On Grand Strand Golf: Myrtle Beach’s Diaz again on Web.com Tour Finals bubble

Roberto Diaz of Myrtle Beach finds himself in almost the exact position he was in this time a year ago.

With the four-event Web.com Tour Finals about to begin, Diaz again finds himself on or near the bubble.

The top 75 players on the Web.com money list following this week’s WinCo Foods Portland Open in North Plains, Ore., will qualify for the finals and have an opportunity to earn PGA Tour privileges for the 2015-16 season.

Last year, Diaz entered the regular season finale at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in 75th and missed the cut to drop to 78th in earnings and miss the playoffs.

He’s 77th on the money list this year with $57,011 and is $7,134 behind Drew Scott in the 75th spot, so he needs to finish no worse than a two-way tie for 24th this week to have any chance of making the finals.

“It’s the same as every week. I’m trying to have a good finish,” Diaz said. “The only thing is there is more on the line this week with the playoffs, but it’s the same, I’m treating the tournament the same as the other ones.”

The season trend has been similar in each of the past two years for Diaz, who has lived in Myrtle Beach and trained at the Greg Norman Champions Academy at Barefoot Resort since 2010 after graduating from USC Aiken in ’09.

He has recorded strong finishes early in the season to establish himself on the money list, then has had a consistent slide down the list.

Diaz tied for sixth in the tour’s second event in Colombia in early February to earn $27,800 and move up to 13th on the money list. Through one-third of the 21-event regular season, Diaz was still 32nd in earnings with $49,120.

After making five consecutive cuts early in the season, he has missed 10 of his last 13 cuts with three finishes between 30th and 43rd mixed in. He tied for 39^th two weeks ago to snap a streak of four missed cuts.

“I’m not going to complain. It’s just golf,” Diaz said. “I’m a grown up man. It is what it is. I just learn from the stuff I go through.”

His ball-striking has been off, as he ranks 140th on tour in ball-striking, 137th in total driving and 140th in greens hit in regulation at 63.64 percent. He’s 19th in putting average.

He dropped to 76th in earnings entering last week’s News Sentinel Open at Fox Den Country Club in Knoxville, Tenn., where he was 3-under par through nine holes but had two balls bounce out of bounds and he doubled his 10th hole, tripled his 13th and bogeyed his 15th to shoot a 2-over 73 in the first round.

Though he missed the cut to the low 65 players by a single shot at 3-under 139, Diaz is coming off a 5-under 66 in the second round that included all 18 greens in regulation and a back-nine 32 with birdies on holes 12, 14, 17 and 18.

“I’m playing good golf. I just have to do the same things and be patient and hopefully it pays off,” Diaz said.

This week’s event has a boosted purse of $800,000 and winner’s share of $144,000.

The four Web.com Tour Finals events have $1 million purses and are reserved for Nos. 1-75 off Web.com Tour money list, plus Nos. 126-200 off the PGA Tour’s FedExCup points list through this past Sunday.

Fifty players will earn PGA Tour status through the finals, and the top 25 on the Web.com money list through this week’s event are all guaranteed one of those 50 spots, though their level of exempt status will depend on their performance in the finals, with the exception of Patton Kizzire.

The Auburn graduate and Alabama native has secured the No. 1 spot on the regular season money list and full 2015-16 PGA Tour status. South Carolina alum and Greenville resident Kyle Thompson is 27th in earnings and entered this week.

If he fails to crack the top 75, Diaz will still have Web.com conditional status next season, and can improve his status through the Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament. He will likely be exempt into the final of four Q-School stages based on his money list finish. All members who reach the final stage will have some level of Web.com Tour membership.

The final stage will be played from Dec. 10-13 at PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.. It will be 72 holes this year, which is a departure from 108 holes in recent years.

“Hopefully I’ll get into the playoffs and play well and earn my PGA Tour card,” Diaz said. “If it doesn’t work out I’ll go to Q-School and try to do it again next year.”

Patriot Day approaching

Tournament director Bill Pearson has another packed weekend of events leading up to the Tidewater Patriot Day Charity Golf Tournament on Labor Day.

The tournament and related events benefit the Folds of Honor Foundation, and soldiers who have been wounded in combat participate each year.

In addition to golf, the long weekend activities from Sept. 4-7 include a charity bowling event highlighted by an appearance by Rhino Page, a three-time winner on the PBA Tour, a Zumbathon with Sara McGrail, a golf clinic led by LPGA instructor and former Mrs. South Carolina Meredith Kirk, and keynote speaker Robin Carpenter, the mother of Medal of Honor recipient Kyle Carpenter.

The Sept. 7 tournament has a 9 a.m. shotgun start and four-person captain’s choice format, as well as pre-tournament patriotic ceremonies on the driving range.

Tournament entry is $600 per team and more information is available by calling 843-283-3752 or visiting www.TidewaterCharityTournament.com.

The event is benefiting this year from people who register the tournament as their given charity for purchases on Smile.Amazon.com.

Golfweek Am event grows

The largest Golfweek Amateur Tour event in the area this year will be held Saturday at the TPC Myrtle Beach.

The tournament is the annual event that combines the tour chapters in Myrtle Beach, Charleston and Columbia, and it is also benefiting from its date two days before the start of the Myrtle Beach World Amateur Handicap Championship.

Registration closed Monday, and the 92 players registered represent nine different Golfweek tours including those in Indianapolis; Columbus, Ohio; Cincinnati; Arkansas; Atlanta; Charlotte; and Hilton Head. The tournament will receive some coverage in an upcoming issue of Golfweek magazine.

Priests leaving CGA

Andy Priest, a 16-year Carolinas Golf Association staff member, is leaving the organization to become the Executive Director of the Alabama Golf Association.

He will begin his new position on Nov. 1 and replaces Buford McCarty, who held the job for 30 years.

Priest, who played baseball at Campbell University, did a three-month internship in 1997 with the CGA, which has served amateur golf in the Carolinas since 1909 and is based in Pinehurst, N.C.

He worked full-time for 2 1/2 years for the International Junior Golf Tour in Hilton Head Island before returning to the CGA in 2000. He is second in command as the Assistant Executive Director overseeing the CGA's extensive tournament operations.

Priest has served on numerous United States Golf Association Rules of Golf Committees for national championships such as the U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open, U.S. Amateur, U.S. Senior Amateur and U.S. Women's Amateur.

The CGA is also losing Priest’s wife, Tiffany, who has worked for 14 years as the association's Director of Women's Golf and Membership Services.

Jacobs Pro-Am successful

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church is holding a wine and cheese tasting reception at 3 p.m. Friday in its parish hall to celebrate the fundraising results of the 2015 Rich Jacobs Memorial Pro-Am Tournament at Arrowhead Country Club.

The event, featuring area club professionals and their teams of amateurs, raised $12,000 and checks will be presented to the Helping Hands of the North Strand, Myrtle Beach and South Strand, and the North Strand Housing Shelter.

Special vols sought

More than 220 golfers from U.S. and Canadian Special Olympics Programs will compete in the 15th annual Special Olympics North America Golf Invitational Tournament at Port Royal Golf Club in Hilton Head from Sept. 10-13. The tournament, presented by KPMG LLP, is seeking volunteers to assist with its operation.

Those interested may apply online at http://bit.do/sonagolfvolunteer. Volunteer registration closes Aug. 31. The tournament is open and free for spectators.

This story was originally published August 24, 2015 at 10:17 PM with the headline "On Grand Strand Golf: Myrtle Beach’s Diaz again on Web.com Tour Finals bubble."