Brandon Harkins plays with Tiger, then earns PLAYERS berth

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Sunday was not a normal day for PGA TOUR rookie Brandon Harkins. The recent Web.com Tour graduate knew that if a player already exempt into THE PLAYERS Championship won the Wells Fargo Championship, he would gain entry into his first PLAYERS. (If a previously non-exempt player won, he would be slotted as first alternate to compete this week at TPC Sawgrass’ PLAYERS Stadium Course.) Harkins also knew that he would be playing Sunday’s final round at Quail Hollow Club with 79-time TOUR winner Tiger Woods. “My phone was going crazy all Saturday night,â€� said Harkins with a laugh. “I have friends that were texting me, saying, ‘I don’t know if you know, but you’re playing with Tiger.’ “I said, ‘Yeah, I’m aware. Thanks, guys.’â€� The 31-year-old relished the experience with Woods, enjoying the back-and-forth on a variety of topics. Later in the afternoon, as Aaron Wise battled Jason Day down the stretch, the scenario became clear: A Wise win would bump Harkins from THE PLAYERS field. A Day win meant Harkins would be assured a spot at TPC Sawgrass. With two birdies in the final three holes, Day took his 12th PGA TOUR title, and Harkins had a Thursday tee time as part of golf’s strongest field. “Coming into last week, I didn’t even have plans to come here,â€� said Harkins, standing just off the TPC Sawgrass practice range on Monday afternoon, as he readied to play the back nine for the first time. “Then the TOUR came out with the mock field list, and I was in here. “It’s too bad that Aaron didn’t get the win, but it is what it is … it’s awesome to be here, and Aaron will be here next year for sure. It was kind of a goal at the beginning of the year, an outside goal … we thought if we could get into THE PLAYERS, it would be a very successful start to the year. “Being here, today as my first day, it’s really cool, kind of everything you thought it would be. I couldn’t be happier.â€� This week’s opportunity at TPC Sawgrass is a testament to Harkins’ successful rookie TOUR campaign, where he has recorded seven top-25 finishes in 18 starts, highlighted by a tie for eighth at the CareerBuilder Challenge in January. The Cal State-Chico alum spent time on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR Latinoamerica, as well as a variety of smaller tours, honing his game before a breakthrough 2017 season on the Web.com Tour, where he finished No. 21 on the Regular Season money list to earn his first TOUR card. Harkins credits the Web.com Tour experience for preparing him to compete right away on the PGA TOUR. Despite having made only one career TOUR start before this season (the 2016 U.S. Open), he recorded five top-25 finishes in his first seven starts of 2017-18. “I think it goes back to the depth of the Web.com Tour,â€� Harkins said. “Playing a full year out there, it no doubt prepared me to play out here. The way the schedule is put together … those of us fortunate to come off the Web(.com Tour), you roll right into the fall. You’re already in playing shape, and you know what your game’s like. “I had a lot of self-belief, and it carried over to this season.â€� A season that now includes a round with Tiger Woods. Despite the prospect being ‘a little nerve-wracking, for sure,’ Harkins found the two-time PLAYERS champion very approachable. Among the topics of conversation: TPC Sawgrass’ PLAYERS Stadium Course. “He gave me a few tips in how he approaches the course, about the firmness and how it plays,â€� Harkins said. “He said to just be aware of where you’re going to miss it, where you want to leave it in the right spots out there, because you can short-side yourself real quick. “He was saying to monitor how firm the course gets as the week goes on, because the course changes from Thursday to Sunday a lot. “Just being able to talk to him walking down the fairways – about that, sports and everything – was really cool.â€� A similar Sunday stroll with Woods at THE PLAYERS, preferably in the thick of contention, would be cool as well.

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