Early debut for Gavin
Malaysian golfer to make first US PGA Tour start at Safeway Open
Gavin Kyle Green will make his first US PGA Tour bow earlier than expected.
The 22-year-old Malaysian will be teeing off in the season-opening Safeway Open at the Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa, California, on Thursday.
Gavin, the world No. 260, has received a sponsor’s exemption to be part of the 144man field in the US$6mil (RM25mil) tournament.
The tournament, formerly known as the Frys.com Open, has drawn plenty of attention as 14-time Major winner Tiger Woods will be making his first return in 14 months.
Other notable names competing are Americans Phil Mickelson and Matt Kuchar and England’s Paul Casey.
Gavin, who was once the world No. 5 amateur, has been making good progress since turning professional in June last year.
He managed to qualify for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro where he finished 47th.
He is now second in the Asian Development Tour’s (ADT) Order of Merit after two wins and seven top-10 finishes. Gavin is also certain to earn his ticket to the Asian Tour next season.
The top five ADT money earners at the end of the season will earn promotion to the Asian Tour.
And last week, Gavin cleared the first stage of the Web.com Tour Qualifying School in Nevada. The Web.com Tour is the developmental Tour for the PGA Tour.
After the Safeway Open, Gavin will return home to make his debut in the CIMB Classic at the TPC Kuala Lumpur from Oct 20-23.
He earned the right to play in the US$7mil (RM29mil) PGA Tour event after winning the SapuraKencana National Classic (SKNC) last month.