Chase

Wright

Wright split 11 (of 14) fairways and hit all 18 greens in regulation en route to his career low in 127 rounds on the circuit. His eagle landed at the par-5 18th where he made the turn. The 26-year-old from Indiana University started the week ranked 43rd on the money list and has just one top-45 finish in his last seven starts. Wes Roach and Dawie van der Walt are one stroke back of Wright’s overnight lead in Springfield, Missouri.

Wright entered the week having lost strokes with his irons in seven of his last eight rounds played. He certainly flipped that script today as he set up 13 scoring chances from inside 12 feet which was good for a career-best 4.464 strokes gained approach today. That ranks first in the field. Wright converted on 8 of those 12 chances. The PGA TOUR rookie posted a pair of top 10s in the fall but hasn’t landed a top 35 since then. Wright walked off the course gaining 4.7 strokes to the field which is the second best single-round effort of his young career (+6.4 SG Total in R1 of the Safeway Open last fall).

The Indiana alum found nine (of 14) fairways and 12 greens in regulation, recording 0.311 SG: Off-the-Tee, -0.576 SG: Approach, 0.290 SG: Around, and -0.424 SG: Tee-to-Green. He was 4-under thru 15 holes, outpacing one bogey-4 at 11 (3-putt from 34'11") with five birdies at 5, 8, 10, 13 and 15, but squared bogey-5s at 16 and 18, both after errant tee balls. The 30-year-old posted 1.667 putts per GIR and 1.072 SG: Putting with 28 total putts, converting four scoring tries from between 10 and 25 feet.

Wright has made the cut in each of his past two events, although he missed the third-round cut in the AT&T Byron Nelson last time out. His struggles in Par 4 Scoring (125th on Tour) is a concern at Hamilton Golf and Country Club, as is his 100th ranking in Putts Per Round (28.98). Still, he has been a closer, so if he is still playing on Sunday, watch out. Wright ranks 28th on Tour in Round 4 Scoring Average (69.5).

The Indiana alum found nine (of 14) fairways and 13 greens in regulation, losing strokes on approach and around-the-green but gaining 0.317 off-the-tee. He squared two bogey-5s at holes 1 and 6, outpaced by four birdies at 5, 9, 10 and 17, two from between 17 and 19 feet. The 29-year-old registered 1.769 putts per GIR and 1.961 SG: Putting with 29 total putts. He kicked off with 64-72.

The Indiana Hoosier product is making the second start of his PGA TOUR career (2012 RSM Classic) and first as a card-carrying member. There was no sign of nerves as he split eight (of 14) fairways and landed all 18 greens in regulation. That was good for more than two strokes gained on approach. Five of his seven par breakers were set up with wedges from inside 130 yards but he converted from long-distance as well. Most notably, his 283-yard approach at the par-5 16th landed to 25'11" and he splashed it home for an eagle. The 29-year-old may be a late bloomer but he does sport wins on the Web.com Tour (2018 Rust-Oleum Championship) as well as the Mackenzie Tour (2017 ATB Financial Classic).

This was the Indiana alum’s second career TOUR start, bettering a T64 at the 2012 McGladrey (RSM) Classic. After opening with 64-72-70, he began T5, six short of leader Brandt Snedeker. Playing out of the third-to-last threesome, the 29-year-old striped 11 (of 14) fairways and hit 12 greens in regulation, gaining 1.503 strokes off-the-tee and 2.762 tee-to-green. He carded three birdies at holes 8, 9 and 16, all from inside of six feet, cancelled by three bogey-5s at 1, 10 and 13, posting 1.750 putts per GIR and -1.990 SG: Putting, needing 30 total putts. Wright missed four putts from inside of seven feet, including three for birdies. For the week, he totaled one eagle and 15 birdies versus five bogeys and one double.

This was the Indiana alum’s second appearance, first since T64 back in 2012 in his TOUR debut, which was his only TOUR start before this year. He improves to 3-for-5 on the season with two top 25s and two top 10s, and should better a T10 at the Safeway, where he also shot 64/R1. The 29-year-old handed in rounds of 67-69-67-64 and totaled 20 birdies against five bogeys. On 11 (of 14) fairways and 15 greens in regulation, he lost 0.432 strokes around-the-green but gained 0.520 off-the-tee and 0.544 on approach. The Indiana native carded six birdies, three from between 10 and 24 feet, registering 1.667 putts per GIR and 2.346 SG: Putting.

The Indiana Hoosier product piped 10 (of 14) fairways and landed 15 greens in regulation. That kept his round relatively stress-free on and around the greens, allowing him to circle seven birdies and offset a pair of bogeys. One of those blemishes came in the form of a three-putt bogey at the par-3 15th but his putter was otherwise steady. Making the sixth start of his young career, this is the fifth time he’s positioned himself inside the top 10 after any round. The previous fall all came at this year’s Safeway Open just last month. The PGA TOUR rookie is off to the races in search of another top 10. He posted seven of them last season on the Web.com Tour.

The Indiana Hoosier peppered 15 greens on day one but landed just 11 today. He dropped two shots today including a lowlight at the par-4 eighth when he appears to have flubbed a chip which explains his -1.222 strokes gained around-the-green. On the bright side he gained 2.559 strokes putting to make up the difference and then some. That strong putting performance has him well positioned to make a weekend run at Sea Island. Wright has now been inside the top 15 after six (of 14) rounds this fall.