Brent

Grant

Grant arrived fresh off a pair of missed cuts. First, he missed the cut at the Sony Open, a home game for him. Then he finished dead last at The American Express last week. “There were a lot of distractions last week. That was my first time doing all that. I had family and friends and we were kind of partying around a little bit. But it is what it is and my body doesn’t feel any different, the swing’s not any different, I just happened to make more putts.” Grant now finds himself in a share of the early lead at Torrey Pines. It will be the first time in his young PGA TOUR career that he’s posted inside of the top 10 after any round. He’ll look to keep the momentum rolling tomorrow at the South Course in what is forecasted to be a windy day.

Grant grew up in Hawaii, spending 13 years on the islands. He attended school just down the road and considered this a home game, or at least a return home. “Everybody here is still the same crew and I’m really thankful to have it as home away from home. It’s kind of cool.” Coastal comfort hasn’t helped him in the past as he’s 0-for-3 in his previous attempts at the Sony Open. He’s a card-carrying member this time around, after graduating from the Korn Ferry Tour last season. The PGA TOUR rookie went just 2-for-7 in the fall but will attempt to kickstart his season with some local knowledge at Waialae Country Club.

Whaley has started the new season with two missed cuts and a T61 finish (Sanderson Farms Championship). He twirled a pair of top 15s last fall so he’ll have some work to do if he wants to keep pace with himself one year later. Gamers should remove him from all roster consideration in weekly fantasy formats.

The 26-year-old Grant made two eagles, four birdies and no bogeys as he tied his career-low round, a 9-under 63 from the second round of the 2021 Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr. Pepper. The score vaulted him up the leaderboard more than 40 spots, into a T-22 finish at 13-under 272. On the season, Grant has made eight cuts in 12 starts with two top 10s including a win at the Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation in May. He earned his first career KFT title by one stroke, with rounds of 69-65-69-69, making him the only player in the field with all four rounds in the 60s. He’s listed in the field for this week’s Wichita Open Benefiting KU Wichita Pediatrics at Crestview Country Club in Wichita, Kansas.

The 26-year-old Grant made birdie on his 72nd hole at The Grove in College Grove, Tenn., to shoot a 3-under 69 and finish at 16-under 272, one shot ahead of Kevin Yu. “One small step in the journey, and I’ve felt like I was two steps away from really getting where I really want to go in life, and this gets me one step closer,” said Grant, who started the day one stroke behind 54-hole leader Yu. “…I proved to myself, finally, after years and years of beating myself up on and off the golf course, I can do it.” Grant, who plays out of Honolulu, has made just four cuts in eight KFT starts this season, with one other top 10 – a T-6 at the Lake Charles Championship in March. In eight rounds at The Grove the last two years (T-5 in 2021), Grant is a combined 27-under par, and he’s a combined 10-under par on the par-5 second (two eagles, two birdies last year; one eagle, two birdies this year). Last season, he made 19 cuts in 37 starts during the wrap-around season and posted five top 10s. He’s made two PGA Tour starts in 2022, at the Sony Open and Farmers, missing the cut in both. Grant is in the field for this week’s Visit Knoxville Open, hosted at Holston Hills Country Club in Knoxville, Tenn.

The 25-year-old, who lives in Murrieta, Calif., but plays out of Honolulu, Hawaii, made seven birdies and three bogeys in his 4-under round of 68 at Bear Creek Golf Club in Murrieta. Also joining him in the field is medalist and five-time Tour winner Jonathan Byrd (65) and Canadian players Maxwell Sear and Jared du Toit, who also shot 68. Grant most recently played in the Sony Open in Hawaii (MC), where he was given a sponsor exemption. He was actually playing in the Monday qualifier when he found out he’d gotten into the field as a late exemption after Japan’s Satoshi Kodaira got into the field on his number and didn’t need the exemption. Last season, Grant was 63rd on the KFT’s regular-season standings to qualify for the Finals Series but did not earn his Tour card. He made 19 cuts in 37 starts during the wraparound 2020-21 season with five top 10s.