Former Fort Collins resident Sam Saunders came thisclose to qualifying for the FedExCup Playoffs and guaranteeing himself fully-exempt status on the PGA Tour for the 2017-18 wraparound season.
But it was not to be for Arnold Palmer’s grandson.
The top 125 players in the FedExCup points standings after the Wyndham Championship earned spots in the playoffs. And though Saunders was in good shape to advance going into the weekend in Greensboro, N.C., he fell narrowly short on Sunday.
After going 63-68 his first round rounds at the Wyndham, Saunders (pictured) carded scores of 72-69 on the weekend, falling two strokes shy of what he needed to jump into the top 125 following the Tour’s regular-season finale. He ended up in the 129th spot in the standings.
“It was the least-enjoyable round of golf I’ve ever played in my life,” Saunders told pgatour.com on Sunday. “You don’t know if you’re going to throw up or have a heart attack. It’s worse than trying to win a tournament, tenfold. “¦ I’ve never had to birdie one hole to change my life for the entire year. And that just kills me.”
By finishing between 126 and 150 in points, Saunders will at least have conditional status on the PGA Tour next season. But he could become fully exempt by finishing in the top 25 on the money list for the upcoming four-tournament Web.com Tour Finals.
The players who finish 126-200 on the FedExCup points list will compete in the Web.com Finals, along with 75 players from the Web money list. Also figuring to play in the Web Finals are Denver native Mark Hubbard (184th in FedExCup points) and former CoBank Colorado Open low amateur Zac Blair, who finished 126th in the FedExCup points list.
One player with strong Colorado ties who will be in the FedExCup Playoffs is former Colorado State University golfer Martin Laird, who finished 57th in the regular season.
For the FedExCup points list, CLICK HERE.
