On Monday, Whitney earned one of four available spots out of a field of 67 into the AT&T Byron Nelson, which begins Thursday in Dallas. In a Monday qualifier in Prosper, Texas, Whitney shot a 5-under-par 67 and birdied the second playoff hole to land the fourth and final qualifying spot.
Whitney finished with seven birdies and a double bogey in regulation.
The 28-year-old former Air Force officer, who recently moved from Colorado to Little Elm, Texas, will be making the third PGA Tour start of his career. He missed the cut in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in November and made his first PGA Tour check in January by finishing 67th in the CareerBuilder Challenge, where the 2006 graduate of La Quinta High School was given a sponsor exemption.
Whitney (pictured) spent 2017 on the Web.com Tour, competing in 15 events, with a best showing of fifth place in the Lincoln Land Charity Championship in June. He finished 89th on the Web.com season-long money list.
Also among those in the field for the Byron Nelson is Colorado resident David Duval, the former world No. 1 who will be making just his third PGA Tour start of the season. He missed the cut in both the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
(May 18 Update: Both Whitney and Duval missed the 36-hole cut. Whitney posted rounds of 72-74 for a 4-over-par 146 total, while Duval went 80-73–153. A 138 total was necessary to advance to the weekend.)
]]>Tom Whitney of Fort Collins won the qualifier on Monday, shooting a 63 at Boulder Creek Golf Club in Boulder City, Nev., while Jim Knous (pictured) of Englewood also earned one of the four qualifying spots by posting a 65.
This week’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, which runs Thursday through Sunday at TPC Summerlin, will mark the first PGA Tour event for Whitney, who played his college golf at the Air Force Academy. Whitney spend 2017 on the Web.com Tour, competing in 15 events, with a best showing of fifth place in the Lincoln Land Charity Championship in June. He finished 89th on the Web.com season-long money list.
Knous, a Basalt native and former Colorado School of Mines golfer, is headed for his second PGA Tour start, having also Monday qualified for the Waste Management Phoenix Open, where he missed the cut in February. Like Whitney, Knous played primarily on the Web.com circuit this year. He participated in 21 Web tournaments, finishing 94th on the money list with a best showing of eighth place in the Ellie Mae Classic in August.