Lucas Herbert – a PGA Tour player – file photo USGA
With the final event of the Korn Ferry Tour season, the Korn Ferry Tour Championship, now run and won, the fallout for a number of Australasians attempting to regain their full PGA Tour playing privileges has been decided.
At the completion of the eventand therefore the season, just two Australians will earn their playing privileges for the 2021 /2022 PGA Tour, Brett Drewitt and Lucas Herbert making it to the big time by differing means but earning the right to play for the riches available to them next season.
Drewitt earned his way back to the PGA Tour via the regular season after finishing inside the top 25 points earners for the overall season while for Herbert he gets the chance to advance his already considerable career by a 4th place in the opening event of the Finals, a finish which would play a major role in him finishing 14th amongst the 25 from the Finals who gained cards.
In this week’s event in Newburgh in Indiana, New Zealand’s Danny Lee finished the best of the Australasians when he tied for 20th in the event but he was chasing a top ten at least if he was to regain the PGA Tour playing privileges he has owned since 2014.
Lee failed to build momentum early in his round today when needing something special but when he birdied the first three holes of his final nine he was not without hope.
His hopes were spoiled however when he took double bogey at the 14th and he will now play his 2022 season on the Korn Ferry Tour, with the occasional PGA Tour start a possibility because of previous achievements.
Rhein Gibson also need a big week this week but in finishing in 41st place he slipped to 50th in the finals standings and will play mainly the Korn Ferry Tour for the next 12 months at least.
Lucas Herbert finished 45th this week but he will be happy in the knowledge that he is on his way to the PGA Tour courtesy of that earlier finish in the Finals.
Greg Chalmers and Aaron Baddeley were the other Australians to make the weekend this week, but they were unable to stage the charge they needed to return to the PGA Tour.
