Kevin

Sutherland

Sutherland sat out the season after missing the cut at THE PLAYERS due to a complex injury that included a herniated disc and a bone spur that put pressure on his spinal cord. He’d return to competitive golf at the Callaway Pebble Beach Inviational in November where he shared sixth place. If he can earn $378,473 on his medical, he’ll retain status for the remainder of the year. Sutherland has always been a low-risk investment but he’s now 47 years of age and has never missed an extended period of time due to a physical problem. This is unknown territory for the Sacramento native.

The Sacramento native has been out since mid-May due to a serious neck injury. “If I can get through six months of playing continuous golf, then I’ll know I’m good,” said Sutherland, who estimated that he’s about 90 percent healthy right now. “But I’m ecstatic to be at this point. A month ago, I couldn’t putt for more than five minutes.” Assuming he logs an incident-free week at the clambake, look for him to return to the PGA TOUR full-time in January with a Major Medical Extension in tow.

Back inside the ropes officially following a fall and complex injury last spring, Sutherland rushed out to sit bogey-free 6-under through 13 holes today. Alas, he closed with three pars, a bogey and a double. He’ll give it a go at Palmer Private on Friday.

Sutherland made the cut on the number thanks to a birdie-par finish in his second round, but then shot 72-75 on the weekend to finish at 4-over 288 and earn $12,078.00. It leaves him with 12 starts on his Major Medical Extension to bank $355,587 and retain status. He’s scheduled to compete at Pebble Beach next week.

Sutherland’s score was one of the six lowest rounds (of 28) posted at Pebble Beach today. And talk about encouraging. We’ll need a couple of more days like this before we can get excited about what it might mean long-term for 2012. Yes, his best fantasy days are in the distant past but he’d be cheap, deep value if you need it. Stay tuned. We’ll keep him on our Injury Report and follow accordingly.

Sutherland has taken the last eight months to recover from a combination neck-back injury. He has 15 starts on a Major Medical Extension to earn $378,473 and retain status. He’s competed in 14 consecutive editions of the Humana and cashed in the last 13. While that record is impressive, he’s managed just one top 40 in the last eight.

He bogeyed his last two holes at Pebble Beach today to miss out on an MDF. He’s now alternated paydays with missed cuts in his first four starts this year. He now has 11 starts remaining on his Major Medical Extension to earn $355,587 and retain status. He’ll try again at next week’s Northern Trust Open where he’s competed every year since 1996 yet missed the cut only three times including last year.

Sutherland was bidding to play in his 17th straight NTO. Today’s decision may be nothing more than needing a break after playing the last four weeks. He still has 11 starts remaining on his Major Medical Extension.

This is a bit of a historic day. Sutherland had never failed to cash at this event in 16 previous starts, all consecutively since 1996. Alas, he played the par 5s at Torrey Pines South today in 3-over with three bogeys. It leaves him with 13 starts remaining on his Major Medical Extension to earn $367,665 and retain status. He’ll try again next week at TPC Scottsdale where he’s missed his last two cuts.