. SUPERLATIVES Low round: 62, Scott Piercy (T6) Toughest hole: The 428-yard second played to a 4.222 average. Easiest hole: The 554-yard, par-5 fifth played to a 4.472 average. CALL OF THE DAY SHOT OF THE DAY

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PUNTA CANA, Domincan Republic – For the second time in as many tournaments, Corey Conners will be in the final group on Sunday at a PGA TOUR event. Conners, 26, led after each round at the Valspar Championship in Tampa, Florida two weeks ago before dropping back Sunday. He said afterwards that it was a great learning experience for him and he couldn’t wait to get into that position again. He didn’t have to wait long. After a 5-under-par 67 on Saturday, Conners sits at 14-under par at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship and is just two shots back of the leader, Brice Garnett. He’ll be paired with Garnett and Tyler McCumber for Sunday’s finale. In a full-circle kind of way, Conners and Garnett were actually paired together at Web.com Tour Q-School in 2016. They both earned status that week for the Web.com Tour’s season in 2017. And now, they’re chasing their first PGA TOUR titles. Conners’ round was highlighted by a chip-in birdie on the par-3 9th after hitting his tee shot well past the green. He was below the hole and didn’t see that it actually found the bottom of the cup, but heard a cheer and walked up to see the ball having disappeared. “I was really just trying to make sure that I hit hard enough to get it up there, and kind of the harder you hit it, the more spin you’re going to have and the quicker it would stop. Just tried to hit a solid shot, came out really nice. I couldn’t see a thing from down there but got a little applause. I was like, ‘oh, maybe that went in.’ Got up there and didn’t see it… and there you go, it was in the hole,â€� said Conners. “That was a nice bonus.â€� Conners admitted the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook (home of the Valspar Championship) is much different than Corales Golf Course, but now that he’s been in the final-group scenario before, he’s in a strong mental state going into Sunday. “I think still I’ve got to do the same things, just got to trust my game, be patient out there, take advantage of some chances when they present themselves. But yeah, just be solid,â€� said Conners. “I’ve been hitting the ball really well all week and really looking forward to tomorrow, just keep doing more of the same stuff.â€� Conners, who played this tournament last year on the Web.com Tour, said he had a bit of a leg up over his fellow playing competitors who may have only been here this year. He looks to become the third Canadian in two years to capture a TOUR title (fellow Kent State University alum Mackenzie Hughes won The RSM Classic in 2016 while Adam Hadwin won the Valspar Championship in 2017). Conners’ coach, Derek Ingram – the national team head coach for Golf Canada and also a coach of Mackenzie Hughes’ – says he likes Conners’ chances tomorrow, especially with the final-round experience so fresh under his belt. “Very few guys will strike the ball as solid and hit more greens,â€� said Ingram. “I love his chances if he just played his game.â€� To the victors on Sunday go 300 FedExCup points and a two-year exemption on TOUR. Conners is getting married in October, so that job security is a big bonus, especially for a PGA TOUR rookie. The Canadian contingent have made a bit of a habit around big wins near big life moments, as Hadwin captured his title just two weeks prior to his nuptials last year, while Hughes got married a month prior to his victory. His fiancé, Mal – they got engaged just a few weeks ago – along with his mom, aunt, and uncle have been following him all week. But even with everything else going on around him, Conners is simply focused on the task at hand. “I have lot of confidence right now,â€� he said. “I’ve been playing well for quite a while, so I’m just going to keep trusting things and have fun.â€� OBSERVATIONS Garnett stays on top Brice Garnett opened his round with a bogey – the first in 36 holes – but despite Saturday being a bit more up-and-down than the rest of his week, the result stayed the same after the third round in Punta Cana. Garnett was in the lead. The 34-year-old shot a 3-under-par 69 Saturday and holds a two-shot lead going into Sunday. Although he’s never won on TOUR, he won twice a year ago on the Web.com Tour and said he’ll be taking a lot of that experience into Sunday’s final round. “I just know that it’s a long day. You’ve got another 18 holes, so much can happen,â€� he said. “Just going to try to keep the golf ball in front of me out here. I have that self-belief this week and that’s what I had last year when I won, so I’ll just keep my head down and just keep going.â€� Monday Qualifier McCumber Tyler McCumber has never played a PGA TOUR event, but he has a pretty good ear to lean on in terms of asking for advice. His father, Mark, won 10 times on TOUR, and was here at the Puntacana Resort & Club Championship early in the week as his son was primed to make his PGA TOUR debut after Monday qualifying into the event. The younger McCumber also has his cousin, Josh, on the bag. So the three McCumbers’ spent a few nights together in a hotel room dubbed the ‘McCumber Slumber.’ McCumber said it’s made him feel comfortable as the week as gone on, and, after a 5-under-par 67 on Saturday, he now sits solo third. “It’s been an awesome experience,â€� he said. “I definitely do feel like it’s where I want to be and where I belong.â€� McCumber admitted Saturday’s round – where the wind was blowing much stronger than in the two days’ previous – was tricky, and said it was important for him to keep his foot on the gas to make up ground on the leaders. He was bogey-free, the only golfer in the top five to not have a blemish on his scorecard during the third round. “Birdies were at a bit more of a premium, “ he said. Although McCumber has never played on TOUR, he’s had some experience in the winner’s circle having won three times on PGA TOUR Latinoamerica. McCumber is also looking to notch the best finish by a Monday Qualifier this season. The best result so far is Scott Strohmeyer (T4 at Sanderson Farms) and Trey Mullinax (T8 at Valspar). Lovelady looks for redemption A year ago, Tom Lovelady was disqualified from the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship on the Web.com Tour. This year? He’s back, and in a big way. Lovelady shot a 4-under-par 68 Saturday and sits fourth going into Sunday’s final round. He made just one bogey – a tough three-putt, he said – but was able to rally back with three birdies on the front nine. He was fine to get his one bogey of the day out of the way early. “I tend to bounce back fairly well. But I knew that it was the second hole and I have 16 holes left, I could have either turned that into a 76 or a 68. So I try to take the high road and realize I was going to make a bogey today just at some point,â€� he said. “I hate that it was a three-putt, but at the same time I went ahead and got my bogey out of the way and kept on playing golf.â€� Lovelady admitted his season hasn’t been going as consistent as he would have liked, but he’s hoping for a big result this week to propel him forward on a positive note. “I’m not scoring as well as I did last year,â€� he said. “I’m just kind of waiting for some momentum to kind of go my way and just kind of ride as long as I can.â€� NOTABLES George McNeill – The 42-year-old sits T8 through three rounds and is looking for his first top-10 finish on TOUR since 2015. He has some success in the Caribbean, having won the 2012 Puerto Rico Open. Denny McCarthy – Having played the first two days with Tony Romo, McCarthy was able to keep the momentum going Saturday. He shot a 1-under-par 71 and sits T5. He’s looking for his best ever TOUR finish. Seungsu Han – Han is T5 this week, at 10-under, after an even-par Saturday. The 85th-ranked golfer in the world hasn’t played a TOUR event since 2010. He won the Japan Golf Tour in 2017 and also got a spot in the Travelers Championship as a 16-year-old. QUOTES I think I flew my 9-iron over 190 yards, which is a little further than normal to say the least.Just having competitive rounds on this course, knowing where you can miss it, it definitely does help. SUPERLATIVES Driving Distance Leader: 340 yards (Tyler McCumber, who is in position for a top-3 finish in his first ever PGA TOUR event) Longest Drive: 349 yards (Johnson Wagner) Most Greens in Regulation: 15 (McCumber) Fewest Putts: 24 (Shawn Stefani) Lowest Round: 67 (Corey Conners, Harris English, McCumber)

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There is a beautiful unpredictability to golf. Nearly one-third of last week's TOUR Championship field was populated by players making their first career start at East Lake. Each of the last three (and 13 of the last 18) major winners were first-time major champions. And 24 percent of the current top-50 in the Official World Golf Ranking were not there when the year began. As the PGA TOUR's new wrap-around season kicks off this week in California, who are some of the candidates to burst into the next phase of their professional careers? Which players will have breakout seasons in 2020-2021? 15th Club doesn't have a crystal ball, but a bevy of analytics can help try to answer these questions. Harold Varner III Statistically, Varner III perfectly fits the profile of a player about to make a leap in 2020-2021. From 2019 to 2020, Varner III improved in all six primary Strokes Gained statistics. That was especially true in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, where Varner III has jumped from 93rd (2017-18) to 60th (2018-19) to 8th (2019-20) over three seasons. Varner III finished a heady 18th on the season in Strokes Gained: Total, a jump of 68 spots from the prior season. Of the players ranked in the top-20 in that statistic, only Harris English (up 82 spots) and Daniel Berger (up 76 spots) made bigger improvements from the previous campaign. An exceptional ball-striker, Varner III hit 73.6 percent greens in regulation since the Return to Golf in mid-June. Only Henrik Norlander (73.8) had a higher G.I.R. percentage among players with 20 or more rounds played. Varner III made the FedExCup Playoffs for a fifth consecutive season in 2020 - nobody should be surprised if he earns his first trip to East Lake in 2021. Will Gordon There were 181 different players who teed it up in 12 or more stroke play rounds from the Charles Schwab Championship through the TOUR Championship. Would you believe that, of that group, it wasn't Dustin Johnson or Webb Simpson who had the best scoring average? It was Will Gordon, at 68.17. Gordon made the most of his opportunities in 2019-20, finishing in the top 25 four times in just 11 starts. That included his breakout week at the Travelers Championship, where he finished tied for third and earned Special Temporary Membership for the rest of the season. From there, he earned more than enough points to acquire full status for 2020-2021. Gordon built a strong statistical resume, too. He ranked fourth on TOUR in greens in regulation in 2019-2020, 14th in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, and 17th in driving distance. Also boasting tons of clubhead speed - only Cameron Champ had a higher average on TOUR last season - Gordon could have a successful '20-21. Corey Conners A winner once already on TOUR, Corey Conners is one club away from being a force. Let's start with the good stuff: After leading the TOUR in greens in regulation in 2018-2019, he ranked sixth in 2019-2020. For the second consecutive season, Conners ranked in the top-15 in both Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and Strokes Gained: Approach. From the resumption of play at Colonial through the TOUR Championship, Conners ranked 9th on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and 11th in Approach. Now the bad stuff: For the second year in a row, Conners ranked precisely 181st in Strokes Gained: Putting. Only six players on TOUR averaged more putts per round than Conners did in 2019-2020. An undeniable ball-striking talent, Conners could win multiple times next season if his putting numbers improved to near TOUR average. Cameron Davis The 2020 statistical profile for Cameron Davis, 25, fits the prototypical young TOUR player. He makes a lot of birdies (23rd in birdie average), but also mistakes (99th in bogey avoidance). He is long and bold (top 20 in driving distance, 4th in going-for-the-green percentage), but tends to miss cuts more often than the top players (46 percent of his TOUR starts). These traits are common among talented young professionals. Here's what's uncommon: Davis in 2019-20 was consistent: He had positive Strokes Gained in all six denominations - Off-the-Tee, Approach, Around the Green, Putting, Tee to Green and Total. Davis ranks well above average in five of the six metrics, and is right on the middle line when it comes to putting. With an enormous international win under his belt - the 2017 Australian Open - Davis should pop up on more leaderboards in 2021. Tyrrell Hatton He has five wins worldwide and is ranked in the top 15 in the world, but the numbers suggest Tyrrell Hatton hasn't hit his ceiling. Hatton jumped 36 spots this season in scoring average, up to 10th. His Strokes Gained: Total went from 55th to 8th. Only four players averaged more birdies per round than Hatton (4.58 per round) in the Return to Golf. Maybe most encouraging was the fortitude he showed at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. In some of the toughest conditions in a non-major championship in years, Hatton held on for his first TOUR victory. With five top-ten finishes in majors already on his resume, a first major victory might be next on the horizon.

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