Michael

Gligic

The Canadian rattled off finishes of T65 and solo 4th to start the KFT Finals. That was good enough to secure his spot in the Finals 25 but a win this week would give him a chance at the No. 1 spot in those rankings which comes with additional status and exemptions. Today, he split 9-of-14 fairways and landed 15 GIR which resulted in a nine-pack of birdies to erase a lone bogey. Gligic has finished outside of the top 140 in each of his three seasons on the PGA TOUR but he’ll be equipped with more experience as he readies for his fourth full season.

The Canadian, playing this season on conditional status, arrived 132nd in the FedExCup standings and is in the top 10 after R1 for a fourth time this season in 24 events, three in his last six. This is his third Wyndham, opening last year with 65 as well before fading to T65 (65-71-73-70), and arrived with one top 10 this season, a T10 at the John Deere five starts ago, where he was solo 2nd after 18 holes (64-69-68-69). Today, the 33-year-old outpaced one square at 17 (failed scramble) with six circles at 15, 18, 1, 5, 6 and 9, two from between 17 and 27 feet, recording 2.566 SG: Tee-to-Green and 1.921 SG: Putting. While this is his third season on the main stage, he’s yet to qualify for the FEC Playoffs, regaining his card each of the prior two years via the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.

The good news is they were able to make the cut on Saturday at noon and got 1 hour and 32 minutes of playing time in before the latest suspension at 1:52 pm (unplayable conditions). They’re in 3-balls off both sets of tees, 83 players in total, and barring any further suspensions, should get around 90 minutes of golf in before darkness. World No. 450 Michael Gligic is just beginning his third round (7:30 pm) out of the fourth-to-last threesome (T8) and is chasing a third career top 10 in 71 events, second straight after a season-best T10 at last week’s John Deere. Thru 36 holes, he’s posted rounds of 69 and bogey-free 63, the 63 completed earlier on Saturday, which was a new career low in 195 rounds, previously 7-under 64/R1 at last week’s Deere.

The Canadian, who began the day T10, was 5-under thru 14 (1 eagle, 4 birdies, 1 bogey) and heading for a career-best finish, but flamed out with double bogey-6 at 15 and bogey-4 at 16 (3-putt from 37'0"). On 13 (of 14) fairways and 15 greens in regulation, he gained 1.932 strokes off-the-tee but lost 1.241 around and 0.608 on-the-green, ending the week ranked 4th SG: Off-the-Tee (4.167), 28th SG: Approach (2.676), 55th SG: Around (-1.405), and 23rd SG: Putting (3.227). This was the 33-year-old’s second Deere and first cash, his first top 10 of the season in 19 events, and his second in 70 career events, joining a T4 at last season’s opposite-field Corales (March) 34 starts ago, where he was T3, one back thru 54 holes. For the festivities, he signed for rounds of 64-69-68-69, the 64 a career low in a-then 190 rounds, and is in the published field at this coming week’s Barbasol in Kentucky.

The Canadian twirled a career-low 64 on Thursday but came back to the pack today with a four-birdie 69. “Yeah, just plotted my way around again. Didn’t make as many putts as yesterday, but gave myself a lot of looks. Probably hit a lot of greens again today.” He only landed 13 greens today, three fewer than his opening round. Gligic continues to search for his first podium finish with his current best on TOUR being a T4 at this year’s Corales. He entered the week just outside of the top-125 FedExCup Playoffs bubble (138th) so he could really use a few good finishes down the stretch.

The Canadian, playing his 190th career round on TOUR, had recorded a prior-best 65 seven times, several of those 7-under versions, and finally brushes those aside with a seven-birdie showing today. On nine (of 14) fairways and 16 greens in regulation, he circled holes 2, 7-9, 12, 15 and 17, six from between 12 and 21 feet, posting 4.501 SG: Tee-to-Green and 2.794 SG: Putting with 28 total putts. This is his second Deere after a missed cut by three last year (71-70), arrived 11-for-18 on the season with one top 25, a T24 at the Mexico Open five starts ago, and off a T40 at last week’s Travelers, where he opened with even-par 70 before three consecutive 68s. See link below to post-round comments.

The Canadian opened on the ninth tee today and sprinkled a pair of birdies on his first 10 holes but swallowed a snowman at the par-4 14th to really backpedal down the board. He withdrew at the turn instead of playing out the final eight holes. This will be his first career mid-tournament WD, in 68 events played.

Set to make his third start of the 2021-2022 PGA Tour season, the Canadian has chosen to withdraw from the Bermuda Championship. In what would have been his third appearance in the tournament, Gligic had found success in his two previous outings. Making the cut in both instances, the 32-year-old finished in a tie for 11th last season at Port Royal Golf Course. The reason for his withdrawal is unknown at the moment.

Afternoon clappers remain in the forecast for most of the week in Greensboro. The current storm could for a few hours. Sunset time in the area is 8:13 p.m today. There is no current timetable for play to resume. Prior to the horn sounding, a few golfers from the afternoon wave had started to turn in their cards. Earlier in the day, Michael Gligic, turned in a blemish-free 65 to get his week started. He began the week at 145th in the FedExCup race so there is plenty of motivation for him to keep his foot on the gas this week.

This is the third time this season in 20 events that the Canadian is in the top 10 after R1, first since T5 at Mayakoba 10 starts ago in December, where he was T5 before a 4-over 75 in R2 and a missed cut by one on even-par 67-75=142. Prior to that, he was T5 at Sanderson Farms in October before fading to T37 (65-73-75-69). On 10 (of 14) fairways and 11 greens in regulation, the 32-year-old lost strokes off-the-tee (-0.711) and around-the-green (-0.315), but gained 0.486 on approach. He squared two bogey-5s at 14 (watered tee ball) and 8 (missed par-saver from 4'4"), offset by nine circles at 11, 12, four straight around-the-turn at 16-1, 5, 6 and 9, four from between eight and 19 feet. Gligic registered a sterling 1.273 putts per GIR and 4.290 SG: Putting with just 22 total putts, buoyed by two par-savers from between six and 11 feet. His 65 matches a career low in 109 rounds (x5), most recently a 7-under version in R1 of this season’s Shriners (Oct.), where he was T13 before eventually finishing T27 (65-67-66-72). Gligic’s lone top 10 in 41 prior events is T4 at the opposite-field Corales six starts ago, where he was T72 after 18 holes (73-66-68-71).