Cody

Gribble

The Texas Longhorn looked like a future star when he racked up a win and two other top 15s in his first four starts as a PGA TOUR member, back in 2016. He didn’t maintain that pace but found some of that magic this week at Innisbrook Resort. Gribble gained 3.1 strokes off-the-tee (4th), 2.0 on approach (26th) while also gaining 6.5 strokes putting (4th). He’ll be kicking himself for losing roughly four strokes around-the-green but it’s hard to complain too much about a top 10 on the PGA TOUR. Gribble was in the field via his top 10 at the Puerto Rico Open and he didn’t slow his momentum. Gamers should keep an eye on him to see if he can keep this run of refound form going.

The 32-year-old hoisted the hardware at the 2016-17 Sanderson Farms Championship but he finished outside of the top 180 in the FedExCup race each of the following two years to fall out of favor in the pecking order. He’s in luck this week, as he’ll play on a sponsor’s exemption in what will be his fifth start at the Country Club of Jackson (three missed cuts since his win). Gribble went 9-for-17 on the Korn Ferry circuit last season with a T9 at the Memorial Health Championship being the lone top 10 on his resume.

The 31-year-old Gribble, winner of the PGA Tour’s 2016-17 Sanderson Farms Championship, highlighted his weekend with a 9-under 62 on Saturday, which tied his previous career low round from the 2015 Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron. He enjoyed a five-stroke swing in a two-hole stretch during his third round, making eagle at the 414-yard, par-4 15th before carding an albatross on the 506-yard, par-5 16th, marking the first double eagle of his career. On the season, Gribble has made seven cuts in 15 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour, and he’s also made two PGA Tour starts, missing the cut at the Sanderson Farms and the Puerto Rico Open. Gribble is not listed in the field for this week’s Price Cutter Charity Championship at Highland Springs Country Club in Springfield, Mo.

The 40-year-old Stroud missed the cut last week at the Honda Classic, making his fifth missed cut in seven starts this season. He had made seven previous appearances at Grand Reserve CC, missing the cut just once and posting two top 10s including in his last appearance in 2017. The 31-year-old Gribble, a Korn Ferry Tour member, will be making his second PGA Tour start this season after missing the cut last October at the Sanderson Farms Championship. He’s made two KFT starts in 2022, missing the cut at the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic and finishing T-63 at the LECOM Suncoast Classic. This week will mark his tournament debut in Puerto Rico.

The field has been dropping like flies this week. Originally slated as a 132-man field, it has now shrunk to just 127 golfers, and that is after exhausting the full exemption list. Why is it so tough to fill the field in Bermuda? Strict COVID-19 protocols and limited travel options are the two biggest culprits. As for Gribble, he’s played in just one PGA TOUR event since the end of the 2018-19 campaign. That was a missed cut at the Sanderson Farms Championship earlier this month. Gamers should check and double-check the field this week before locking in their bets or fantasy lineups.

The lefty Longhorn product settled for eight (of 14) fairways and 12 greens in regulation but went 6-for-6 in the scrambling department and made the most of his scoring chances. The highlight came at the par-5 seventh where he holed out for eagle. He played the par 5s at 4-under overall. Making his third appearance at this event, today’s round shatters his previous low here which was just a 73 (x3). Given his spotty track record here at the AT&T Pro-Am, gamers shouldn’t count their chickens just yet.

Gribble was given one of the last two sponsor exemptions into the tournament. He concluded his collegiate career at the University of Texas at last week’s NCAA men’s golf championship. The SJC will mark his professional debut and first start in a PGA TOUR event.

The Web.com Tour grad arrived for his SFC debut off a T8 at the Safeway Open and began with an indifferent 1-over 73 (four birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey-5). He rebounded (big time) in the second frame, circling nine birdies, including four straight on holes 18, 1, 2 and 3, and back-to-backs on 8 and 9, highlighted by a 30-footer at the par-4 eighth. At last check, the 26-year-old posted 4.980 SG: Tee-to-Green, 3.292 SG: Putting, and a tidy 1.462 putts per GIR. He circled the nine birdies on 13 GIR and banged in four of them from between 19 and 31 feet. Gribble’s previous low in 23 career rounds was 66 (2015 Byron Nelson/R2).

Turning 26 next Tuesday, the Texas Longhorn could give himself an early birthday present with a strong week in Boise. He finished the season ranked 53rd on the money list. The start of the Web.com Tour Finals was not a smashing success, as he posted rounds of 77-70 to miss the cut. The youngster recorded five top 10s last season, but just one this year. He’ll need to tap into that upside over the next few weeks since the Finals reward those top-heavy finishes very handsomely.

Nineteen rookies (of 25) made the start here at the season-opener in Napa, including the Dallas native and resident. He’s the only one however, that’s going to log a top-10 finish. The 26-year-old began the final round in a two-way T8 on 10-under after opening in 67-69-70. He was 2-over thru seven holes, silencing a birdie-4 at the fifth with bogeys at Nos. 3, 4 and 7, before playing his final 11 holes in blemish-free 6-under, circling back-to-back birdies three times. For the week, the University of Texas alum totaled one eagle and 19 birdies versus five bogeys and a double. This was his seventh career appearance on TOUR with a previous best of T21 at the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.