Looking for the next legend

Writing from Glenview, Illinois

Wednesday, July 24, 2024

Where will the next Scottie Scheffler come from?

In North America, the answer probably is, the same place the first one came from – the Korn Ferry Tour.

The PGA Tour’s triple-A circuit has proven phenomenally successful at identifying future stars since it took root at the Ben Hogan Tour in 1990. This week, it returns to the Chicago area with the sixth playing of the Western Golf Association-sponsored NV5 Invitational at The Glen Club. Hostilities commence Thursday morning and continue through Sunday.

Scheffler is used here as the example because he won the NV5 in 2019, when it debuted and was known as the Evans Scholars Invitational. Scheffler went around The Glen Club four times with an aggregate of 17-under-par 273 – with a final round back nine of 30 – and then beat Marcelo Rozo on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff.

It was his first win on the then-Web.com Tour, and kick-started his pro career. By the end of the season, Scheffler led the both the regular and playoff points and earned a spot on the PGA Tour. He has been rolling since then, with this year’s six wins, including a second Masters, the best stretch of his career.

The next Scheffler? Maybe it’s Trace Crowe, last year’s winner, who advanced to the PGA Tour via qualifying school after coming close to getting his card via the Korn Ferry trail.

“Chicago’s where all this started,” said Crowe recently. “The confidence and believe that I can be where I am now.”

Crowe, who tees off in the 3M Championship on the big tour Thursday, could be back here next year. While he’s made $448,709 so far, he’s 165th in the Tour’s standings, and only the top 100 are locked in for the following year. Everyone else goes into the Korn Ferry playoff mosh pit. Curtis Thompson, the 2020 winner at The Glen Club, is the only returnee of the first five winners.

A glance at the pairings finds a cross between fringe PGA Tour players of the past, recent notable amateurs – including last year’s Western Amateur winner, Kazuma Kobori of Auckland, New Zealand – and sundry other hopefuls.

Remember Bo Van Pelt, knocking around the PGA Tour for years? He’s here. So is Jamie Lovemark, who won the 2005 Western Amateur, turned pro and has been chasing stardom since. Likewise Tag Ridings, who may still have his own fan club. Five-time PGA Tour winner Ben Crane’s on hand as well.

Local heroes abound. Brad Hopfinger, who won an Illinois Open at The Glen Club, is teeing it up. So is two-time Illinois Amateur champ Ethan Farnam of Crystal Lake, now playing for cash. The field is deep enough that Dylan Meyer, erstwhile Illinois standout, is the ninth alternate.

There’s a million bucks on offer, and $180,000 to the winner, the same pricey purse the Western Open offered in 1989. In 1990, when the Hogan Tour began, the purses were $100,000, with $20,000 to the champion. The world of golf has changed. But the Scottie Schefflers of the game still emerge.

– Tim Cronin