In the last stretch, there are three players in this group of rookies on the PGA Tour who have one thing in common: none of them have won yet.
In the Dominican Republic, Chad Ramey is the only rookie on the PGA Tour to claim victory. His only other top-10 placing was in two events in Puerto Rico that involved opposing fields.
Based on two numbers, Cameron Young is in the lead with three events left before the tour's postseason. He rose to No. 19 in the world thanks to his runner-up result at the British Open, which marked his second major semifinal. He is ranked No. 13 in the FedEx Cup as well.
It's not just that he finished one back in his first round on links at St. Andrews or missed a playoff at the PGA Championship by one stroke. Young finished second in both the Wells Fargo Championship and the Genesis Invitational at Riviera. He has six top-three finishes.
Sahith Theegala is right behind him. He came up short of winning two tournaments this year due to a difficult finish at the Phoenix Open and a double bogey on the last hole at the Travelers Championship. When he won the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, he was ranked No. 437 in the entire globe. He is currently ranked No. 62 and No. 38 in the FedEx Cup.
This week, Davis Riley is competing in the 3M Open and is available to participate. He had two other close calls at Colonial and Mexico, lost in a playoff at the Valspar Championship, and has been so consistent this year that he is ranked No. 23 in the FedEx Cup.
Louis Oosthuizen is a living example of how swiftly things can change in golf. In the previous year, he was tied going into the final round of the U.S. Open and held the 54-hole lead in the British Open. At the U.S. Open and PGA Championship, he finished second.
He didn't participate in a single key weekend this year.
The only player to compete in all four major tournaments was Oosthuizen. That includes a 76 and a withdrawal from the Masters after the first round due to a weak back.
It was Rory McIlroy on the opposing side. With no trophy to show for it, he was the only player to place in the top 10 at all four major tournaments. Ten players, including McIlroy, made the cut in all four major tournaments.
The other participants were Tyrrell Hatton, Justin Thomas, Will Zalatoris, Matt Fitzpatrick, Hideki Matsuyama, Jon Rahm, Joaquin Niemann, Tony Finau, and Patrick Reed.
Rahm currently has a 13-game active streak, which is the longest in the majors. Prior to missing the cut at St. Andrews, Harris English had 15 consecutive rounds.
Bay Chambers
In order for Chambers Bay to host USGA championships on a regular basis, Bruce Charlton served as one of the project's principal designers.
Early in August, the U.S. Women's Amateur will be played at Chambers Bay, the site of Jordan Spieth's 2015 U.S. Open victory.
Robert Trent Jones II Golf Architects President and Chief Design Officer Charlton expressed interest in how the USGA will build up the course so that female players can utilise some attack angles. It'll be entertaining to watch that,
But after this triumph, its destiny is just as uncertain as the fall in the Seattle region.
Chambers Bay anticipated being a step in a progression that might take it back to another U.S. Open. The USGA Four-Ball Amateur was contested on the open course the previous year, and it received high praise. The 2015 Open's opening round was the first competition held on newly refurbished greens, which infuriated players and disgusted onlookers.
The Women's Amateur comes up next, and a Women's Open was supposed to come after that. However, Chambers Bay was not included in the USGA's earlier this year announcement of potential Women's Open venues, which extended through 2031 and in some cases beyond.
Despite his regret, Charlton expressed his continued optimism that a significant USGA tournament will return to the venue.
"I genuinely think it's only a matter of time. It goes without saying that you would like to see a big championship of that kind return and test the course once more. I believe it will," stated Charlton. There are indications that it is still a very strong contender for those championships. We are aware that it has been detected.
AWARD FOR PAYNE STEWART
Billy Andrade has been chosen to earn the Payne Stewart Award, one of the most prestigious awards for PGA Tour players, this year.
The prize is given in memory of Stewart, who lost his life in a plane accident in 1999, the year he won the U.S. Open. It is given to players who exhibit moral character, good sportsmanship, and a dedication to charitable causes.
It's pretty unique. I found Payne to be unbelieveable, and I got to know him well. To think that I now belong to this select club of previous beneficiaries who have all carried out the proper procedures leaves me speechless, in a true sense, Andrade remarked.
Billy Andrade and fellow Rhode Islander Brad Faxon founded the Billy Andrade/Brad Faxon Charities for Children Inc. for southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island after Andrade's maiden PGA Tour victory in 1991. Through its several initiatives, which include the CVS Health Charity Classic, it has raised more than $30 million.
Andrade and fellow Atlantan Stewart Cink sponsor the East Lake Invitational, a charity pro-am that supports community regeneration initiatives, each May at East Lake Golf Club, the site of the Tour Championship.
On August 23, the Tuesday evening prior to the Tour Championship, Andrade will get recognition.
DOUBLE THE SATISFACTION
By winning twice in one week, German player Marc Hammer rose 734 ranks in the global rankings to No. 380.
Martin Kaymer's longtime rival Hammer won the Weihenstephan Open on the German-based Pro Golf Tour. That was resolved on Tuesday. Then he participated in the Euram Bank Open on the Challenger Tour of Europe in Austria. On Sunday, it was over.
What is Hammer's good news? He is exempt now that he has won on the Challenge Tour.
This victory, according to Hammer, "shows me that I am doing the right things and I am on the right course." I'm overjoyed that I can now play Challenge Tour every week rather than Pro Golf Tour.
Rory McIlroy set a British Open record for the Old Course with 10 two-putt birdies over the week at St. Andrews. With a chance for five different victors, the Senior British Open is the PGA Tour Champions' penultimate major of the year. Since 2011, that hasn't happened. Jennifer Kupcho leads the LPGA Tour this year with three victories after winning the team competition in Michigan.
In the Race to CME Globe, she has closed the gap on Minjee Lee to only 292 points. Only Scottie Scheffler, Sam Burns, and Will Zalatoris have competed in 20 or more tournaments this season out of the top 10 players in the FedEx Cup.
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