A closer look at where PGA Tour’s SC golfers stand as playoffs near

Only four weeks remain before the PGA Tour’s playoffs begin. If nothing changes, the season will be a most forgettable one for South Carolina’s contingent at professional golf’s highest level.

Dustin Johnson’s move to the LIV tournaments cost the Palmetto State its highest ranked player, and currently only Kevin Kisner and Matt NeSmith can look at the wrap-around 2021-22 campaign with satisfaction.

Indeed, only Kisner, the Aiken native who starred at Georgia, and NeSmith, an Aiken resident who made All-American at the University of South Carolina, rank in the top 100 in the FedEx points standings. With the top 125 securing full status for next season, those two plus former tourney winner Richy Werenski (Aiken) and Lucas Glover (Greenville/Clemson), now at 107, can rest easy over the final weeks.

Kisner, No. 26 in the world rankings and 34th in the FedEx count, Glover (107/119) and Werenski have full 2022-23 status due to tournament victories — Kisner in the 2021 Wyndham, Glover in the 2021 John Deere and Werenski in the 2020 Barracuda. NeSmith, now 65th, will finish well inside the top 125.

The other 11 face uphill challenges with — barring a top-5 or better finish — only Doc Redman (Clemson) at 138, Andrew Novak (Mount Pleasant/Wofford) at 142 and perhaps Jonathan Byrd (Columbia/Clemson) at 151 having realistic shots at the top 125.

Headed into the Barbasol and Genesis Scottish Open that end Sunday, other state players and their FedEx rank: Bill Haas (Greenville) at 162, Ben Martin (Greenville/Clemson) at 164, William McGirt (Bluffton/Wofford) at 174, Tommy Gainey (Hartsville) at 184, Wesley Bryan (Columbia/USC) at 191, Kyle Stanley (Clemson) at 196, Scott Brown (Aiken/USC Aiken) at 211 and DJ Trahan (Mount Pleasant/Clemson) at 230. Werenski stands at 194, but he has the victory in the truncated 2020 season for a cushion.

Kisner has forged by far the best year among the state contingent. He has posted five top-10 finishes, including a second in the Dell Match-Play, a tie for third in the Sony and a fourth in the Players. He has climbed from 42nd to 26th in the world rankings. NeSmith and Johnson have two top-10s each.

Johnson, the Columbia native who starred at Dutch Fork High and Coastal Carolina, has long been the state’s top player. But he had struggled since his victory in the 2020 Masters, moved to November by the coronavirus outbreak. He had slipped from third to 17th in the world this year before leaving the PGA Tour. He had fallen to 95th in the FedEx standings through the Memorial Tournament in June.

Players who finish 126-200 in the FedEx standings will have the opportunity to regain status through the Korn Ferry Tour playoffs, a system that will end after the 2022-23 season.

If otherwise without status, nine players — Brown, Bryan, Byrd, Gainey, Haas, Martin, McGirt, Stanley and Trahan — can play from the former champion category, one of the lowest slots on the qualifying list.

After this week’s events, players who do not qualify for the Open Championship will have an opportunity in the Barracuda July 14-17. The remaining pre-playoff events are the 3M, the Rocket Mortgage and the Wyndham.

The three-tournament playoffs begin Aug. 11 with the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis. The top 70 in the standings advance to the BMW in Wilmington, Delaware with the top 30 moving to the Tour Championship in Atlanta.

Chip shots. Medalists in qualifying for the South Carolina State Amateur include Rye Tifft (Blythewood/Queens College) at Coosaw Creek in North Charleston, Rafe Reynolds (Greenville/USC) at Oak Hills in Columbia and Gage Howard (Woodruff) at Willow Creek in Greer. Tifft recently won the SCGA Left-Handers title, Reynolds moved into the Gamecocks’ starting lineup in the spring and Howard is a rising high school senior. Rafe’s brother Harry Reynolds (Greenville/Indiana) will defend his State Amateur title at the Dunes Golf and Beach Club in Myrtle Beach beginning Aug. 4. . . . The Midlands Chevy Dealers Columbia City Men’s Golf Championship will be played July 14-16 at The Spur at Northwoods, and entry information is available at www.columbiacitytournament.com. . . . Entries are open for the South Carolina Women’s Open presented by the Town of Blythewood, set for Aug. 12-14 at Cobblestone Park GC. The Aug. 11 pro-am includes an LPGA Clinic and a concert by Keith Burns. Register online at www.southcarolinawomensopen.com.