The 2013-2014 PGA Tour season is over for Arkansans Ken Duke, John Daly and Glen Day after all three failed to make the cut Friday at the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C., and will fall short of qualifying for the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Bryce Molder (Conway) also missed the cut in the Wyndham, but he started the week at 115th on the points list and it is projected that he will stay within the top 125 to make the first round of the playoffs next week at Paramus, N.J.
A fifth player with Arkansas ties, David Lingmerth (Arkansas Razorbacks), made the Wyndham cut at 3 under and is tied for 49th. But Lingmerth, who started the week at 129 in FedEx points but 123rd in money, is projected to need a 25th-place finish this week to move into the top 125 in points. If he doesn't, he would be eligible to compete in the four-week Web.com Tour finals, where the top 25 finishers earn their PGA Tour cards and 60 others earn a spot on the Web.com Tour.
Lingmerth also would retain his card if he stays in the top 125 on the money list, which is a strong possibility considering his earnings will increase if he completes his final two rounds this weekend.
Duke (Henderson State, Arkadelphia) appeared on track to make the cut Friday at 4 under for the tournament after 10 holes, but he bogeyed Nos. 11, 13, 14 and 15 to fall back to even par and miss the cut by two shots. Duke entered the week at No. 152 in FedEx points and needed a top-four finish to make the playoffs, but at least Duke isn't in danger of losing his PGA Tour card. He secured that through next season by virtue of his victory in the Travellers Championship last June.
John Daly (Dardanelle, Arkansas Razorbacks) and Glen Day (Little Rock) needed to win this week to make the playoffs, but neither of them made the cut. Daly, who relies on sponsor's exemptions for most of his appearances -- he is also guaranteed spots in the PGA Championship and the Open Champion as a past champion -- started the week at 207 in points and missed the cut by two shots after posting rounds of 69 and 71. His 1-over 71 Friday included 1 double bogey, 1 eagle, 2 birdies and 2 bogeys.
Day, who has played 10 events on the Web.com Tour and is No. 103 in points, missed the cut Friday for the Wyndham at 2 over after posting a 69 that included three birdies and a double bogey. He started the week at 221 in Fed Ex points, needing a victory to secure a spot in the playoffs.
Day could still qualify for he Web.com Tour final with a strong finish in Portland (Ore.) Open, the regular-season finale.
A sixth player with Arkansas connections, Scott Gardiner, did not play this week but is eligible to compete in the four-week Web.com Tour finals, which begins in two weeks. The Web.com Tour finals, which has replaced qualifying school as the new postseason supplier of PGA Tour cards, graduates 25 players onto the PGA Tour, not counting the top 25 finishers on its regular-season money list. The next 60 finishers in the Web.com Tour finals earn a spot on that tour for 2015.
Gardner is 186 in Fed Ex points and is 78th on the Web.com tour with $55,000 in money earnings.
A seventh player with Arkansas ties, Sebastian Cappellen (Arkansas Razorbacks), started the week 24th in Web.com Tour points but missed the cut at the News Sentinel Open in Knoxville.Cappellen can do no worse than qualifying for the Web.com Tour finals, even if he finishes outside the top 25 on the money list.
The next opportunity for Duke, and possibly Daly, to play on the PGA Tour will be Oct. 9-12 at the Frys.com Open, which kicks off the 2014-2015 season.
Sports on 08/16/2014