Scott

Gutschewski

Gutschewski is making the final start of a medical exemption this week at Port Royal, where he’s T-38 and 8 under through 54 holes. That’s an important spot on the leaderboard for Gutschewski, who appears unlikely to snag the top-4 finish that would allow him to play from the top of the major medical category for the balance of the 2022-23 season. But a two-way T-38 finish or better this week would allow him to play this season out of the 126-150 conditional category. Should he fail to hit that mark, Gutschewski would lose his Tour status entirely. Gutschewski is ranked No. 591 in the world, and this week marks his first made cut on Tour since a T-31 finish at the 3M Open in July. His Saturday round in Bermuda included 15 pars, as he has followed an opening 65 with a pair of 1-under 70s.

“I’ve always thought I could be competitive out here. It’s just a matter of getting enough starts and playing well when it’s important,’ said Gutschewski, who said he’s “feeling healthy again” after some recent trouble with his back and toe. “Obviously with the way this year has went, I haven’t probably gotten quite the starts I wanted and haven’t been 100-percent healthy all year. But that just kind of -- that’s everybody. Nobody out here feels sorry for you. Everybody is clawing. You just strap them up and work harder.” The Nebraska native collected 35 points on the week, finishing eight points behind winner Chez Reavie in the Tour’s only event using the Stableford format. On the season, Gutschewski has made seven cuts in 20 starts with two top 25s. His fifth place at the Barracuda marked his best Tour finish to date, besting a T-6 at the 2016 B.C. Open. He’s in the field for this week’s 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minn., where he’ll make his tournament debut.

The 45-year-old was not scaring flagsticks today but he found a way to score. Gutschewski landed 10 greens in regulation today and just two of those helped set up scoring chances from inside of 13 feet. “it’s the type of golf course where you’re just trying to stay out of trouble. Especially when the wind gets up a little bit, you just kind of tippy-toe yourself around and try to avoid the really bad spots and try to make a couple putts here or there.” That is exactly what he did as he rolled home five putts from outside of 10 feet today, gaining 3.958 strokes with the flat stick. The Nebraska product was the last man in the field this week, gaining entry after Abraham Ancer withdrew on Wednesday. He’s taking full advantage of the opportunity so far.

The 45-year-old, who was a rookie on TOUR in 2005 and is playing his first season since 2011 (finished 189th in the FedExCup standings), is a mid-tourney WD for the first time in 121 events. This was his seventh AT&T, first since 2011 (CUT), and checked in 5-for-7 on the season with a best of T39 at Bermuda five starts ago. The Nebraska alum was one of eight to make the cut T57 on the number after opening with 69-73-68 (SH-PB-MP), and was birdie-less 4-over today thru 13 holes, 1-over total, when he called it a day. Based on his place in the Korn Ferry Tour Reshuffle, it’s entirely possible he won’t get into another field on merit until the opposite-field Puerto Rico Open (Mar. 3-6), which would give him plenty of time to rest and heal.

The Nebraska native earned his card back thanks to a solid stretch of play in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, finishing T-10 in the Albertsons Boise Open, T-18 in the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship and T-52 in the Korn Ferry Tour Championship. The father of four got choked up after securing his card, but his wife Amy found the words to describe the moment, saying, “To have his kids be able to watch him earn it -- you know, they were young before when he had his status, so it’s just incredible to have them see it. For it to come true again.” Gutschewski, who last visited the winner’s circle at the 2008 Rex Hospital Open, previously earned his Tour card via the KFT in 2005, 2008 and 2010 and rose to 16th in the 2021 Finals 25 standings. Last season, he made 25 cuts in 37 KFT starts with five top 10s. He earned a spot in the 2021 Barbasol Championship -- his only PGA Tour appearance last season -- by winning medalist honors in Monday qualifying but missed the cut. He’s made two previous appearances in the Fortinet Championship, finishing T-67 in 2011 and missing the cut in 2007.

The 44-year-old Nebraska native previously earned his PGA Tour card via the KFT in 2005, 2008 and 2010 and rose to T-8 in the Finals 25 with his finish Sunday, which came on the heels of a T-10 at the Albertsons Boise Open the week prior. “Everybody keeps getting younger and it’s just, it’s hard,” said Gutschewski, a two-time KFT winner. “It’s about all I can say. It’s not all I want to say, but that’s about all I can say. It’s just really hard. I can’t really compose myself, but, I mean, this is why we do it.” On the season, he’s made 25 cuts in 37 starts with five top 10s. He last visited the winner’s circle in 2008 at The Rex Hospital Open. Gutschewski finished 56th in the regular-season standings, marking his best season since 2017 when he finished 52nd. He earned his spot in this year’s Barbasol Championship -- his only PGA Tour appearance this season -- by winning medalist honors in Monday qualifying but missed the cut. The KFT Finals wrap this week with the Korn Ferry Tour Championship at Victoria National GC in Newburgh, Ind.

The 44-year-old Nebraska native arrives in Ohio off a T-10 at the first finals event, the Albertsons Boise Open, where he held the 54-hole lead following an 8-under 63 in the third round. But Gutschewski failed to find any momentum on Sunday, making three straight bogeys on his front nine and carding even par on the back en route to a 2-over 73 and his fifth top-10 finish of the season. A PGA Tour member from 2005-2007, 2009 and 2011, Gutschewski has played mostly on the KFT since 2013 and has won twice (2003 Monterey Peninsula Classic, 2008 Rex Hospital Open). This year he’s notched 12 top 25s and finished No. 56 in the regular-season standings, marking his best season since 2017, when he finished 52nd. He missed the cut in his only PGA Tour appearance this season at the Barbasol Championship, where he earned his spot in the field with medalist honors in Monday qualifying.

This week marks Gutschewski’s return to the PGA Tour for his first start since the 2015 Wells Fargo Championship. The 44-year-old former Nebraska Cornhusker has five years of experience, making 53 cuts in 112 starts and has earned more $1.5 million in prize money. If you’re looking for a feel-good bet that’s high on positive energy, look no further than Gutschewski, who told media on Monday, “Obviously thrilled! My oldest son (Luke, the 2020 Nebraska Junior Amateur of the Year and an incoming freshman at Iowa State) is playing in the Junior PGA this week in Lexington, so I’ll get to see him play a little more than planned. It’s also my wife and I’s 21st anniversary Thursday, and she’s coming down to take my oldest to the U.S. Junior Amateur next week. So, we’ll get to spend our anniversary together. It’s kind of crazy. You almost need a spreadsheet or something to follow our family’s golf.” His best finish was a T-6 at the 2006 B.C. Open, and he’s got 12 finished inside the top 20 with two top 10s Gutschewski also has two Korn Ferry Tour titles -- the 2003 Monterey Peninsula Classic (finishing four strokes ahead of two-time major champion Zach Johnson) and the 2008 Rex Hospital Open.

The former PGA TOUR member converted two eagles and 18 birdies and swallowed only two bogeys all week. Scott Dunlap was the runner-up at 19-under 269 (one eagle, 20 birdies, three bogeys). Also included among the 21 golfers that survived a loaded site were Steven Bowditch (270), Peter Tomasulo (272), Paul Stankowski (273), Matt Jones (273), Kyle Reifers (274), James Nitties (274), Tag Ridings (275), Jeff Klauk (276), Todd Hamilton (276), Brenden Pappas (276), Alex Prugh (276) and Kevin Tway (277). Notables that failed to advance include: 278--Bio Kim; Jason Schultz ... 279--Tyler Aldridge ... 280--Wes Short, Jr.; Jordan Spieth ... 281--Woody Austin; Matt Weibring ... 282--Nathan Green; Daniel Miernicki ... 284--Wil Collins ... 285--Rich Barcelo ... 286--Martin Piller ... 287--J.J. Killeen ... 289--Roger Tambellini ... 290--Ryan Hietala ... 291--Jaxon Brigman ... 292--Chris Baryla.

Gutschewski medaled at the open qualifier on Monday, so he’s had everything to gain at Quail Hollow Club. That he’s executing against stiffer competition is the surprise. He’s found only 12 (of 28) fairways but had landed 25 greens in regulation. In terms of scoring, the big fella has offset four bogeys with nine birdies, including a conversion from 20'5" at the par-5 seventh hole today. Gutschewski is a non-member, so short of a win, he’s chasing non-member FedExCup points to contribute to his total to qualify for the Web.com Tour Finals.