Denver native Mark Hubbard loses PGA Tour fully-exempt status, but Korn Ferry Finals await; Taylor Montgomery barely misses getting PGA Tour status; Brandt Jobe, Kyler Dunkle, Robyn Choi notch top-5 finishes on various tours
By Gary Baines – 8/15/2021
This weekend solidified things on the PGA and Korn Ferry Tours for several players with strong Colorado connections given that the regular season ended for both circuits on Sunday.
— Mark Hubbard, who was born in Denver and grew up in the area, lost his PGA Tour card, at least for the time being. Hubbard, who has competed primarily on the PGA Tour from 2014-17 and 2019-21, needed to finish the season in the top 125 in the FedExCup standings in order to keep his PGA Tour status, but finished 143rd despite making 10 cuts in his last 11 events and posting three top-20 finishes.
The 32-year-old, who won both of the Colorado junior majors in 2007, will have an opportunity to regain his PGA Tour card in short order as he’ll compete in the upcoming three-event Korn Ferry Tour Finals, where the top 25 finishers will earn PGA Tour status for the 2021-22 season. Players who finished 26-75 in KFT points and 126-200 in FedExCup points are eligible for the KFT Finals — the Albertsons Boise Open Aug. 19-22, the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship in Columbus, Ohio Aug. 26-29 and the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in Newburgh, Ind., Sept. 2-5.
— Meanwhile, three players with strong local ties ended up with spots in the FedExCup Playoffs that will start this coming week. With the top 125 advancing to the playoff opener — The Northern Trust in Jersey City, N.J., Aug. 19-22 — Denver-area resident and former Colorado State University golfer Martin Laird is 65th in the standings, Valor Christian graduate Wyndham Clark is 81st after missing six consecutive cuts, and Lyons resident Tyler McCumber is 94th.
To make the second playoff event, the BMW Championship in Owings Mills, Md., players will have to be in the top 75 in FedExCup points after The Northern Trust. Then only 30 players will advance to the Tour Championship in Atlanta Sept. 2-5.
— Joining Hubbard in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals are Jim Knous of Littleton, Sam Saunders of Fort Collins, Cheyenne native Josh Creel, former Fort Collins resident Tom Whitney, Boulder County native George Cunningham and Taylor Montgomery, son of three-time Rocky Mountain Open winner Monte Montgomery, who grew up in Grand Junction.
Taylor Montgomery barely missed earning a PGA Tour card this weekend as he needed to finish in the top 25 on the regular-season KFT points list and ended up 26th. And Creel, who started his golf career at the University of Colorado, finished 34th on the regular-season points list.
Elsewhere for local golfers on tour this weekend:
— Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe tied for third place Sunday at the Shaw Charity Classic, marking his fifth consecutive top-25 showing on PGA Tour Champions, a run which includes three top-six showings.
Jobe carded scores of 65-66-66 — and eagled the final hole in Calgary — for a 13-under-par 197 total, which left him five strokes behind winner Doug Barron.
Since June 1 on the Champions circuit, Jobe has finished sixth, sixth, 25th, 13th and third.
Meanwhile, in his debut event on PGA Tour Champions, Denver native and part-time Boulder resident Jonathan Kaye placed 37th out of 65 players in in Calgary. He went 68-70-70 for a 2-under-par 208 total.
For all the scores from the Shaw Charity Classic, CLICK HERE.
— Former CGA Player of the Year Kyler Dunkle shot four consecutive rounds of 67 or lower in tying for third on Friday in the Forme Tour’s Fuzzy Zoeller Classic in Sellersburg, Ind. The Forme Tour is where many players with PGA Tour Canada status are competing this summer.
Dunkle, winner of the CGA Amateur Championship in 2018, posted scores of 67-67-65-64 for a 21-under-par 263 total, which left him five strokes behind champion Trevor Werbylo. Dunkle made 27 birdies in the four rounds.
Between the Forme Tour and PGA Tour Canada, Dunkle now owns four top-six finishes over the course of two seasons.
For all the scores from the Fuzzy Zoeller Classic, CLICK HERE.
— Former University of Colorado golfer Robyn Choi finished a season-best third on Sunday in the Symetra Tour’s Four Winds Invitational in South Bend, Ind. The former LPGA player ended up three strokes behind winner Lilia Vu and earned $14,102. Choi went 69-70-68 for a 9-under-par 207 total.
Choi’s best finish ever on the Symetra Tour came in September at the Four Winds Invitational, where she placed second.
For scores from the Four Winds, CLICK HERE.