When it comes to playing in the Masters, everything Harry Higgs knows is waiting.
The first part took place on Kiawah Island in May when Higgs pitted a 6-foot par putt to crown a bogey-free 70 in the final round of the PGA Championship. And then he had to wait and see if he could make it into the top four and secure an invitation to the Augusta National.
Kevin Streelman helped by bogeying on 17, dropping him one punch behind Higgs and others.
“All we had to do was avoid him pitting it (from the fairway) because then I’ll be fifth,” said Higgs. “And of course I have a couple of bones to decide which shots to show and when. Streelman had met his second, but we don’t know where he is. Louis Oosthuizen hit his shot from 15 feet. And on the corner of the TV we could see a ball on the far right of the green. And we just started screaming and screaming and high fives and hugs. “
And now the actual waiting: the invitation by post, which is usually only sent during the holiday season.
Higgs can concentrate on the task at hand, for example playing the Houston Open this week, his fifth start to the new season.
“When I’m at home it’s constant. It’s like, that’s great. This is the climax. I’ve always wanted to do that, ”he says. “It’s not in your head all the time. But when I’m asked or go through details about booking a house or someone asks for tickets – it annoys me to death, but it reminds me that I’ll be playing in the Masters. “
During his time at SMU, he played the Augusta State tournament twice and was admitted to the training round on Monday. But he’s never played Augusta National and won’t wait until April.
“My understanding is that once I get my invitation, I can go myself and play as much as I want,” said Higgs. “They say ‘all you want’ – I’m not going to be the type to go 20 times and let them tell me I can’t show up anymore. But when I play with a member, I can bring my brother, my father, take a trip with my trainer, guys to Dallas. “
How much is too much It’s one thing to have an invitation, another to be the guy who never leaves.
“I’ll find a way to ask wisely,” Higgs said. “I guess if I go four times so far and in April that’s fine. And as I heard, you enjoy a round with your father, you saw it with your brother. But it won’t matter. Because by the time it starts, they have their thing to do, and it’s a lot different from what I’ve heard. “
KORDA AND KO
Nelly Korda and Jin Young Ko are neck and neck for the Race to CME Globe, victories and the women’s world rankings in the last two weeks of the LPGA Tour season.
Due to the drop in points and the two-year rolling formula, Korda returned to the world’s No. 1 this week. They are also # 1 and # 2 in the Vare Trophy for the lowest point average, although neither can win the award as they fail to reach the minimum 70 rounds.
Even if it seems like quite a struggle at the top, the Pelican Women’s Championship is only the second time they have faced each other since Korda won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics on August 7th (Ko on ninth Place) for their fourth place win of the year.
You have participated in the same tournament 11 times, including the Olympics.
Last month’s Cognizant Founders Cup is the only tournament Ko won when Korda was in the field. Ko played in all four tournaments Korda won. Korda has had the better result in seven of these eleven tournaments, including three majors.
MONEY CHUTT
Zack Fischer already had Korn Ferry Tour status. A 12-foot birdie putt on the Q school’s final hole gave him a lot more.
Fischer’s birdie made him a medalist in one fell swoop. Not only was that worth $ 50,000, but it also gave it full status for 2022. The next nine players are guaranteed 12 starts over the next year before a series of line-up changes to determine priority in the field too come. The other 39 players who ended up in the top 40 and were tied are guaranteed eight starts.
The 32-year-old Fischer was a medal winner in the Korn Ferry Tour Q-School for the second time after winning again in 2013.
This is his fifth full season on the Korn Ferry Tour. He has yet to earn a full PGA Tour card, though full status gives him another opportunity next year.
HALL CALL
Scott Verplank leads a class of five who will be inducted into the Oklahoma Golf Hall of Fame on November 21.
Verplank won the Western Open as an amateur and the NCAA title in Oklahoma State, then overcame diabetes to win four more times on the PGA Tour and play on two Ryder Cup teams.
Also to be included are David and Danny Edwards, brothers who together have won nine PGA Tour victories. You grew up on the Kickingbird Golf Course in Edmond, Oklahoma, and that will be a big part of the introduction. The other attendees include architect Floyd Farley, who designed the public course north of Oklahoma City, and longtime professional Art Proctor, the first chief professional at Kickingbird to teach the Edwards brothers.
DIVOTS
Sony Corp. has extended its title sponsorship on the PGA Tour for another four years until 2026. The Sony Open has been held under the same sponsorship since 1999. … Lexi Thompson competes in December for the fifth time at the QBE Shootout with a fourth partner, this time Bubba Watson. Together they have the most global victories (37) of any 16 two-player teams. … Sam Burns will take part in the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas after Masters Champion Hideki Matsuyama decided not to play. … The Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific starts on Wednesday, with the winners securing places at the Women’s British Open, the Evian Championship, the Hana Bank Championship and the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. … The French Open returns to the European Tour schedule next year and will take place from September 22nd to 25th, the same week that the 2018 Ryder Cup was held at Le Golf National. The tournament has been closed for the past two years because of the pandemic.
STAT OF THE WEEK
Steven Alker earned $ 841,849 from three full PGA Tour seasons and a total of 86 tournaments. He has made $ 896,207 in his nine PGA Tour Champions tournaments this year.
LAST WORD
“The freedom to be my own boss is nice.” – Brooks Koepka.
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