Wells Fargo Notebook: Rodgers entering new elite neighborhood

The group of heralded young players that have won this season on the PGA Tour will soon have some company, someone who may challenge them for years to come.

Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler and Patrick Reed, meet Patrick Rodgers.

He matched Tiger Woods’ Stanford University record for collegiate wins with 11 and now has his sights set on the elite on the PGA Tour.

Rodgers just may introduce himself to more of the American public this week in the 13^th Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club. Playing on a sponsor exemption, he has carded a pair of 68s to start the tournament and is tied for third at 8-under 136, two strokes behind co-leaders Webb Simpson and Robert Streb.

“It’s obviously huge to get a sponsor's exemption here especially with the reputation of this tournament,” Rodgers said. “It's an event I've been watching for a long time and excited to be a part of it.”

The Indiana native turned pro following the 2014 NCAA Championship as the No. 1 amateur in the world. Rodgers, 22, is a sinewy 6-foot-2 and 165-170 pounds.

“I left after my junior year at Stanford because I had belief,” Rodgers said. “I have full confidence I'm capable of not only playing really well but winning out here. I just try to carry myself with that confidence and hopefully this weekend I can do the same.”

Rodgers said he’s relishing his opportunity this weekend. “It’s a little bit of a new position,” he said. “I won a lot in college and I’m comfortable at the top of the leaderboard. I'm excited to get in the mix this weekend.”

Rodgers has entered five PGA Tour events this season on sponsor exemptions. After missing two cuts he has made his past four and is set to exceed his best finish of 37^th. He is a member of the Web.com Tour and is already on his way to earning PGA Tour status in 2015-16 with a win in Colombia in February among his seven starts.

“That [win] allows me to comfortably spend some time out here and take advantage of some opportunities and gives me a lot of confidence going forward,” Rodgers said. “It’s a good start to the year on the Web.com and hopefully I’ll carry that through to a few starts out here on the PGA Tour.”

Rodgers has made 11 birdies and three bogeys this week, and his lone bogey Friday came on his final hole. “This golf course just sets up really well for me,” Rodgers said. “A lot of holes turn right to left and I can hit a big high draw, which is kind of my go-to shot. I'm able to really put myself in good position off the tee and it's yielded some good scores.”

Gillis makes return

Tom Gillis, 46, who played at Coastal Carolina for a season in 1990 before turning pro, played his first tournament in 3 ½ months this week, shooting a 4-over 148 to miss the cut.

Gillis had surgery on Nov. 14 to remove a couple bone spurs from his shoulder, and decided after his third consecutive missed cut at the Farmers Insurance Open in early February to take a break that ended up lasting 3 1/2 months.

“It’s always an honor to be out here,” Gillis said. “I’m pain free. I’ve got no pain. I still thinks it’s maybe a little bit weak in there. I don’t have the power, I’m definitely not hitting it as far as before. That will take time, it’s just a matter of playing.”

Gillis has been a PGA Tour member in seven years, including four straight from 2010-13, and played his way back onto the PGA Tour last year through the Web.com Tour playoffs following a full year on the secondary circuit.

He has a pair of top-30 finishes and five missed cuts in seven starts this season. Ties for 26th and 29th came in October and November.

Gillis was 3 over through his first four holes Thursday and bogeyed the final three to shoot 76. He birdied holes 13-15 Friday and was 2 under for the round before making double bogey on his final hole for a 72.

“I’m somewhat happy with what I saw. Being rusty who knows what it could have been,” Gillis said. “It feels good now, the game is actually in good shape, it’s just more rusty between the ears for not playing tournament golf for three months. This place is a pretty tough place to come stale a little bit in between the ears.”

Gillis’ status won’t allow him to get into three of the next five tournaments – Colonial, Memorial and U.S. Open – but but he plans to play in the AT&T Byron Nelson in two weeks and FedEx St. Jude Classic from June 11-14.

“It’s probably pretty good with the shoulder for the first three tournaments back to have a week on, week off, week on, week off, just to make sure we’re alright,” he said.

Gillis is not interested in attempting to qualify for the U.S. Open, which require 36 holes on a Monday. “At my age, those 36-holers aren’t really for me anymore.”

Following the U.S. Open, Gillis will get in most tournaments through the Aug. 20-23 Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C. “I’ll play a lot from here until the playoffs,” said Gillis, who moved with his family from Florida to his native Michigan in the past year.

Chappell’s mallet cools

Following a second-round 73, Kevin Chappell was undecided about what putter to take to the course on Saturday.

He used a mallet-head putter that he pulled from a Nike tour equipment bag while piddling around on the practice green Monday in each of the first two rounds, and the results Friday didn’t match those of his 66 in the first round. After needing just 23 putts Thursday, he took 32 putts Friday and three-putted the 17^th green from 56 feet.

“As good as I putted yesterday I putted that bad today,” Chappell said. “There’s obviously a human factor there, so maybe a little practice will help.”

Chappell, with Galivants Ferry native Michael Maness on the bag, birdied holes 10 and 12 to reach 8 under for the tournament and pull within a shot of the lead at the time, but stumbled down the stretch with bogeys on holes 13, 17 and 18.

“I was 2 under for the day and really it probably could have been two shots lower and I got out of position a little bit coming in and the speed with the putter was probably the worst it’s ever been, so I’ve got to work on that,” Chappell said. “You’ve got to keep the pins in front of you and give yourself some room to work with around here.”

Chappell, the 2008 NCAA individual champion at UCLA who has two runner-up and two third-place finishes in five years on tour, has just one finish inside the top 60 in his past nine events and enters the weekend tied for 13th at 5-under 139.

“It’s a great opportunity,” said Chappell, who tied for 11^th at Quail Hollow last year. “I’ve got to find that magic I had Thursday, though, to really have a chance. If I play like I played today I might as well be going home. So hopefully some hard work and rest this afternoon will pay off.”

Prayer answered

Colt Knost was 2-over par standing on the 17^th tee box Friday, two shots outside the eventual cut line with the two holes playing the most difficult at Quail Hollow in the second round remaining.

Knost then made a hole-in-one on the 221-yard 17^th hole with a 3-iron and birdied the 18^th with a 13-foot putt from the fringe to get to 1 under and make the cut by two shots.

“I told [playing partner] Jonathan Byrd we both needed a miracle to somehow make the cut. That was probably the definition of it,” Knost said.

He used a broken tee that he attained through bartering to make the ace. “There was a little kid inside the ropes who had a broken tee,” Knost explained. “I told him I would trade him a full one for a broken one if I can use it this hole. His dad said, ‘Only if you hit it close.’ Then it went in.”

The weekend off

Eighty-one players made the cut to the weekend at even-par 144. Those who didn’t by a stroke include reigning champion J.B. Holmes, Adam Scott, Erik Compton and Charlotte resident Johnson Wagner.

Others missing the cut include 2013 Wells Fargo champion Derek Ernst, Jim Furyk, Ryo Ishikawa, Louis Oosthuisen, Trevor Immelman, Vijay Singh, Nick Watney, Padraig Harrington, Rory Sabbatini, Charl Schwartzel and Byrd.\

This story was originally published May 15, 2015 at 10:02 PM with the headline "Wells Fargo Notebook: Rodgers entering new elite neighborhood."