Turk

Pettit

The 25-year-old Riley, a Korn Ferry Tour graduate playing his first full season on the PGA Tour, has made 11 cuts in 18 starts this season with four top 10s. His fifth-place finish in Mexico was his third top 10 in five starts for Riley, who finished T-4 in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and solo second at the Valspar Championship in March. He’ll be replaced in the field by 35-year-old Kevin Chappell, who’ll make his 13th PGA Tour start this season (7-for-12 cuts made) and got in on his own number. Also joining the field is 23-year-old Clemson product Turk Pettit, who joins the field on a sponsor exemption.

The 23-year-old Pettit, who hails from Opelika, Ala., carded a 4-under 68 at The Clubs of Kingwood (Deerwood) in qualifying April 18 in Kingwood, Texas, and advanced via a 6-for-2 playoff to earn his spot in the field at Vidanta Vallarta. Also advancing through qualifying were Patrick Flavin, Jeffrey Kang and medalist Bryson Nimmer, who played college golf at Clemson with Pettit for two seasons (2017-18 and 2018-19). Pettit won 2021 NCAA individual men’s golf championship as a senior, becoming the second Clemson men’s golfer to earn the title after Charles Warren in 1997. He competed on the PGA Tour Canada upon turning pro last summer, winning the Birck Boilermaker Classic and finishing No. 3 on the Order of Merit to earn Korn Ferry Tour membership for this season. Pettit, who was high school teammates with fellow KFT member Davis Thompson at Lee-Scott Academy in Auburn, Ala., made his PGA Tour debut in September at the Fortinet Championship, where he shot 71-72 and missed the cut.