It's Complicated

Eric Cole is 52nd in the FedEx Cup standings; he has made nearly $1.5 million on the PGA Tour this season, lost in a playoff at the Honda Classic, and basically has his card locked up for next season. Yet last week he played in (and won) a mini-tour event; this week he is playing in a Korn Ferry event. It has created a lot of debate among players about whether he should be playing in those lesser events. 

After a T-39 early this month at the Valero Texas Open, Cole flew home to Florida. He arrived around 1 a.m., and seven hours later he stood on the tee for the first round of a three-day Minor League Tour event, a Florida mini-tour circuit that counts Brooks Koepka among its former champions. While Koepka and other big names in the game were at Augusta National, Cole shot rounds of 66-63-66 and won the $8,000 first-place check.

At least two players didn’t have an issue with Cole being in the field. Chris Wiatr, who finished second and won $3,920, noted that Cole didn’t take a spot from anyone and paid his $750 entry fee just like everyone else. In fact, the 30-year-old Wiatr was excited to see how his own game measured up against a player who has had recent success at the game’s highest level. “Sometimes the Tour feels really far away,” said Wiatr, who finished three shots back. “And I hung with him for three days.” Added Dylan Meyer, who finished T-6, “If you’re scared of playing a PGA Tour member, don’t even go to Q school.” 

Things get more complicated in regards to the Korn Ferry Tour. Cole is entitled to play in those events, but he most certainly would prefer to be in the Heritage field on the PGA Tour this week. Never mind the lucrative purse being offered for the designated event. In the wake of the Tour’s Wednesday announcement, there’s also the significance of finishing in the top 50 in the FedEx race at season’s end. The problem is that despite his solid play and standing on the FedEx Cup list, he was nowhere close to getting in the coveted event; at last check he was the 17th alternate. 

Also, it’s worth noting that for 10 years, Cole, now 34, toiled in the mini-tour world, and despite winning 57 times on the  Minor League Tour, he didn’t earn much. “I’m happy to have a place to play,” he said. “For a long time, I didn’t.” 

Cole added that he is teaming up with Sam Saunders next week at the Zurich Classic on the PGA Tour, and because Saunders is playing this KFT event, they planned to play some practice rounds together. “I am a professional golfer,” Cole said. “I have to do what is best for me.” 

Some players feel differently. Dylan Wu, a conditional PGA Tour member, was signed up for the KFT event but withdrew after a recent run of good play on the Tour. “I don’t think he should be playing,” said Wu, who is 56th in the FedEx Cup standings. “These starts really matter to conditional members. Eric knows as well as anyone how important these starts are.” Another Korn Ferry member, who asked to remain anonymous, agreed, saying “It sucks for the conditional guys.” That was a sentiment shared by multiple other players, although most added that Cole had every right to play. Many blamed the Tour for not having a rule prohibiting this.

Multiple PGA Tour members are in the field for the Veritex Bank Championship outside Dallas, including Michael Gligic, Kevin Roy, and Paul Haley, but all of those players are in danger of losing their Tour cards and are using this opportunity as a backup plan. (Three-time Tour winner J.J. Henry is also in the field, but he is approaching 50, lives in the area and played collegiately at TCU.))

Chris Naegel, the first alternate and the player most affected by Cole’s decision to play, has no problem with it, saying, “Eric has every right to be here.” Michael Gellerman was among the players echoing the thoughts of Naegel, adding "I don't anyone who loves to play golf that much, but he's earned the right to play when he want." 

Making the situation that much more complicated is that the second reshuffle of the season will take place after the Suncoast Classic, next week, meaning these starts are vital to players who got off to a slow start this season. A good finish this week, and maybe just a made cut, could lead to a full KFT schedule for the rest of the season. Additionally, many players brought up what Korn Ferry fields might look like next year, with the designated events on the PGA Tour having smaller  fields.

It’s just one more issue in what has become a complicated year in professional golf. 

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