Wayward DeChambeau escapes with an opening 70

In recent months, Bubba Watson, Tony Finau and Louis Oosthuizen have popularized Ping “Blueprint Forged� prototype irons, which are made with compact profiles, thin toplines and thin soles. Oosthuizen, for his part, won the 2018 South Africa Open using the new forged irons. Many thought the TOUR prototype irons were hollow-bodied due to a screw in the toe, however, PGATOUR.COM since learned that the screw is simply to add additional weight. The Blueprint Forged irons, as of now, are a TOUR-only offering, meaning they are not available at retail. While Ping still has not confirmed that the irons coming to retail, a new iron spotted at the 2019 Honda Classic on Monday could suggest they may be available to the public sometime in the future. Seamus Power, who most recently was using a set of Ping iBlades, showed up on Monday of the Honda Classic with Ping Blueprint Forged irons that have a red dot on the back cavities. These differ from the dot-less irons that Watson, Oosthuizen and Finau have used in PGA TOUR competition. A Ping representative confirmed they are different heads than the previously seen prototypes. The red dots on Power’s irons suggest these iron heads are being made under the dot system, which uses different color dots to identify different lie angles on retail products. Power confirmed his irons are 1-degree flat.

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Seven players went home empty-handed after finishing second in Monday’s qualifier for the Sanderson Farms Championship. Such is the life of those trying to earn PGA TOUR starts the hard way. Tim Wilkinson won the qualifier with a 64 at Deerfield Golf Club in Canton, Mississippi. Ten players tied for second place, two strokes behind Wilkinson. Matt Atkins, Justin Lower, J.T. Griffin, Rob Oppenheim, Grant Leaver, Jack Newman and Zach Zaback were the unlucky ones. The three who did make the Sanderson Farms field include a player with past success at the Country Club of Jackson, an up-and-coming prospect and an in-state product. Garrett Osborn also Monday qualified for the 2014 Sanderson Farms Championship. He went on to finish T9. Dawson Armstrong’s strong amateur career included a win at the 2015 Western Amateur, where he beat future PGA TOUR winner Aaron Wise in the championship match. Chad Ramey, a Mississippi State product, is making his debut in his home-state TOUR stop. This season’s crop of qualifiers is off to a strong start. The Sanderson Farms Championship is the second event of the season with an open qualifier. PGA TOUR veteran Aaron Baddeley finished fourth at the Safeway, while Australia’s Brett Drewitt finished T25. TIM WILKINSON (64) Age: 40 Hometown: Jacksonville Beach, Florida Alma mater: None PGA TOUR starts: 161 Cuts made: 83 Best PGA TOUR finish: T2, 2008 Valero Texas Open Notes: Wilkinson finished 91st on the Web.com Tour this year after playing 20 or more PGA TOUR events in each of the last four seasons. He finished a career-best 119th in the FedExCup in 2014 after collecting three top-10s. He has eight top-10s in his TOUR career, most recently at the 2016 AT&T Byron Nelson where he finished fourth, two shots out of a playoff won by Sergio Garcia. Wilkinson represented his native New Zealand in the 2013 World Cup. GARRETT OSBORN (66) Age: 33 Hometown: Birmingham, Alabama Alma mater: Alabama-Birmingham PGA TOUR starts: 9 Cuts made: 1 Best PGA TOUR finish: T9, 2014 Sanderson Farms Championship Notes: Osborn played the Web.com Tour in 2018, making just three of 17 cuts. It was the fourth time he made more than 10 starts in a Web.com Tour season. He also played from 2008-2010, posting two third-place finishes. He finished a career-best 38th on the money list in 2008. His T9 at the 2014 Sanderson Farms remains his lone made cut on the PGA TOUR. DAWSON ARMSTRONG (66) Age: 23 Hometown: Brentwood, Tennessee Alma mater: Lipscomb PGA TOUR starts: 1 Cuts made: 0 Best PGA TOUR finish: MC, 2018 FedEx St. Jude Classic Notes: Armstrong turned pro last year after a standout career at Lipscomb. He won the 2015 Western Amateur after defeating future PGA TOUR winner Aaron Wise in the championship match. Armstrong also advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2017 U.S. Amateur. In March, he won the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada Q-School in Florida. He finished 34th on the money list after posting three top-10s in 10 starts. CHAD RAMEY (66) Age: 26 Hometown: Fulton, Mississippi Alma mater: Mississippi State PGA TOUR starts: 1 Cuts made: 0 Best PGA TOUR finish: MC, 2015 FedEx St. Jude Classic Notes: Ramey, the son of a course superintendent, adds to the local flavor of Mississippi’s only PGA TOUR event. He finished 80th on the 2018 Web.com Tour money list — barely missing a spot in the Web.com Tour Finals — after finishing in the top 20 in three of his final four starts. In 2017, he finished 16th on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada money list after posting a runner-up and third-place finish. THIS SEASON’S QUALIFIERS Qualifiers: 4 Made cut: 2 Best finish: T4, Aaron Baddeley (Safeway Open) Top-10s: 1 Top-25s: 2 T4. Aaron Baddeley, 70-67-69-69 T25. Brett Drewitt, 70-71-69-71 MC. Andres Gonzales, 74-68 MC. Mark Anguiano, 72-71

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