ST. SIMONS ISLAND (Ga.) Harry HiggsNear the end of last season, he lost his entire PGA Tour card and took a step at Sea Island Friday to get it back.
Higgs was bogey-free on the more challenging Seaside course for a 7 under 63, giving him a part of the lead with recent Texas grads Cole Hammer Andrew PutnamThe weekend of the RSM Classic.
Even without the top 20 golfers in the world at Sea Island at the event, there are still many stakes in this final official PGA Tour event.
Hammer, who scored a 66 at Seaside in 1966, is playing as a sponsor exemption player and does not have full tour status.
Putnam, whose 2018 PGA Tour title was his only one, had a 65 at the Plantation course. He is playing for the eighth consecutive time in 10 weeks. He missed the Bermuda Championship in fall due to his making every cut, including a runner up in Japan, and because the weather isn’t great in Seattle.
Higgs is a popular all-rounder among his peers and it hurt to finish last season as he did. Higgs finished 14th in his Masters debut and missed the cut in 10 of his 14 previous events. He was 125th in the FedEx Cup. He missed the cut in three tournaments, including the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.
He now has conditional status which is a great opportunity. The PGA Tour can be stressful, especially with 70 golfers qualifying for the lucrative postseason.
Its always in your head. Higgs said that it was always there, even for the most elite players in the world. It can motivate you to work harder and make better decisions. It is important to not worry about it until March, or as soon as possible.
The leaders were at 12-under130.
Joel Dahmen(64 on Plantation). Beau Hossler(67 on Plantation). Sahith TheegalaHiggs score of 63 on Seaside was 1 shot behind Higgs.
Dahmen won the Dominican Republic title last year, and his exemption expires after this season. He shares his room with Higgs to enjoy the combination of the joy of playing and the pressure of keeping a job.
Dahmen stated that golf is very difficult and can turn sour quickly. To be able to play for… two-and half years is a rare opportunity. I have never had that in my professional career. So yeah, teeing up at Napa was like OK, were back to square one. You cant play well if you dont do well. This was something that I was acutely aware.
I don’t think about it when I’m out there, but there have been a few extra days of practice, for certain.
The weather was not as cold as the first round, but scoring remained low. The cut was at 4 under 138.
Hammer, who made his PGA Tour debut last week in Houston, made bogeys on the seventh hole at Seaside and the eighth hole at Seaside. These holes were two of the easiest holes for the day. He then turned the tables with a 3 foot approach on No. 9 and then a birdie shot from 18 feet on No.
He was bogey-free for the rest of the race and will be in the last group on Saturday.
I was a bit depressed after 7/8. Hammer stated, I put myself in great positions to make birdies and I walked away with two bogeys. Thats almost inexcusable. But coming back firing at 9 and then making the birdie on 10, erasing those 2 bogeys on the tougher holes, was huge for momentum. It also gave me a lot of confidence.
