Chesson Hadley needed something special in order to earn his PGA Tour card for next season. Having started the Wyndham Championship at 132nd in FedExCup points, he languished in tie for 51st through three rounds at Sedgefield.
Enter, something special.
Starting on the back nine, he birdied three of his first four holes, before a bogey at the par-4 14th. He bounced back with a birdie at No. 15 and then recorded the first hole-in-one of his life at the par-3 16th.
Hadley turned in 6-under 29 and added two more birdies – to no bogeys – for an 8-under 62. That put him at 12 under for the tournament and projected 126th in the FEC standings.
He had to wait to see if he had done enough to secure his card for next season. But first he talked.
In an emotional post-round interview with CBS Sports, Hadley choked up trying to discuss what this round meant to him.
“It just feels good to have something good happen,” he said, pausing repeatedly to gain his composure. “I’m not just out here for fun. It’s my job and I love it.”
Just two months ago, Hadley had a chance to secure his status for the next couple of years at the Palmetto Championship. The 54-hole leader by four shots, he was in position for his first Tour win since his maiden title in 2014, but he bogeyed his final three holes to lose by one.
“I hate the word choked,” Hadley said at the time. “That’s not the right word because that’s a very negative word, but I didn’t handle it the way I needed to handle it.”
He handled things brilliantly this Sunday, but he still needed help to get to the playoffs and get that 2021-22 card. And he got it from an unlikely source.
Justin Rose, a former FEC champion, was vying for the Wyndham title throughout much of the final round, until a bogey at the 14th and a three-putt bogey at the 18th.
He finished at 13 under par, one shot better than Hadley. But Rose started the week 138th in points and the final result was Hadley edging the former world No. 1 by one point.
A. Single. Point.
It marked the first time in Rose’s career that he missed the playoffs, though he is still fully exempt for next season.
Hadley was one of three players to jump inside the top 125 in the points standings. Roger Sloan, who was part of a six-man playoff, started at 131st and easily moved in. Scott Piercy tied for 15th with Hadley and went from 126th to 116th.
That, of course, meant three players had to drop out and all three missed the cut this week: Bo Hoag, 125th to 129th; Patrick Rodgers, 123rd to 128th; Ryan Armour, 122nd to 127th.
None of the three were already exempt for the following season and will have at least conditional status and a trip to the Korn Ferry Tour Final Series, where 25 PGA Tour cards will be on offer.
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