NORTH BERWICK, Scotland (AP) — The final minutes of the John Deere Classic brought yet another reminder how every shot matters, and how it can affect more than one player.
Ben Kohles was tied for the lead with Chris Gotterup when he hit 8-iron into the water on the 18th hole. His penalty drop, and then a free drop from a sprinkler head, gave him a 45-foot par putt from the fringe to force a playoff.
He missed wide right and it rolled out 2 feet, 8 inches away. The short bogey putt turned into a stunning miss, and Kohles took double bogey.
Instead of a two-way tie for second with Max Homa, he fell into a three-way tie for third.
It was costly for Kohles. Not only was it a difference of $318,200 in earnings, it cost him 100 FedEx Cup points. Make the putt and Kohles would be at No. 83. The miss moved him to No. 100.
But it did wonders for Homa.
The runner-up finish allowed him to move from No. 112 to No. 73 in the world ranking. Had Kohles made that short putt, Homa in a two-way tie for second would have moved to No. 84 in the world.
The British Open used this week’s ranking to fill the field. Homa was notified Monday morning that he had a spot for Royal Birkdale next week. Had Kohles made the putt, Homa would have been the fifth alternate and unlikely to get in.
The final 3 spots and a ‘Last Chance Qualifier’ for Birkdale
Aldrich Potgieter will be competing at Royal Birkdale next week. He’s just not sure if he’s in the field for the British Open yet.
The R&A has filled the field by taking 15 players from the most recent Official World Golf Ranking and notified those players on Monday. That makes Potgieter at No. 77 the first alternate.
He has two ways to get in. The leading three players from the Scottish Open not already eligible will earn tee times at Royal Birkdale. Then, there is a “Last Chance Qualifier” Monday at Birkdale.
The 12-man field will include the top two reserves — Potgieter and Matti Schmid. If they did not play, they would have lost their alternate status. If they don’t win the qualifier, they remain the top two alternates.
Even if Potgieter doesn’t get it done at the Scottish Open or the Last Chance Qualifier, there’s still a chance. Sam Burns is home because his wife is due to give birth to their second child. Burns has yet to withdraw from the Open, and there’s a chance he could still play.
Being first alternate comes with the possibility of a really long day, which Sam Stevens knows all too well. He was first alternate a year ago and didn’t get in. The first tee time typically is 6:35 a.m., and the last group goes off at 4:16 p.m. That’s nearly 10 hours of waiting, and a long flight home.
Patrick Reed and his fall schedule
Patrick Reed faces a big stretch of golf the next two weeks at the Scottish Open and the British Open as he tries to become the second American to win the Race to Dubai on the European tour.
Reed, who left LIV Golf before its season started this year, had a three-week stretch in the Middle East when he won twice and lost in a playoff. By being devoted to a full European tour schedule, he still has a lead in the Race to Dubai over Masters champion Rory McIlroy.
The tour takes a three-week break after the British Open, and it won’t be long before Reed would be eligible to play PGA Tour events again — his one-year ban from LIV Golf ends in September.
But he indicated he would be more interested in European tour events in the fall, such as the BMW PGA Championship, French Open and Dunhill Links, then some of the PGA Tour’s fall events. At stake is the Race to Dubai and his loyalty since becoming a lifetime honorary member.
“I don’t want to turn my back on it now,” Reed said.
He is virtually a lock to get one of the 10 PGA Tour cards based on the Race to Dubai standings. Reed said the only upside to a PGA Tour fall event would be a two-year exemption if he were to win.
European wins for big brother and little sister
The last two weeks have brought European victories for the Chacarra family.
Eugenio Chacarra, the No. 2 amateur in the world when he left Oklahoma State for LIV Golf, won the Italian Open for his second straight European tour victory as he tries to lock up a PGA Tour card through the Race to Dubai.
One week later, Carolina Chacarra won her first professional title since graduating from Wake Forest. She closed with a 68 for a three-shot victory in the Hulencourt Women’s Open on the Ladies European Tour.
The victory gave Chacarra, also a rookie on the LPGA Tour, a spot in the Women’s Scottish Open and the Women’s British Open. That two-week swing follows next week’s British Open, where big brother earned a spot from his Italian Open victory.
“It’s been a great few weeks,” Carolina Chacarra said. “Life is treating us amazing. My brother is my inspiration and to see him win gave me lots of momentum to keep going and try to win myself. I’m very happy. I’m super excited for the next month. It definitely changes my calendar, but it’s always great to play a major. I’m very excited and can’t wait to be there.”
Divots
Max Homa and Sam Bairstow are the only players at the ISCO Championship in Kentucky who are in the British Open next week in England. Bairstow made it through a 36-hole qualifier and then played the BMW International Open in Germany last week. One reason for Bairstow to fly back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean? He is No. 119 in the Race to Dubai on the European tour, which co-sanctions the PGA Tour event in Kentucky. ... Yana Wilson has withdrawn from the Evian Championship this week because of what Golfweek reported to be an illness. The 19-year-old LPGA rookie won the team event this year in Michigan. ... The First Tee is starting a chapter in Scotland for the first time. The First Tee is collaborating with the Stephen Gallacher Foundation on a new facility being located at The Renaissance Club, site of the Scottish Open. ... Nine players have turned down playing in the Scottish Open, which offers three spots in the British Open, to play the ISCO Championship in Kentucky. That includes William Mouw, who won the Kentucky event last year.
Stat of the week
Chris Gotterup has won all three of his PGA Tour titles this year with a final round of 64 or lower. He shot 64 in the John Deere Classic and WM Phoenix Open, and 62 in the Sony Open.
Final word
“We choose to do this. If you want to do it at the highest level, you choose to have failure, heartbreak, and on the other side you get so much more reward from the good, and that risk is worth it to me.” — Jordan Spieth.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Doug Ferguson, The Associated Press
