Sponsor exemption Michael Visacki, a Monday qualifier at the Valspar, captured the hearts of golf fans everywhere thanks to a viral video of an emotional Visacki calling his father to tell him he made it into the event. It also caught the eye of Charles Schwab himself, who extended Visacki an invite into this week’s event bearing his name.
The 27-year-old mini-tour veteran admitted his first-ever PGA Tour event was “overwhelming,” and he shot 74-71 at Innisbrook to miss the cut by five shots. But heading into his second career Tour start this week at Colonial, he’s got a different take: “Top 10 for sure,” he said regarding goals for the week. “I feel much more comfortable out here. I know what I need to do. I realistically feel like I can top-10 it. … Everybody may have some doubts, but I know with my game and if I play well, I know I can compete out here.” The Central Florida product has more than 30 wins in mini-tour events, but he hasn’t competed much recently while the West Florida mini-tour he usually plays on has been on a break. He did play a local U.S. Open qualifying event, but missed advancing by two shots. Visacki notched another personal highlight on Tuesday when he played a practice round with Justin Thomas. “Double yes, please,” said Visacki regarding Thomas’ invitation to join him for a round.