Rosenmueller passes the NV5 test

Writing from Glenview, Illinois

Sunday, July 28, 2024

Two weeks ago, Thomas Rosenmueller wasn’t sure when or if he’d play golf again. He had to withdraw from a tournament because of an injured neck.

“It’s a big scary when you can’t turn your head left and you see two balls and you get super dizzy,” Rosenmueller said. “I had severe migraines. The connection between the skull and the C-0 vertebra was completely locked up. It was a combination of things.”

Thankfully, seeing a specialist not only got him a proper diagnosis but a cure.

“It was quite painful treatment, to be honest,” Rosenmueller said. “I walked out with no more headaches.”

That allowed Rosenmueller to get back on the Korn Ferry Tour last week, where he finished tied for 66th, and this week, where he improved his standing by 66 players.

The 27-year-old German’s closing round of 5-under-par 66 on Sunday brought him in at 25-under 259 and a two-stroke winner in the 6th NV5 Championship at The Glen Club. The outcome, which all but guarantees him a PGA Tour card next year, earned him a $180,000 bounty from the $1 million purse.

Karl Vilips scored a final-round 63 to finish second at 23-under 261. Steven Fisk, Davis Chatfield, Zach Bauchou and Sam Bennett were joint third at 22-under 262. Fisk moved back to the top spot in the series standings with his finish.

The margin of victory was effectively his eagle on the par-4 15th hole, a 32-yard 60-degree spinner of a chip in for a deuce after a 312-yard drive. Coupled with a birdie on the 14th, it snapped the tie with Vilips and gave him a three-stroke lead on the field. Even after a bogey at the 16th, he knew he was in control.

“I had a lot of good chances on holes 6 through 12 but didn’t capitalize on them,” Rosenmueller said. “Then the putt on 14, an eight-foot downhill slider, that was a great putt. And the chip-in on 15, that’s when I realized this was mine for the taking. I saw where I wanted it to land and it came off the club face exactly like I wanted it. It just worked out great.”

Rosenmueller slept on the lead Saturday night, a first for him on the KFT after 63 starts, but he clearly slept well. He birdied three of the first five holes and was on the way.

He counted the victory as his biggest since winning the German Boys Team Championship as a junior. He had won three times on a German mini-tour after turning pro, which got him Challenge Tour status, the step before the DP World Tour, but he abandoned that for the KFT, the path to the PGA Tour.

The decision was not without drama. Rosenmueller decided not to go to PGA Tour qualifying last fall and concentrate on honing his game for a big run on the KFT this year. The biggest change was in his putting. He’s gone from 140th in putting to the top 30, proving the old adage, “putt for dough,” is true.

“Then I made the first cut of the year and missed six in a row,” Rosenmueller said. “I looked like the biggest clown on Planet Earth. You take three months off to get yourself ready and then you play like that?”

Things turned around in April with a pair of ties for 20th sandwiched around a tie for ninth. That ended the cash drain. Aside from the injury withdrawal a fortnight ago, he’s cashed every week since.

“It started to be, ‘I really did take a step,’ but I think I could have done a better job of it going into the season,” he said. “The technique was there, but the playing wasn’t.”

He’d also contemplated quitting two years ago, when the Challenge Tour wasn’t working out and he was bleeding cash, but soldiered on. Sunday’s hurdle of winning was just another in the series Rosenmueller knows as life.

“In 2019, when I couldn’t break 80, I was a week away from quitting golf forever,” he said. “And I was lucky to have sponsors in 2022 or I’d have had to quit playing. I’d have to go work somewhere. Now I’m on the verge of a PGA Tour card.”

Around The Glen Club

Paul Peterson had the round of the day, a 9-under 62 that featured an outward 6-under 29. He finished tied for seventh. … The strong southerly wind made for a chaotic par-5 18th hole. Players trying to reach the green in two were crashing their approaches into the grandstand and hospitality tents behind it. At least one person in the Old National Bank tent was hit by a ball. … Only three of the 75 players in the field scored over par on Sunday, with Erik Compton the high man at 3-over 74. He finished last at 5-under 279, and collected $3,800. The cascade of low scores averaged 67.613 strokes, about 3.4 under the par of 71, on Sunday, and 68.090 for the week.

– Tim Cronin