PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – GOLF – The 2015 Web.com Tour season gets underway on Thursday in Panama City, Panama with the Panama Claro Championship, the first of 25 tournaments that will identify the 50 players who secure PGA TOUR privileges for 2015-16.
In 2015, 293 players will hold Web.com Tour membership, including 80 players from 19 countries outside the United States. This includes the five 2014 Order of Merit leaders from PGA TOUR Canada, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica and, for the first year, PGA TOUR China.
The Panama Claro Championship will be followed by four tournaments in South America in February and March, all proud to host the Web.com Tour and put their country’s beauty and diverse cultures on display for golf fans throughout the world to see.
The Tour’s early-season Latin America lineup includes:
- Jan. 29-Feb. 1 Panama Claro Championship, Panama City, Panama
- Feb. 5-8 Pacific Rubiales Colombia Championship presented by Claro, Bogotá, Colombia
- March 5-8 Karibana Championship, Cartagena, Colombia
- March 12-15 Brasil Champions presented by HSBC, São Paulo, Brazil
- March 19-22 Chile Classic, Santiago, Chile
“The Web.com Tour has a terrific year ahead and we can’t wait to get started in Panama,” said Tour president Bill Calfee. “The last two years have firmly established the Tour as The Path to the PGA TOUR, with the competition for all 50 cards playing out in compelling fashion in both the Regular Season and the Web.com Tour Finals. Like last year, we have a really strong lineup of players from all over the world who will put on a spectacular show for golf fans in all 25 markets we visit this year as they seek to join those before them who have gone on to PGA TOUR success.”
The launch of the Web.com Tour domestic schedule begins March 26-29 with the 24th playing of the Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by NACHER.
The 2015 schedule features 21 Regular Season events (ending Aug. 30th at the WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by Kraft) in which players will compete for the first 25 PGA TOUR cards based on Regular Season earnings. The second set of 25 cards will be based on a separate money list for the four Web.com Tour Finals’ events (concluding Oct. 4th at the Web.com Tour Championship at TOUR headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.). Also up for grabs at the Finals will be the all-important TOUR priority ranking positions for all 50 card earners.
The Web.com Tour Finals will feature the top-75 players off the Web.com Tour Regular Season money list, PGA TOUR members who are 126-200 on the FedExCup points list following the Wyndham Championship on Aug. 23rd, and any non-members who earn enough FedExCup points to also finish 126-200.
College/Amateur ranks will be well-represented on Web.com Tour
in 2015 by recent standouts
Among the 293 players with eligibility in 2015 are a number of recent collegiate/amateur standouts and new members who bring impressive resumes to their Web.com Tour rookie seasons:
Greg Eason – Age 22…Born in Leicester City, England…Resides in Orlando, Fla…Two-time All-American at U. of Central Florida…Won seven collegiate titles…Finished No. 5 on PGA TOUR Canada Order of Merit in 2014…Finished T16 at Q-School…Subject to third re-ranking.
Rhein (REE-in) Gibson – Age 28…Born in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia…Resides in Edmond, Okla…Attended Oklahoma Christian U…His 16-under-par 55 at River Oaks CC in Edmond in May, 2012 is recognized in Guinness Book of World Records as lowest golf score ever record…Finished 4th at Q-School…Subject to third re-ranking.
Oliver Goss – Age 20…Born in Surrey, England…Resides in Perth, Australia…Won a PGA Tour of Australasia event (Western Australia Open) in 2012 at age 18…Runner-up to Matthew Fitzpatrick at 2013 U.S. Amateur…Earned third-team All-American honors at U. of Tennessee in 2013…Finished T50 at Q-School…Has conditional status.
Hunter Hamrick – Age 25…Born and resides in Montgomery, Ala…Three-time honorable mention All-American at U. of Alabama…Won four collegiate tournaments…Two-time Alabama State Amateur champion…Finished T35 at Q-School…Subject to second re-ranking.
Andrew Landry – Age 27…Born in Nederland, Texas…Resides in Austin, Texas…Three-time All-American at U. of Arkansas…Won two collegiate titles…Finished runner-up at Q-School, posting five of six rounds in the 60s…Subject to third re-ranking.
Tain Lee – Age 24…Born in Columbia, Md…Resides in San Juan Capistrano, Calif…Attended Claremont McKenna College…Was 2010 NCAA Division III national champion and a four-time Division III All-American…Won 2010 Jack Nicklaus Award/Division III…Finished T5 at Q-School, after 65-77 start…Subject to third re-ranking.
Trey Mullinax – Age 22…Born in Birmingham, Ala…Resides in St. Simon’s Island, Ga…Second-team All-American as a senior at U. of Alabama…Won two collegiate titles and played on two national championship teams…Finished T118 at Q-School…Has conditional status.
Seamus Power – Age 27…Born in Waterford, Ireland…Resides in Charlotte, N.C…2010 East Tennessee State U. graduate…won five collegiate titles, including Southern Conference title twice, as a freshman and a senior…Had 11 top-seven finishes in 16 eGolf Tour starts in 2014, including two wins, to finish second on the money list…Grew up playing with Rory McIlroy…Finished T5 at Q-School…Subject to third re-ranking.
Curtis Thompson – Age 22…Born in Plantation, Fla…Resides in Coral Springs, Fla…Earned honorable mention All-American honors in 2014 at LSU…Won Dixie Amateur in 2011 and 2013…Older brother, Nicholas, and younger sister, Lexi, play on PGA TOUR and LPGA, respectively…Finished T11 at Q-School…Subject to second re-ranking.
Mike Van Sickle – Age 28…Born in Milwaukee, Wis…Resides in Pittsburgh, Pa…Outstanding career at Marquette U. included 11 career victories, five as a senior…Received All-American honors in 2007, 2008 and 2009…Was 2009 Byron Nelson Award winner…Two-time Pennsylvania Open champion (2007, 2008)…Father, Gary, is veteran golf journalist…Finished T100 at Q-School…Has conditional status.
Michael Weaver – Age 23…Born and resides in Fresno, Calif…Was a third-team All-American in 2013 and honorable mention in 2011 at the U. of California-Berkeley….Also received academic recognition while at Cal…Runner-up to Steven Fox at 2012 U.S. Amateur…Finished T112 at Q-School…Has conditional status.
Cameron Wilson – Age 22…Born in Stamford, Conn…Resides in Rowayton, Conn…Was a third-team All-American in 2013 and a first-team All-American at Stanford in 2014, capping the year with an individual victory at the NCAA Championship in late June…Was both a Ben Hogan Award and Jack Nicklaus Award finalist in 2014…Finished T28 at Q-School…Subject to second re-ranking.
A number of other players to keep an eye on in 2015:
- Ryan Blaum – Age 31…Born in Miami…2006 Duke U. graduate…Had nine top-25s, including five in a row on Web.com Tour in 2014, and finished 31st on Regular Season money list.
- Dustin Bray – Age 33…North Carolina native…Attended U. of North Carolina…Has overcome health issues in recent years. Finished third at Q-School in December.
- Sebastian Cappelen – Age 24…Born in Sweden…Four-time U. of Arkansas All-American…Monday-qualified, then won the Air Capital Classic last June.
- Rick Cochran – Age 28…Kentucky native…2009 Middle Tennessee State graduate…Uncle is PGA TOUR/Champions Tour winner Russ Cochran…Had four runner-up finishes, including two playoff losses on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica in 2014 to finish No. 6 on Order of Merit.
- Brad Fritsch – Age 37…Born in Canada…Campbell U. graduate…Was medalist at Web.com Tour Q-School in December by seven shots.
- Michael Kim – Age 21…Born in South Korea…Attended U. of California-Berkeley…Had limited Web.com Tour starts in first half of 2014 due to status…Starts and results picked up in second half of season.
- Tyler McCumber – Age 23…Born in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida…2013 U. of Florida graduate…Strong year on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica in 2014 included six top-10s and first two professional wins, in Ecuador and Mexico. Finished No. 3 on Order of Merit.
- Patrick Rodgers – Age 22…Native of Indiana….Won 11 college titles at Stanford U…Qualified for 2014 Web.com Tour Finals via non-member FedExCup points list, then struggled with back injury throughout Finals. Missed earning his card by eight spots.
- Harold Varner III – Age 24…Grew up in North Carolina…2012 East Carolina U. grad…Third in Greens in Regulation and Eagles-Hole Per and fourth in Driving Distance on Web.com Tour in 2014/rookie season.
PGA TOUR Canada, China and Latinoamérica Orders of Merit No. 1
PGA TOUR Canada / Joel Dahmen (Day-men) – Age 27…Born in Clarkston, Wash…Resides in Scottdale, Ariz…Attended U. of Washington…Won two events on PGA TOUR Canada in 2014…Battled testicular cancer in 2011…Former roommate in Seattle and teammate was recent PGA TOUR winner Nick Taylor.
PGA TOUR China / Hao Tong Li – Age 19…Born in Hunan, China…Resides in Shanghai, China…Won final two events of 2014 to claim No. 1 and earn Player of the Year honors…Also won two OneAsia Tour events in 2014. The first, at age 19, made him the Tour’s youngest champion ever…Moved into top 200 in Official World Golf Ranking at end of PGA TOUR China season (currently No. 192).
PGA TOUR Latinoamérica / Julian Etulain (eh-to-LANE) – Age 26…Born and resides in Buenos Aires, Argentina…Won PGA TOUR Latinoamérica tournaments in Panama and Peru in 2014. Lost another in a seven-man playoff. Posted six top-10s in 2014.
