Kevin

Foley

Foley hung around the leaderboard all week after an opening 66, finishing the tournament at 8-under 66-69-70-67=272. He stepped on the par-4 18th in a tie at 7-under with 54-hole leader Mathew Goggin, who was playing in the group behind. Foley circled a clutch birdie, while Goggin could only settle for a par. The win is Foley’s first on the Web.com Tour, and comes a year after he played his way onto the Tour having begun 2012 with no status. It also virtually assures him of finishing inside the top 75 on the year-end money list, meaning he will be part of the four-tournament race for a 2013-2014 PGA TOUR card.

Joining Foley on the beach and under an umbrella for the final round are Scott Verplank (210), John Huh (210), Miguel Angel Carballo (210), Toshinori Muto (210), Ken Duke (210), Eric Dugas (211) and Joe Durant (212). That leaves 71 players with a tee time in the final round.

Not only did this kick off his 2013-14 rookie season, but this was his first-ever round in a PGA TOUR event. Foley split eight (of 14) fairways and hit 11 greens in regulation en route to four birdies and a closing eagle-3 from 26 yards off the green at the ninth hole. His most notable birdies measured 25 feet at 13 and 12'5" at 7. He also swallowed three bogeys, but he couldn’t ask for a better foray overall. He signed his card sitting four strokes in arrears of the clubhouse lead.

Quite frankly, his prospects as a rookie aren’t looking good for several reasons. For starters, he failed to secure a strong number coming out of the Web.com Finals and still hasn’t nabbed a tee time in an event. Having never played a PGA TOUR tournament before, the wait has to be unbearable. Perhaps the biggest issue could be his performance overall. He won the first event of the 2013 Web.com Tour season, but missed 15 of his remaining 22 cuts with just one other top 10.

Foley was the first alternate when the field was released on Friday afternoon. He gained entry thanks to four withdrawals this morning. The PGA TOUR rookie tied for 72nd place (MDF) at the Sony Open in Hawaii in what was his debut on the circuit. With start hard to find at the bottom of the graduate reshuffle, the pressure is on to capitalize at Torrey Pines.

The rookie has never competed in a PGA TOUR event, which means the final chance to make his debut before the holiday break will come next week in México. He erased two birdies with three bogeys and two doubles at the OQ. Other notables that failed to qualify include: 69--Mark Anderson; Robert Streb; Tag Ridings; Paul Claxton ... 70--Alex Prugh; Billy Mayfair; Rod Pampling; Frank Lickliter II; Nick O’Hern; Jeff Klauk; Michael Letzig; Bubba Dickerson ... 71--Jamie Lovemark; Marc Turnesa; Glen Day; Robert Gamez; Brad Elder; Henrik Norlander ... 72--Andrew Loupe; Doug LaBelle II; Patrick Sheehan; Chris Wilson ... 73--Ben Kohles; Dicky Pride; David Mathis; Craig Kanada; Michael Connell ... 74--Jim Renner; Lee Janzen; Chris Smith; Skip Kendall ... 75--Tim Wilkinson; Tim Petrovic; Len Mattiace ... 76--Bronson La’Cassie; Joe Ogilvie; Donald Constable ... 78--Guy Boros.

The PGA TOUR rookie has found his way into just eight tournaments this year, with cuts made in four of them, and his best finish being a T35 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Foley currently sits 197th in the FedExCup standings, and a big week could certainly help him earn more starts in the near future.

The PGA TOUR rookie has yet to land a finish inside the top 30, missing six cuts in his 10 events played. Gamers looking for a reason to take Foley this week can cite his region familiarity, growing up 440 miles away and attending Penn State University, 345 miles from The Greenbrier Resort. If there’s any week to throw a dart on Foley, this could be the week, just don’t bank on it.

Foley’s rookie season on the PGA TOUR isn’t exactly a ringing success to this point, making just two of four cuts and ranking 194th in the FedExCup standings. Considering the PGA TOUR season is nearing the half-way point, he’s struggled to pick up valuable starts. At this rate, it could become necessary for him to make more than just the random Web.com Tour start as a way to try and ensure his spot in the 2014 Web.com Finals. All signs point to him struggling to retain his PGA TOUR card this season.

The rookie has alternated cuts made with missed cuts in his first five PGA TOUR starts, but the real concern is earning more starts. This week will be just his sixth start of the season, so he needs to make the most of it. With a field mostly void of big names, this is a good week for Foley to make his move.