Andres

Gonzales

Gonzales traded five birdies and an eagle with one bogey while navigating Hoakalei Country Club. It earns him a third appearance at the Sony Open (MC/2013; T36/2017). The 37-year-old has played five seasons on the PGA TOUR but has been spending most of his time on the Korn Ferry Tour since the end of the 2016-17 season. Gonzales has finished outside of the top 90 on the money list in each of the last three Korn Ferry Tour seasons. All that adds up to make him a longshot to contend this week but stranger things have happened. Joining him from the Monday Qualifier will be MJ Daffue (67), In Hoi Hur (67), and Nick Hardy (68). For Hardy, he survived a 3-for-1 playoff to earn his spot at the Sony Open.

Gonzales was the third alternate when the field was published on Friday. He gained entry today when Dean Wilson withdrew. The rookie settled for a T72/MDF at the Frys.com Open. It was just his seventh payday in 19 starts this year. He’s currently 213th on the money list.

Gonzales also has a second-place tie on his 2012 resume and now leads the Nationwide Tour money list with $195,810. He’s a virtual lock to earn a return trip to the PGA TOUR in 2013. For the week, he showed that the Country Club at Soboba Springs placed a premium on accuracy as he ranked T4 in GIR and T12 in driving accuracy. The Nationwide Tour stays in California for this week’s TPC Stonebrae Championship.

In the field on a sponsor exemption that he essentially received via a campaign on Twitter, the one-time PGA TOUR member capitalized early, dropping in five birdies on his first eight holes. Three disappeared from beyond 10 feet, the longest of which 25'10" at the eighth. He gave back a stroke on his inward nine but not without more fireworks, converting birdies of 15'7" and 16'7" at the 16th and 17th holes, respectively. Gonzales was the last of seven to finish today two strokes adrift of the overnight lead.

What’s the big deal, you ask? Well, this is Gonzales’ first payday in 10 starts this season. He even did it in style, going 8-for-8 in scrambling today. He circled two birdies, including a beaut from 48'1" at the fifth hole, and kept his scorecard blemish-free with a par save from 20'2" at 13. The SJC is the final event of the fourth phase of the graduate reshuffle, so he’ll gain ground in the pecking order as long as he doesn’t withdraw or get disqualified. Of course, now that we’re into the deepest open tournaments of the season, it won’t mean as much as a cut made on the West Coast Swing.

Having graduated from the 2012 Web.com Tour, Gonzales should be better equipped for his second pass at the game’s biggest stage. It’s possible he will be distracted this week. Many Twitter fans will realize that he’s spent the better part of the last few years reaching out to Tiger Woods in humorous attempts at a practice round. Gonzales will at least be in the field with the object of his obsession this week. Perhaps his focus would be better served on his own game, as he missed the cut here in 2011.

Gonzales’ second stint on TOUR isn’t going any better than his first, failing to secure a paycheck to date. Not going in his favor, he missed the cut at TPC San Antonio in 2011. While he doesn’t have enough rounds to qualify, he would rank well outside the top 100 in GIR, strokes gained-putting and driving accuracy.

Gonzales was the second alternate when the field was released on Friday afternoon. He gained entry as one of the final four sponsor exemptions. His return trip to the PGA TOUR has been a forgettable one as he failed to cash in all of his first six starts. He missed the cut in his only previous appearance at TPC Louisiana (2011).

Gonzales started the week as the eighth alternate. He gained entry when Ian Poulter withdrew today. Half-man, Half-amazing is 0-for-7 in his return trip to the PGA TOUR this season. Continue to observe only.

While most of the players this week not already locked into a spot in the FedExCup playoffs had that set as the top priority, Gonzales’ sights were set a little lower. He entered the 238th in the FedExCup standings, and had to crack the top 200 just to earn a spot on teh Web.com Tour playoffs. At the time of his finish, he was projected 198th in the standings, which would just do the trick. Now he sits back and hopes he doesn’t get bumped down. The highlight of his round was an eagle from just off the green on the par-5 fifth.