After a bumpy ride in his rookie season, professional golfer Blake Adams of Eatonton hit the PGA playoffs last weekend with high hopes. Those were quickly dashed in two rounds, with Adams missing the cut at The Barclays at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J.
The tournament was the first of four for the FedEx Cup, which wraps up later this month in Atlanta.
Adams shot a 76 and 77 on the par-71 course last week. He found difficulty in round one on hole 13, shooting a triple bogey and taking himself from 1 to 4 under. He then shot a bogey on hole 14 to finish with a 5-under for the day. In round two, Adams shot bogeys on hole 2, 7, 9, 14 and 16 and a double bogey on 17, and was able to pull down a birdie on the 13th hole after his round-one mishap.
Adams was not alone on the cut list with big names from this season, including Phil Mickelson, who was also forced to call it early last weekend.
There are a few changes from regular season play, including an increase in FedEx points from 500 to 2,500 per win and purses total to $7.5 million.
Adams is scheduled this weekend to be among the 100 competitors in the second playoff game, the Deutsche Bank Championship in Norton, Mass., where the winner’s share will be $1.35 million. To participate, PGA members have to be in the top 100 golfers. Currently, Adams is ranked 65th.
Wyndham Championship
Adams tied for 65th Aug. 22 at the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C. With consecutive rounds of 65, 71, 69, 68, Adams managed to take the opportunity to knock off some rust after being on a break for a couple of weeks.
“I hit it well enough to compete with the leaders, but my putting let me down. I made only two putts over 10 feet all week. That’s not very good. All in all, it wasn’t a lost cause, though. I knocked the rust off from my two weeks away from golf and made the cut.”
Adams was looking forward to a good showing at The Barclays and moving up the rankings to secure a spot in the Tour Championship in Atlanta in three weeks.
“My number should be good enough to get me in next week’s event,” Adams said. “Obviously, if I play well, I will secure enough points to advance far into the playoffs. We will see.”
To reach his goal now, Adams will more than likely have to come out and win in Norton, set for Sept. 3-6.
The next tournament will include the top 70 golfers at BMW Championship Sept. 9-12 at Cogg Hill in Lemont, Ill.
The final match, featuring the PGA Tour’s top 30 golfers, is the Tour Championship Sept. 23-26 at East Lake Country Club in Atlanta.
