Week after week, we find examples not only of how difficult it is to win a professional golf tournament but also of how complex this sport is in itself. Today, it is worth focusing on the figure of Englishman David Skinns (-13), who yesterday managed to sign a sensational card of 60 strokes in the first round of the Sanderson Farms Championship on the PGA Tour, even missing a final putt for birdie, and who just 24 hours later, on the same course and without a drastic change in playing conditions, needed no less than 11 more strokes to complete his round.
On Thursday, he only hit four fairways out of 14, but that didn’t stop him from sealing the best result of his career on the circuit and the record at the Country Club of Jackson. Today, with one more fairway under his belt, he wasn’t even among the top 70, with four birdies and three bogeys for a 71. In any case, and despite the drastic change in his game from one day to the next, he remains fully in the fight for victory, just two strokes behind the new leader, American Beau Hossler (-15), who has made consistency his best weapon to head into the weekend at the top of the leaderboard.
Strait vibin'.
@DanielBerger59 is the solo leader @Sanderson_Champ! pic.twitter.com/o7lipYrI0y— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 4, 2024
To his 65-stroke round yesterday, he added another 64 today to lead by one over Daniel Berger (-14) and by two over the trio that includes Skinns, Jacob Bridgeman (-13), and Keith Mitchell (-13). Among the top five in the standings, the one who would benefit the most from the tournament at this moment would be Berger, who started the week in 141st place in the FedEx and would climb to break into the top 100. Bridgeman, in 123rd place, would also make a significant leap to avoid pressure when it comes to retaining playing rights for 2025.
When Kevin Streelman made his first cut on the PGA TOUR, he was living out of his car and had $20 to his name.
Today, @Streels54 made his 300th cut on TOUR @Sanderson_Champ 👏 pic.twitter.com/U8OcejQW9f
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 4, 2024
Among the pursuers are interesting names such as Gary Woodland (-12), Lucas Glover (-12), Ryan Fox (-11), Seamus Power (-11), Patton Kizzire (-11), or Brandt Snedeker (-10). Rickie Fowler (-8), returning to competition after almost three months off, has comfortably made the cut and will have the weekend ahead to ‘attack’. A cut also surpassed by Kevin Streelman (-7) to set a fantastic record: 300 cuts made on the PGA Tour throughout his career, something only 203 players have achieved in history.
