Ireland’s Power edges Canada’s Svensson for last PGA spot
SAN FRANCISCO: Ireland’s Seamus Power edged Canada’s Adam Svensson by $2,888 for the last US PGA Tour spot in the upcoming 2017-18 season after the Web.com Tour Championship, tour officials announced Monday.
The full list of 50 newcomers for the campaign that begins Thursday with the PGA Safeway Open in Napa, California, included 25 players from the Web.com regular season and 25 more from the developmental tours season-ending final events.
In those finals events, Power won $40,625 to finish in 25th place and capture the last PGA berth available with Svensson next on $37,937.
The Canadian began the week 17th on the finals-only money list but missed the cut while Power shared 48th, a closing par-71 to finish on six-under 278 enough to see him through.
Three other players from outside the United States made the PGA Tour from the finals -- Australian Matt Jones, Germany’s Alex Cejka and Canadian Corey Conners, one of five players from the finals who will be new PGA rookies. Other players have been on tour before but lost playing rights.
Among the 25 players who booked their PGA spots in August from the regular season were China’s first two US PGA Tour players, Dou Zecheng and Zhang Xinjun. Neither is set to play this week.
Others from outside the United States included South Africa’s Aaron Wise, Germany’s Stephan Jaeger and Canada’s Ben Silverman. All three are also US PGA rookies.
All 50 players were ranked in order to determine entry priority into PGA events for the upcoming season, with Power at the bottom of the list.
Jaeger topped the internationals on the priority list at 12th with Silverman 18th, Cejka 33rd, Jones 35th and Wise 36th.
Dou was 38th with Conners on 41 just ahead of Zhang. – AFP