Jason

Allred

The two-time former PGA TOUR member shot 5-under-par 283 to comfortably advance to the second stage. He finished seven strokes adrift of medalist Andrew Loupe, who dusted the field by four strokes. Among the notables that failed to survive include two-time European Tour winner, Jose Manuel Lara, who missed the cut on the number at 1-under 287; former first-team All-American, Mike Van Sickle (289); and former PGA TOUR member, Jason Schultz (290).

He just couldn’t recover from an opening 75 and posted 1-over 141. Allred closed with kick-in birdies at 17 and 18 today, but he set the table for possibilities with birdie conversions from 14'1" at the par-5 third and a 49-yard hole-out from the fairway at the par-4 10th. He opened the tournament with a bogey-5 at 10 on Thursday, and then added a 6 at the par-4 16th. The early dagger occurred at the par-4 sixth in the opening round where he penciled in a 7 that included sending a bunker shot into the water. With conditional status on the Web.com Tour, Allred will need to parlay his recent form into as many paydays as possible before that circuit’s first reshuffle. Worst case, he’ll likely qualify for the Web.com Tour Finals by virtue of his 162.50 non-member FedExCup points accrued at the Northern Trust Open where he tied for third. While it was a compressed season during which only 92 were required to qualify for last year’s Finals, the current cutoff is 20.

Allred hasn’t had PGA TOUR status since 2008, so he’s making the most of his opportunity via open qualifying this week. He sat bogey-free 9-under through 14 holes today on the strength of nine birdies. The set included conversions from 10-17 feet at Nos. 6, 8 and 9, a six-yarder from the fringe at 10 and a hole-out from a greenside bunker nine yards away at 14. Alas, the wheels fell off at 15 and 16 where he failed to get up and down after missing the green; he settled for bogeys. Today’s aggregate ties his career low first recorded in the second round of the 2008 U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee. The Pepperdine product is 5-under 137 through two rounds at Riviera and sits four strokes off the 36-hole clubhouse lead.

The open qualifier circled three birdies, two on par 5s and another on the par-4 seventh, and finished the week third in strokes gained-putting. Perhaps most impressive, given his lack of PGA TOUR status, was his ability to limit the bogeys over the final 36 holes to one. With this top 10, he is now exempt into The Honda Classic in two weeks.

Allred was bogey-free for 15 holes, circling five birdies to just one blemish to start the afternoon. He’s well within shouting distance of the lead, and could become the first open qualifier to win on the PGA TOUR since Arjun Atwal did it in the 2010 Wyndham Championship. Allred has no status on the PGA TOUR, but a top 10 would likely get him into The Honda Classic and a win would earn him a two-year PGA TOUR exemption. Perhaps no one has more to play for on Sunday afternoon at Riviera than he.

The last time we saw the 36-year-old on the main circuit, he posted a T25 at the 2015 Barracuda Championship (Modified Stableford). Prior to that, it was a missed cut (by two) at the 115th U.S. Open (74-73). Allred made it to Chambers Bay via the sectional qualifier in Dallas, and returns this year out of the Powell, Ohio, sectional, surviving a 6-for-5 playoff. His career scoring average in three tries is 75.13 and his lone cash was T47 in 2010 at Pebble Beach. The Pepperdine alum is 4-for-10 this season on the Web.com Tour and slots 136th on the money list with $9,765. Allred played two full seasons on the main tour (2005, 2008) and made 69 career starts overall, making 24 cuts with two top 10s.

Allred is arguably best known among newer golf fans as the fella who parlayed open qualifying into a T3 at the 2014 Northern Trust Open. He’s floundered a bit since, but he had the stuff today. Mark Silvers was medalist at 9-under 66-65=131. Amateur Cole Hammer took runner-up honors at 8-under 64-68=132. Cody Gribble (67-67), amateur Kyle Jones (65-69) and amateur Matt Mabrey (67-67) matched Allred’s aggregate at 134. Notables that failed to qualify include: 135--Rod Pampling; Steve Marino; Peter Malnati ... 136--Carlos Ortiz; Martin Piller ... 137--Martin Flores; Hunter Haas; Aron Price ... 138--James Driscoll; Mathew Goggin ... 139--Sung Kang ... 140--Steve Allan ... 141--John Rollins ... 142--James Nitties ... 143--J.J. Killeen ... 145--Bob Estes.

This is the fourth time this season that the non-member has four-spotted into a PGA TOUR event (Northern Trust, HP Byron Nelson, Travelers). With 236 FedExCup points and $508,227, he’d rank a respective 163rd and 134th among members, so Allred remains close to attaining fully exempt status for 2014-15. Today he buried an eagle (at the par-5 eighth hole) and six birdies to offset two bogeys. Ben Silverman spun a bogey-free, 5-under 34-33=67 with five birdies to share runner-up honors with Kevin Stinson, who also went bogey-free, 5-under 33-34=67 with five birdies. Robbie Greenwell was the third to finish T2 at 5-under 35-32=67 with seven birdies against two bogeys. All three Canadians will be making their PGA TOUR debut. The field at Royal Montreal Golf Club is now complete at 156.

Allred circled four birdies at Black Hall Club in Old Lyme, Connecticut, today. He tied for 15th at the Memorial two weeks ago. In just four starts this season, he’s collected $508,227 in non-member earnings and 236 non-member FedExCup points. Among members, he’d ranked a respective 121st and 150th. Should Allred sit inside the top 125 in either at the conclusion of the regular season, he’d earn his 2014-15 PGA TOUR card. He’s 42 FedExCup points shy of qualifying for Special Temporary Membership. Lee Janzen led the way at today’s four-spotter with a 5-under 33-33=66; he traded seven birdies with two bogeys. Marc Turnesa tied Allred at 4-under 32-35=67 with seven birdies and three bogeys. The final tee time of 156 at TPC River Highlands went to Sebastian Saavedra. After a 3-under 35-33=69 (6 birdies, 1 bogey, 1 double), he survived a four-way playing that included PGA TOUR winner Joe Ogilvie.

Allred has 294 non-member FedExCup points, which is 16 more than the requirement for STM. That’s all well and good, and he should crack the field at the Wyndham Championship via the top-10 exemption, but STM would allow him entry into only that tournament anyway since it concludes the regular season. He’s made eight starts, so he doesn’t need the benefit of unlimited starts STM provides. So, short of a victory at Sedgefield in two weeks, Allred’s goal will be to total enough non-member FedExCup points or earnings to crack the top 125 in either among members and secure fully exempt status for 2014-15. He’s currently 157th in the FedExCup standings or about 116 short of the top 125. So, the easier route with be with earnings. With $612,477, he’s just $35,409 short of Bud Cauley at No. 125. Allred is ineligible for the 2014 Playoffs unless he wins the Wyndham.