Brett

Stegmaier

The Florida Gator alum traded eight birdies with two bogeys on his way around Ellington Ridge Country Club today. That kept him one shot clear of the field. Stegmaier has missed the cut in both of the Korn Ferry Tour events that he’s played this season. He is 2-for-5 in his career at TPC River Highlands with a T26 in 2017 being the highlight. There was a four-for-three playoff just below him between Carl Yuan, Kyle Reifers, Ryan Blaum, and Stephen Stallings. It was Stallings who was the odd man out when all was said and done.

Also qualifying Monday at International Links of Miami in Miami, Fla., were Korn Ferry Tour rookie Christian Salzer, who took medalist honors with a 7-under 64, Patrick Flavin (65) and Argentina’s Alejandro Tosti (65). Stegmaier shot 66, rebounding from bogeys on Nos. 2 and 3 with three straight birdies on Nos. 4-6. He made two birdies and an eagle on the back, and won on the third playoff hole with a birdie. Stegmaier, who joined the Korn Ferry Tour in 2013, played 34 KFT events last season, making 17 cuts with six top-25 finishes. He’s made one previous appearance at Grand Reserve CC, finishing 44th in the 2017 Puerto Rico Open.

The 33-year-old sets the early 72-hole clubhouse mark but the leader on the course, Si Woo Kim, is 20-under. After opening rounds of 66-67-69, he circled six birdies for a third straight lap en route to a career low in his 91st career round, supplanting 66 (x3). The Connecticut native began the finale on 8-under (T25) and landed nine (of 14) fairways and pelted 17 greens in regulation, posting 1.765 putts per GIR. If the top 10 holds, it’ll be his third of the season in 28 starts and is currently 103rd in the FedExCup standings, up 16 places. (Link to FEC Live Projected Standings below).

The 32-year-old began off No. 10 tee and parred the 10th and 18th. In-between, he bogeyed 11, 12 and 15, and outpaced them with birdies on 13, 14, 16 and 17 to turn 1-under. The Web.com Tour grad sandwiched double bogey-5 at the fourth with birdies at 3 and 5 to complete his scoring. At last check, he posted 3.182 in SG: Tee-to-Green but -0.921 SG: Putting. Five of Stegmaier’s six conversions on 13 GIR traveled less than seven feet with a long of 22'9" at the par-3 14th.

The 33-year-old, making his tourney debut, eagled the par-5 fifth for a second straight lap, this one from 6'11", and added birdies on Nos. 2 (14'6"), 6 (15'2"), 11, 15, 16 (11'4") and 17 (14'9"). He took some luster off with bogeys on holes 4, 7 and a 3-putt walk-off at the 18th (from 33'11"), and ate double bogey-6 at the 13th. The Connecticut native landed nine (of 14) fairways and hit 13 greens in regulation, posting 1.615 putts per GIR and 1.225 in SG: Putting.

Stemgaier opened on the back nine and holed out from 40'10" for birdie at the par-4 10th to kick-start the week in style. The Florida Gator traded one birdie and one bogey before making the turn. Coming into the clubhouse he splashed in four putts from outside six feet, including a 6'5" eagle putt at the par-5 fifth. Arriving at Sedgefield Country Club ranked 119th in the FedExCup standings, Stegmaier is likely safe to secure his 2016-17 PGA TOUR card. He didn’t have any course history to bank on, but is off and running through day one.

The Madison, Connecticut, native grew up just 30 miles from this week’s venue and should be very familiar with the area. He attended the Travelers as a kid but is 0-for-2 in his career here (2006, 2010). This will be his first start at TPC River Highlands since becoming an official member of the PGA TOUR. The PGA TOUR rookie is 15-for-26 on the season, positioning himself in 112th place on the FedExCup leaderboard. This venue poses the perfect opportunity to use that local knowledge and pad the FEC totals ahead of his likely Playoff debut.

The 32-year-old began the third frame in a nine-way logjam on 4-under (T6) after opening his tourney debut in 67-69. Playing out of the antepenultimate twosome with Phil Mickelson, he bobbed and weaved to four birdies against three bogeys. All three bogeys however, were of the reverse bound-back variety, immediately erasing birdies on the hole prior. Nonetheless, the Web.com Tour grad held his own in the pairing with the Hall of Famer. His split featured a 46'6" bomb for birdie-2 at the 11th and a zero-putt version at the par-4 13th from 16'6" away in the intermediate rough.

The 32-year-old is the top rookie this week (of 13) after posting rounds of 67-69-69-69. He’s one of only two to record four sub-70 rounds, other than the 54-hole leader and eventual champion Daniel Berger. Stegmaier began the final frame on 5-under in a four-way T8 and was 3-over on his lap thru 12 holes, erasing birdie-2 at the fourth with bogey at the seventh and double bogey-6 at the 10th. He played his final eight holes in blemish-free 3-under, circling the 13th and back-to-backs on 16 and 17. The Web.com Tour grad records just his second top 10 of the season in 22 starts, joining a T2 at the Shriners back in October.

The Florida Gator had a stress-free stroll around Glen Abbey Golf Club, striping nine (of 14) fairways and landing 14 greens in regulation. He circled five birdies on the day, including a 19'4" roll at the par-4 11th and a 13-footer at the par-4 14th hole. Stegmaier is making his tournament debut this week and ranks 109th in the FedExCup standings. A good week would go along way in terms of locking up Playoff starts.