Greater consistency helped Seth Reeves regain his PGA Tour card for the coming season, and that’s likely going to be the key to an extended stay. The Georgia Tech graduate secured his spot in the big leagues last week when he finished No. 18 on the Korn Ferry Tour’s points list.
Reeves played on the PGA Tour in 2019, but had trouble making cuts and had to go back to the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020. It wasn’t going great there, either, until he broke through to win the 2020 Pinnacle Bank Classic, his first Korn Ferry win.
“I had played the Tour for a year and really struggled,” he said. “(The win) just came out of nowhere. That propelled me to get some momentum and find some things in my game that were off, and those led to some better finishes.”
Things really improved in February after he reconnected with former swing coach Sean Cain, now the director of instruction at the TaylorMade Kingdom of Golf at Lake Oconee. Cain helped Reeves balance his tall 6-foot-3 torso with his short arms and convinced him to dial back his swing and find more consistency.
The results really started to show in June, and he finished no worse than 19th in five of the past six tournaments. He tied for third at the Maine Open, shooting 66-66 on the weekend, and tied for fifth at the Utah Championship, shooting 66-65 on the weekend.
“I’ve been playing well and playing consistent, which has been nice,” Reeves said. “I felt I could play well on any golf course. I could go low, but I wasn’t very consistent. This year I’ve worked hard on my game to figure out where those inconsistencies are coming from, and it’s been nice to show up every week and shoot some good scores.”
Reeves and his wife, Patricia, had their first child last week. That prevented him from defending his title at the Pinnacle Bank Classic last week, but didn’t really affect his status on Tour. He’s taking this week off before playing the final two weeks of the Korn Ferry playoffs, where he can improve his position for next season.
Credit: PGA TOUR
Credit: PGA TOUR
University of Georgia graduate Greyson Sigg and Adam Novak, a South Carolina native who now lives at Sea Island, also finished among the top 25 and earned their tour cards for the first time.
Sigg, an Augusta native, had nine top-10s and won the 2021 Visit Knoxville Open. He ranked among the top 10 in greens in regulation this season.
“I’m excited,” Sigg said. “Playing with the best guys in the world week in and week out has always been a dream of mine. I feel like the game is there, and my good is good enough to win out there. I feel like I’ve proven that over the past few years, so I’m looking forward to being out there.”
Novak, who played golf at Wofford, won the 2020 Suncoast Classic and had five consecutive top-10s from April through May 2021, eventually ending up with 10.
Chateau’s Chung takes West Pines title
Lawrenceville’s Jin Chung, the PGA professional at Chateau Elan, won the Georgia PGA’s West Pines Classic in Douglasville.
Chung shot a 6-under 65 and beat Tim Weinhart of Heritage Golf Links by three shots. Jacob Tilton of Ansley Golf Club, J.P. Griffin of Capital City Club, Greg Edwards of East Lake Golf Club and Sonny Skinner of Sylvester tied for third with 69s.
Bad weather forced cancellation of the second day and shortened the event to 18 holes.
Coble wins Ga. Senior Women’s Amateur
Augusta’s Laura Coble won the Georgia Senior Women’s Amateur for the second consecutive year and for the sixth time overall. The Georgia Golf Hall of Famer shot even-par 72 and won the rain-shortened event by two shots at Rivermont Country Club in Johns Creek.
Deb Jackson, the 2019 winner, finished second at 74. Brenda Pictor of Marietta, who has won the event seven times, was third at 75, and Shelly White of Atlanta was fourth at 5 over.
Susan Clonts of Woodbury won the Super Senior Division with a 77.
Keuhn medalist at Senior Women’s Am qualifier
Brenda Kuehn of Asheville, N.C., shot even-par 72 to earn medalist honors at the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur qualifier at Canongate I Country Club in Sharpsburg. Brenda Pictor of Marietta, Pam Prescott of Piedmont, S.C., and Leslie Elkins of Roswell earned the other three spots.
Elkins worked hard to get in. She birdied the final hole to join a four-way tie for the last slot, then birdied the first hole to get in. Theresa Mahlik of Madison, Ala., and Deb Jackson of Johns Creek were the two alternates.
The U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur is Sept. 10-15 at The Lakewood Club in Point Clear, Ala.
Miscellaneous
A dozen of Atlanta’s top chefs will be serving their specialties at the 1904 Club during the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club. Admission to the 1904 Club is limited to 500 people. Chefs will be split between two venues inside the clubhouse -- Kiltie’s and The Boathouse Pub. Information is available at TourChampionship.com. ... Doug Hellman has joined Bobby Jones Golf Links as president of business development. Hellman is formerly the managing director at ClubCorp and senior vice president of business development for KemperSports Management.
