GREENSBORO, N.C. – Turns out Jackson Koivun isn't the only player trying to go from college to the PGA Tour postseason. Virginia grad Ben James made eagle on both the par 5s on Thursday and only a soft finish with a pair of bogeys kept from sharing the lead with Beau Hossler in the Wyndham Championship.
The final tournament of the regular season determines the top 70 in the FedEx Cup who advance to the postseason.
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James, the No. 1 player in the PGA Tour University ranking that came with a tour card, has to win to reach the top 70. He was tied for the lead until a bogey-birdie-bogey finish for a 62, both bogeys coming after he missed 6-foot par putts.
Koivun earned his card from the accelerated PGA Tour University program for underclassmen — he clinched his card as a sophomore and deferred it one year — and is in much better shape at No. 70. Koivun missed some birdie chances coming in and shot 67.
Hossler is at No. 122 in the FedEx Cup and also has to win to reached the first playoff event next week. He ran off four straight birdies early in his front nine at Sedgefield Country Club, and played the the final holes in 4 under with a 30-foot eagle putt on the par-5 15th.
“Try and win a golf tournament,” Hossler said. “That's all there is to it.”
James, the 36-hole leader at the Canadian Open in his professional debut before crashing on the weekend, made a 15-foot eagle putt on the 15th that allowed him to catch Hossler.
With the chance at another 59 at Sedgefield, he three-putted from just inside 25 feet on the par-3 16th, birdied the 17th and then came up short of the green from the first cut on the 18th, chipped to 6 feet and missed the par putt.
Still, it was an impressive start at a tournament where so many players know they have to go low and finish high if they want to advance.
“Every week someone always shoots anywhere from 63 to 60 or 59 the first day, so it’s always there. You just try to put yourself in position, play the best you can,” James said.
No one had a more bizarre round than Sahith Theegala, whose postseason is safe at No. 43. He didn't make a par on the front nine — eight birdies and one bogey. And then all he could manage were pars on the back nine until stuffing his approach tight on the 18th for a birdie and a 62.
“Pretty wild,” Theegala said. "I've never had a round like that. I think historically I’ve always struggled to start rounds really well, so that was the first time I ever started a round with six (birdies) in a row. That was an incredible start. It didn’t feel like a fluke or anything, either.
“Got to the back nine and just stopped hitting fairways,” he said. “And really that cost me a lot of opportunities. Yeah, it was an interesting round.”
Eric Cole shot 63 and was in fourth, and the six players at 64 included five of them who are outside the top 70 in the FedEx Cup. The exception is Matti Schmid at No. 67, far from safe.
“I feel like I’m in a decent position if I play the golf that I know that I can play,” Schmid said. “I don’t really think about it. I just want to put three more good rounds on the board.”
Brooks Koepka, who returned to the PGA Tour this year after four years at LIV Golf, needs a high finish to reach the postseason and had to settle for a 67, which was closer to the cut line than the lead on a course that yielded 36 rounds of 66 or lower.
The focus is on those who risk finishing out of the top 70. That wouldn't be the end of their seasons, but most would need to play in the FedEx Cup Fall to make sure they finish in the top 100 to simply keep a full card for 2027.
James doesn't face those prospects because his No. 1 ranking in PGA Tour University makes him exempt through 2027. Even so, it would be a big feat to go from the library to the postseason in just over two months. Koivun put himself in that position by winning the 3M Open two weeks ago.
Hossler knew he had to win if he wanted to play next week in the playoff opener, but he is trying to keep it all in perspective.
“There's lots of players that this week’s performance does impact moving on or not or whatever,” Hossler said. “Obviously, every week that we play out here has implications for future years. I think if you let that consume you, it’s a dangerous thing.
“I'm going to go try and play great golf and kind of see where the cards fall.”
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf