Cinderella Sunday

It's opposite-field week, and there are always plenty of good storylines. There is also an LPGA event, a Senior Major, a Challenge Tour event, and much more. I'll be watching some of the storylines heading into the final round. 

Myrtle Beach

Chris Gotterup—Gotterup had a stellar career at Rutgers and then went to Oklahoma for his fifth year. All he did there was average 69.83, the third best in school history. He was Big 12 Player of the Year and named an All-American. He has struggled so far in his rookie season on Tour, but a win here feels like it could jumpstart what should be an awesome career. 

Eric Van Rooyen—The University of Minnesota alum is looking for his first win since losing his best friend and former teammate Jon Trasamar. Van Rooyen's last win came in Mexico and was very emotional, as Trasamar was nearing the end of his battle with cancer. (I wrote about Jon's battle here.) He is looking for his third career win. 

Jorge Campillo—The 37-year-old Campillo's first win on the European Tour came on his 229th start, ten years after turning pro. He is looking for his first PGA Tour win in his rookie year after finishing in the top 10 in Euro Tour points last year to earn his PGA Tour card. 

Robert MacIntyre—The Scotsman has struggled in his rookie year on Tour and sits 115th in points. However, his talent is not to be discounted, and like Gotterup, it would be no surprise to see this jumpstart his season. MacIntyre went 2-0-1 in the Ryder Cup last year and beat Wyndham Clark in singles. 

Patton Kizzire—The two-time winner has been on the Monday Q grind for parts of this season, but after missing six cuts in a row, Kizzire has found a bit of a groove. He has made three cuts in a row (one being the team event at the Zurich), and all three finishes were T28 or better. At 142nd in points, a solid Sunday will go a long way to helping him move up the points list. 

Alistair Docherty- Four years ago, Alistair Docherty sent me a message on the way to a KFT Monday Q. He was out of money and planning to stay in his car for the night to save the last little bit of money he had. I messaged a fantastic friend who has helped so many golfers, and later that week, he sent Alistair $15,000. (Alistair also got through that Monday Q). Now, in just his second career Tour start, he sits T19 heading into the final round. He has full KFT status, so a top-10 here would create an interesting dilemma of playing the Tour event in a few weeks or keep grinding on KFT. It would be an excellent problem to have. 

Blades Brown—Just 16 years old and in his first-ever Tour start, Brown shot a third-round 66 to move up to T22. Although amateurs don't get into the next Tour event, it would be no surprise to see Brown get more exemptions based on his play this week. 

Leaderboard

LPGA

Madelene Sagstrom: The seven-year veteran has nearly $4 million in career earnings and looks for her second win. Her last win came in 2020. If you don't know her story, this podcast from No Laying Up is worth your time. She talks about being sexually abused as a kid and the effect it has had on her life. I was lucky to have dinner with her last year; she is amazingly kind, funny, and open. It would be a great story if she won. She is one ahead of Rose Zhang and 11 ahead of a group in third, including Nelly Korda. 

Nelly: Six in a row seems unlikely, barring a collapse by Zhang and Sagstrom, but her amazing play continues. I look forward to seeing her in action at Liberty National next week. 

Gabriela Ruffels—The talented 24-year-old won three times on the Epson Tour last season, so it is no surprise to see her playing well early this season. A third a few weeks ago was part of a three-week run during which her worst finish was T15. She heads into the final round, tied for third with Nelly and Sei Young Kim. 

Leaderboard

Epson Tour

The story is the event itself. It wasn't long ago that the Epson Tour had $100,000 purses; today, the winner will get $60,000, and the purse is $400,000. The Tour's progress is vital to women's golf and awesome to see. Dana Fall leads, and Michelle Zhang is one back. 

Leaderboard

Challenge Tour

The DP World (Euro) Tour was off this week, but the Challenge Tour (Euro's version of KFT) played in Spain. When I was typing this morning, there were seven holes to play, and Spaniard Joel Moscatel was leading. 

Leaderboard

Ladies European Tour

Hyo-Joo Kim won in her home country of South Korea, earning her first LET win. She has six LPGA and 14 Korean Tour wins. She beat Charley Hull by three. 

Leaderboard

Champions Tour

Doug Barron, who earned status on the Champions Tour in 2019 after winning the week he Monday Q'd is tied for the lead with Ernie Els.

Leaderboard

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