Kris Blanks, former Myrtle Beach resident, scrambling to retain PGA Tour status

Having missed the cut in the Web.com Tour Championship on Sept. 19, former Myrtle Beach resident Kris Blanks will have to scramble in 2015 to retain the PGA Tour status he’s held since 2009.

Blanks, 42, who lived in Myrtle Beach from 1996-2002, carries a major medical extension from 2013 into the 2014-15 season and will have nine starts to earn nearly $593,000 to again become a full member of the PGA Tour.

He played in just eight PGA Tour events last season through mid-June and made just one cut with two withdrawals to earn $17,327, and missed the cut in his only event in 2013.

After losing his card by earning only $390,000 in 23 events in 2012 while playing much of the year with an injured shoulder, he regained full status for 2013 with a tie for fourth in the 2012 PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament Finals despite playing through pain.

He had surgery in February 2013, during which doctors repaired scar tissue and shaved a bone to free movement, and has been granted 18 total events to earn enough money to place in the top 125 on the 2013 money list and retain his status.

That is the maximum number of events the tour says he would have qualified for in 2013 based on his status earned at Q-School had he not played well enough over the course of the season to improve his standing.

“The goal this season is to play good when I do get a chance and hopefully get more stability for the next season,” said Blanks, who has earned more than $3.7 million on the PGA and Web.com tours.

A win on the Web.com Tour early in 2014 gives him a two-year exemption on that tour. But he can’t schedule a full year on the Web.com in an attempt to earn 2015-16 PGA Tour status with either a top-25 finish on the money list or through the four-event Web.com Tour Finals because he isn’t permitted to play in a Web.com event if he is qualified to be in the field of a PGA Tour tournament that same week. So he can’t necessarily pick and choose all of his events.

“The toughest part is the uncertainty of knowing what your schedule is going to be,” Blanks said. “You have to try to do both and be ready. I’m going to try to get on the Web.com Tour and play more events than I have.”

Since the PGA Tour’s six fall events became part of a new wraparound season last year and offer full FedExCup points for the 2014-15 season, they have attracted more fully exempt players, making it harder to get into those events.

Beginning with the Oct. 9-12 Frys.com Open at CordeValle Golf Club in San Martin, Cal., Blanks believes he may get into the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Miss., opposite the WGC-HSBC Champions in China from Nov. 6-9, and possibly the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in Mexico the following week, though the field is limited to 132 players because of limited daylight hours.

After that, he expects to qualify for the Puerto Rico Open opposite another WGC event in early March, will request sponsor exemptions into a pair of Florida events that sandwich it – Honda Classic and Valspar Championship – then will likely have to wait until at least the AT&T Byron Nelson Championship in late May to play again on the PGA.

While balancing his schedule between the two tours, Blanks is also balancing his time dedicated to golf and his family. He has been spending a lot of time with his wife, Tami, and two sons, Brady, 8, and Kristoffer, 10, who are constantly playing team sporting events.

He believes he may have to become more selfish this year for the betterment of his game, and ultimately, his family’s financial security.

“You want to be home for your wife and kids and be a daddy, but it’s tough,” Blanks said. “At some point it has an effect on how you practice. When you practice like you want to get home from practice, you end up maybe cutting your practice short.”

The left shoulder injury that caused pain and weakness during Blanks’ swing prior to the surgery is better, though it will likely never be quite the same again.

“I’m as healthy as a 41- or 42-year-old can be I guess. I’ve never been a pillar of health. I’m all right,” said Blanks, who has lived in Jupiter, Fla., for the past five years. “That’s not the reason I haven’t been playing good golf, I just haven’t been playing good. It’s not like I’m shooting really low scores at home and I’m just not playing well on tour. I’m not even playing good at home.”

During the offseason, Blanks intends to turn his large garage into an indoor teaching facility that Tami, who is a teaching pro by trade, and his father, Donnie, will use, and he’ll assist them with instruction on occasion or as requested.

This story was originally published October 1, 2014 at 11:06 AM with the headline "Kris Blanks, former Myrtle Beach resident, scrambling to retain PGA Tour status."