Hadley battling for a PGA Tour card again and opens with 64 in Mississippi

Aberg was the No. 1 in the PGA Tour University ranking, and thus is assured his PGA Tour card for 2024. Hadley isn’t so fortunate.

Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., is tied for 11th after a 5-under 67 round, defending champion Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., is tied for 65th after a 2-under 70, and Michael Gligic of Burlington, Ont., had an even-par 72 to sit tied for 114th.

The FedEx Cup Fall is for players to secure their positions inside the top 125 at the end of the year. Hadley is at No. 122, with little room for error. He said he wasn’t in panic mode like he has been in previous year, mainly because he has more than a month left in the year.

“I’ve been feeling good. I feel dangerous. I’m feeling dangerous right now,” Hadley said. “I feel like some of the hard work and some of the shot-shape change that I’ve done has paid off, and my game feels good. Just need to keep it going. The gas is on the right.”

Hadley had to tie for eighth in the final regular-season event to secure his card last year. In 2022, he tied for 15th in the final event to get into the FedEx Cup playoffs.

So this kind of pressure is nothing new.

“It’s great,” Hadley said with a small measure of sarcasm. “I’m not as panicky as I have been the last couple of years. We’ve got plenty of golf left. I feel good. I’m thinking about it less than I have in years past.”

Norlander, who is No. 142 in the FedEx Cup, has a bit more urgency. He showed that on the back nine when he two-putted for eagle at No. 11, holed a 35-foot birdie putt on the next hole, followed with an 8-foot birdie and then holed a 100-foot chip for eagle on the par-5 14th.

The large group at 66 included Russell Knox, who needs to good fall to keep his card. Another shot behind was Kevin Kisner, who took the last two months of the regular season off because of a deep slump.

Aberg is among the star attractions at Sanderson Farms, mainly because of his rapid start since leaving Texas Tech after his senior season. He did well enough to get the attention of Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, and then won the European Masters in Switzerland that assured him getting one of the captain’s picks.

He teamed with Viktor Hovland for a Ryder Cup record 9-and-7 victory over Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns, and he spent Sunday night celebrating a European victory.

Three of his teammates made the short flight to Scotland for a European tour event. Aberg went to Mississippi to improve his FedEx Cup standing. While his card is assured, Aberg would love to get into The Players Championship and some of the $20 million events next year.

“Going into the day, I was a bit tired, not going to lie,” Aberg said. “But I knew what I was capable of doing, and it was pretty cool to see that showing up. Felt like I hit the ball solid today. Kind of a weird day on the greens, to be honest. I made a few longer ones but then I also missed a few shorter ones. It’s just one of them days.”

Also at 67 was Sam Ryder with a wild scorecard. Ryder had only one par on the back nine, 10 birdies for the day along with two bogeys and a double bogey.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Hadley battling for a PGA Tour card again and opens with 64 in Mississippi

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