On top of the earlier success of Australians Cameron Davis and Matt Jones in the Web.Com Tour Final Series, Curtis Luck and Aaron Baddeley have today all but assured themselves of fully exempt status on the PGA Tour next season by finishing well enough at the Albertsons Boise Open in Idaho to be guaranteed of a place in the top 25 by the completion of next week’s season ending Web.Com Tour Championship.
Birdies at two of his final two holes of the final day at the Hillcrest Golf Club has seen Luck finish in a share of 24th this week and, now in a projected 16th position in the Final Series, he can look ahead with excitement to the possibility of playing on the big stage next year.
Baddeley finished 17th this week and is currently 20th in the projected standings and while not yet completely safe he would appear to need only to make the cut in next week’s Tour Championship in Atlantic Beach in Florida to be on his way back to the PGA Tour.
Baddeley already had limited status on the PGA Tour courtesy of finishing 132nd on the FedEx Cup standings in 2018 but the chance to regain fully exempt status will assist in scheduling and in earning starts in events he might not otherwise have been able to.
Luck was of course the US Amateur and Asia Pacific Amateur Champion in 2016 and has long promised big things in the game. He made the cut as an amateur on debut at the Masters in 2017 immediately before turning professional and has always impressed as a craftsman and an artist in terms of his golfing skills.
He has another event next week to improve his standing in the Web.Com Tour Finals but to a large extent it is a case of mission accomplished.
Baddeley should get there but he will be keen to play well next week.