PANAMA CITY – Canadian Michael Gligic shot a 5-under 65 on Sunday to win the Web.com Tour’s Panama Championship by one stroke.

It was the 29-year-old’s first victory on the Web.com Tour— his first career start at the Panamá Championship. The journeyman has spent years between tours before earning Web.com Tour starts with a T13 finish at the Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament last December. Once the results were confirmed, Gligic was overcome with emotion, realizing he had officially won.

“I still can’t really believe it, to be honest. You come to every golf tournament to win and to actually do it is a whole different ball game, and it’s really overwhelming,” Gligic said. “I knew I was right there, and every shot really counted. I gave it my all and fortunately I was good by one shot.”

Gligic, a Burlington, Ont., native who resides in Kitchener, Ont., finished at 8-under 272 at the Panama Golf Club, one shot better than Xinjun Zhang of China.

 

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CHAMP! Congrats on the @WebDotComTour WIN, @MGligicGolf ???? – What a ride ⛳️?? – – – ? @webdotcomtour

A post shared by Golf Canada (@thegolfcanada) on Feb 10, 2019 at 2:10pm PST

Zhang capped his tournament with a 66.

Gligic had six birdies in Sunday’s final round – including three straight on the ninth, 10th and 11th holes. His only blemish was a bogey on the Par-4 15th.

“I would say the turning point was when I made that really good par putt on seven, which was over a cup outside,” Gligic said. “I’d say that putt kept me going and birdieing 10 and 11 was where it was game on from there.”

After a third-round 67, Gligic was T7 as he began his final round. He sensed that he was near the top of the leaderboard but didn’t know for sure until the round was over.

“Down the stretch I didn’t really know where I stood,” said Gligic. “I’ve been trying not to look at leaderboards or anything. I knew I was close because the cameras were out and people were following.”

Gligic has spent most of his career on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada with this week being his 15^th-career start on the Web.com Tour. He referenced the constant support from his fellow Canadians and Mackenzie Tour counterparts.

“It’s great; it’s always been like that. We’re a pretty tight-knit group and regardless of whether we’re playing the Mackenzie Tour, Web.com Tour or PGA TOUR, everyone’s cheering for each other,” said Gligic. “Everyone wants to see that Canadian flag at the top of the leaderboard and fortunately it was my week this week. Hopefully those boys get it done in the next few weeks here. I think Canada is moving in the right direction and we’re seeing a lot of Canadian flags on all the tours.”

Words from the newly ? champ @MGligicGolf pic.twitter.com/DOugG0Zoiz

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) February 11, 2019

Carl Yuan (69) of China finished third at 6 under while Britain’s Ben Taylor, who opened the day atop the leaderboard, had two bogeys in his 1-over final round to fall to fourth place at 5 under.

Ottawa’s Brad Fritsch (67) finished in a tie for 19th, Albin Choi (70) of Surrey, B.C., tied for 36th and Mike Weir (70) of Brights Grove, Ont., took a share of 41st place.

Gligic rose six positions in the standings on the final day of the tournament. He took home US$112,500 for winning and earned 500 points in the new Web.com Tour Points system.

He shot a pair of 70’s to open the event on Thursday and Friday but bettered his score with a third-round 67 to climb within striking distance of the lead heading into the final.

“Down the stretch I didn’t really know where I stood,” said Gligic. “I’ve been trying not to look at leaderboards or anything. I knew I was close because the cameras were out and people were following.”

Gligic’s previous best result this season was a tie for 20th at the Bahamas Great Exuma Classic.

PANAMÁ CITY, Panamá – New Zealand’s Tim Wilkinson survived windy conditions on Thursday at the Panamá Championship with a 5-under 65 to take the first-round lead. Xinjun Zhang, Mike Weir and Brett Coletta sit T2 at 4-under-par, with four players one stroke behind at T5.

The Web.com Tour kicked off its final event outside the United States on Thursday at the Club de Golf de Panamá, which has historically been one of the most difficult courses on the Web.com Tour as players battled windy conditions with gusts reaching up to 22 miles per hour. Wilkinson, who is making his 190^th Web.com Tour start this week, had seven birdies on the day including four on his front nine.

“I would say the putter was working best for me today. Given the conditions and it being really windy out here, I played pretty conservatively,” Wilkinson said. “I hit a lot of solid tee shots and was able to get the ball in play. It was tough because the wind was gusting early and that makes it a little bit more difficult when you pull the trigger.”

After two birdies on Nos. 3 and 4, Wilkinson suffered a double bogey on the par-4 fifth, setting him back to even-par. He quickly bounced back with birdies on Nos. 6 and 8 to make the turn at 2-under and used birdies on 12, 16 and 17 to close out his round, earning him a career low at the Club de Golf de Panamá.

“I hit a lot of greens today and kept it on the safe side of the hole. I putted really well, and I just made one mistake with the double bogey on No. 5,” said Wilkinson. “I came straight back on six and hit a really good four-iron to about eight feet to make birdie there and then had a nice shot into No. 8 and made about a 20-footer. I was able to make some decent-length putts today so that was nice.”

The 40-year-old is seeking his first Web.com Tour victory and has 21 career top-10 finishes, two of which have come at the Panamá Championship.

Sitting one-stroke off the lead is China’s Xinjun Zhang, who fired a 4-under 66 in his first round. Zhang opened Thursday with four birdies in his first five holes followed by 13 consecutive pars.

“I had a lot of good tee shots which set up good opportunities especially with the wind out there,” Zhang said. “I had some pretty long putts for par on the front nine which were critical. Overall, 4-under is really good out there today considering how windy it was.”

Zhang finds himself in a familiar spot near the top of the leaderboard after he led the Country Club de Bogotá Championship last Thursday with an opening-round 61. Zhang was unable to hold on to the lead and eventually finished T34, but said he learned from the experience.

“I want to stay aggressive going into tomorrow,” Zhang said. “I learned from the experience last week and felt like I let my foot off the gas a little bit. I want to stay smart but stay aggressive tomorrow.”

Tied with Zhang is Mike Weir, who is making his second Web.com Tour start this season. Starting on the back nine, the 2003 Masters champion found himself 1-over after his first five holes, but rebounded with birdies on Nos. 16, 18, 4, 8 and 9.

“My ball striking was great today. I hit all but one fairway and all but one green,” said Weir. “I was pin high a lot and had a lot of close chances today. It was really all ball striking out there today.”

Despite being one of the shorter hitters in the field, the 48-year-old mentioned he feels comfortable in the windy conditions at the Club de Golf de Panamá.

“I have a lower ball flight, so I don’t have to change too much,” Weir said. “I think the firm conditions help me because I don’t hit it high but can still get some roll. I’ve always seemed to play well in tougher conditions.”

Joining Weir and Zhang at 4-under is Australian Brett Coletta, who had seven birdies and three bogeys on Thursday. Playing is his first Panamá Championship, Coletta birdied two of his final three holes and feels right at home on the firm and fast Club de Golf de Panamá.

“I just played really solid. I hung in there and had some good birdies at the end,” Coletta said. “Being from Australia we get this common wind and firm surfaces, so it’s not too unfamiliar.”

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – The PGA TOUR announced today that current Vice President of Marketing Partnerships, Alexandra “Alex” Baldwin, has been named President of the Web.com Tour. With the announcement, Baldwin becomes the first female in history to lead one of the PGA TOUR’s six global Tours as President.

Dan Glod, who has served as President of the Web.com Tour since January of 2017, has been elevated to Senior Vice President, Global Sponsorship Strategy and Development in a corresponding announcement.

“We are excited to announce Alex as the new President of the Web.com Tour in what is a watershed moment for our organization,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “In her role as Vice President of Marketing Partnerships, Alex has spearheaded our efforts to provide increased value to our PGA TOUR partners and I know she will have that same level of success on the Web.com Tour. We thank Dan Glod for his tremendous leadership with our partners, tournaments and membership over these last two years and know the Web.com Tour has a great foundation which Alex can continue to build upon.”

Baldwin joined the PGA TOUR in 2017 as Vice President of Corporate Partnerships, where she was responsible for co-leading the Marketing Partnership team and overseeing key partner account teams including Morgan Stanley, Dell, Omni Hotel and Resorts and United Airlines, among others. In addition to spearheading partner oversight, she negotiated extensions and new programs with partners including Avis, MD Anderson, Rolex and Citi.

“I am thrilled for this opportunity to lead the Web.com Tour while drawing on years of experience in golf, sports and business,” said Baldwin. “The Web.com Tour is a tremendous avenue through which we’re able to develop the next generation of PGA TOUR stars, and I’m eager to learn as much as possible about our partners, tournaments and communities as we look to build on the Tour’s incredible 30-year foundation.”

We've announced the first female Tour President in @PGATOUR history.

Welcome aboard, Alex Baldwin! https://t.co/FMtA5x3mUl

— Web.com Tour (@WebDotComTour) January 30, 2019

Prior to joining the PGA TOUR, Baldwin was a Corporate Consulting Executive at CAA Sports in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, working with major brands on their strategy and activation plans in sports and entertainment. During that time, she worked strategically with Waste Management and the Waste Management Phoenix Open as well as Synchrony Financial, CVS Health and Concur among others.

For 10 years prior to joining CAA, Baldwin was with Boston-based Fenway Sports Management, consulting clients and driving sales efforts around premier golf properties, including the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Baldwin’s career began in 1992 as an intern with International Management Group (IMG), where she eventually rose to agent, representing the likes of LPGA stars Karrie Webb and Suzann Pettersen, as well as PGA TOUR winners Brad Faxon and Carlos Franco.

The Web.com Tour’s Country Club de Bogotá Championship begins tomorrow in Bogotá, Colombia. The event is the third of 27 tournaments on the Tour’s 2019 schedule, which will conclude with the sixth-annual Web.com Tour Finals in August and September.

Three of four Canadians were able to improve their Web.com Tour status on Sunday’s final round of Qualifying at Whirlwind Golf Club in Chandler, Ariz.

The Canadian quartet were led by Manotick, Ont., native Brad Fritsch, who marched inside the top 10 on the heels of a 10-under 62 performance. After opening the 72-hole event with an even-par 72, Fritsch rallied to finish inside the top 10 (72-66-64-62), earning 12 guaranteed starts next season.

Fellow countrymen Michael Gligic (Burlington, Ont.) and Albin Choi (Toronto, Ont.) finished inside the top 40, earning eight guaranteed starts next season.

Vancouver’s Seann Harlingten ended up T74 at 14 under—he’ll maintain his conditional status earned by reaching the final stage.

What happened, I blacked out for a while.

— Brad Fritsch (@BradFritsch) December 9, 2018

Medalist Danny Walker secured fully exempt Web.com Tour status after finishing at 27 under par for a one-stroke victory.

Walker, who finished seventh on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Order of Merit this year, led the field in birdies with 33, including nine on the final day. Despite the field’s scoring average being better on the Devil’s Claw course, Walker shot one stroke better on the Cattail course over the two days.

“I set my goal to not make a bogey today because I made a couple in the first few rounds,” said Walker. “I wanted to have a clean card because there are enough birdie holes out there that if I stayed bogey-free I knew I’d make some birdies and be in good shape.

Final Qualifying

Whirlwind Golf Club
Chandler, Ariz.
Dec. 6-9

Click here for the full leaderboard.

Stage II Qualifying

Bear Creek Golf Club
Murrieta, Calif.
Oct. 30 – Nov. 2

Click here for the full leaderboard.

Stage II Qualifying
Southern Hills Plantation
Brooksville, Fla.
Nov. 6-9
Top 18 advance (and ties)

Click here for full scoring.

Stage II Qualifying
TPC Craig Ranch
McKinney, Tex.
Nov. 6-9
Top 19 advance (and ties)

Click here for full scoring.

Stage II Qualifying
RTJ Golf Trail at Magnolia Grove
Mobile, Ala.
Nov. 6-9
Top 19 advance (and ties)

Click here for full scoring.

Stage II Qualifying
Plantation Preserve GC
Plantation, Fla.
Nov. 6-9
Top 18 advance (and ties)

Click here for full scoring.

The final stage of Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament gets underway Thursday at the Whirlwind Golf Club (The Cattail and Devil’s Claw) in Chandler, Ariz., where four Canadians will look to secure or improve their status for 2019.

The medalist at Final Stage will secure fully exempt Web.com Tour status for the 2019 Regular Season.

Finishers 2-10 at Final Stage (and ties) will secure entry into the first 12 events of the 2019 Regular Season.

Finishers 11-40 at Final Stage (and ties) will secure entry into the first eight events of the 2019 Regular Season.

The remainder of the field will receive conditional Web.com Tour status for the 2019 Regular Season, ordered based on finish, with players able to better their status via reshuffles that occur every four events, based on cumulative 2019 earnings.

Canadians taking part in Final Stage includes:

• Albin Choi, Toronto
• Brad Fritsch, Manotick, Ont.
• Michael Gligic, Burlington, Ont.
• Seann Harlingten, Vancouver

Ten Canadians will move on to the second stage of 2018 Web.com Tour qualifying school as play concluded Friday (Oct. 12.) at events taking place across the United States.

Kaleb Gorbahn of Smithers, B.C., finished runner up at 8-under, while Hugo Bernard of Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que., tied for 17th after finishing 2-under at the Dayton Valley, Nev., qualifying event, where the top 22 positions and tied advanced.

Click here for the leaderboard.

In Pine Mountain, Ga., Joey Savoie of La Prairie, Que., advanced after tying for 14th at 10-under. The top 21 and ties qualified to move on to the next stage.

Click here to view the leaderboard.

Toronto’s Richard Lee finished ninth at 7-under and Robbie Greenwell of Georgetown, Ont., tied for 13th at 3-under at the San Diego qualifier, where the top 22 and ties moved on.

Click here for the leaderboard.

Jared du Toit of Kimberley, B.C., Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Andrew Funk of Sidney, B.C., all finished in the top 21 and ties at the SunRiver Golf Club in St. George, Utah to advance.

du Toit finished 9th at 16-under. Another shot back was Pendrith, who tied for 10th. Funk tied for 20th at 9-under.

Click here to view the leaderboard.

Jamie Sadlowski of St. Paul, Alta., previously earned top spot at a qualifier in Maricopa, Ariz., with a score of 16-under. Vancouver’s Sean Harlingten finished 4th, one-shot back of top spot at -15. Ryan Williams, also of Vancouver, tied for 13th at -10. The top 21 and ties moved on.

Click here for the leaderboard.

Second stage of 2018 Web.com Tour qualifying gets underway Oct. 30. Click here for the full schedule.

ATLANTIC BEACH, Florida – The 2018 Web.com Tour season came to a close on Sunday in Atlantic Beach, Florida, as the Web.com Tour Championship wrapped up the sixth-annual Web.com Tour Finals. University of Virginia alum Denny McCarthy won the season-ending event, where 25 players secured their PGA TOUR cards for the 2018-19 season.

The Web.com Tour awarded a first set of 25 PGA TOUR cards for the 2018-19 season at the conclusion of the WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by Kraft-Heinz in August, with a second set of 25 solidified at the conclusion of the Finals.

South Korea native Sungjae Im began his rookie season with a win at the season-opening The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay. The 20-year-old backed up his win with a runner-up finish the following week, essentially locking up a spot in The 25 at the end of the Regular Season. Im continued his momentum throughout the year, winning the Regular Season-ending WinCo Foods Portland Open to end the year with two victories and six additional top-10 finishes. Im’s performance continued into the Finals, allowing him to win the combined money list. Im became the first player in Tour history to lead the money list wire-to-wire for the duration of the season and became the first Korean-born player to be named a money list winner.

McCarthy graduated from the Web.com Tour via the Web.com Tour Finals in 2017, picking up three top-20 finishes in the four-event series to earn his first PGA TOUR card. The 25-year-old struggled in his rookie season on TOUR, however, carding just one top-10 finish in 22 starts. The three-time Maryland Open winner found his stride in the 2018 Web.com Tour Finals, notching four top-13 finishes, capped off by a win Sunday in Atlantic Beach.

By virtue of winning their respective money titles, Im and McCarthy have earned fully-exempt status on the PGA TOUR next year, which includes a spot in THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass, located just minutes from Atlantic Beach.

Meet The 50 newest @PGATOUR members, as they receive their 2018-19 TOUR cards @WebTourChamp. https://t.co/2gshI6PvHM

— Web.com Tour (@WebDotComTour) September 23, 2018

Jim Knous picked up the 25^th and final card with a par-save on the last. The Colorado School of Mines alum had a breakout sophomore season on Tour in 2018, picking up five top-25 finishes in the Regular Season to earn his first Web.com Tour Finals berth. Knous continued his strong play into the Finals, where he finished T10-T25-T24 in the first three events before eventually finishing at No. 25 on the Finals-only money list.

Finishing 26^th on the Finals money list Justin Lower, who earned $41,441 to finish $490 behind Knous. Lower had a career-best season on Tour in 2019, earning a Web.com Tour Finals berth for the first time in his career. The Malone University alum was on the bubble all week, but ultimately missed an 8-foot birdie putt on the 72^nd hole at Atlantic Beach CC to come up just shy.

The 25 players from the Web.com Tour Finals money list will join the 25 players from the Regular Season money list on the PGA TOUR. The 25 from the Regular Season are below:

ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. – Sepp Straka moved into position Saturday to earn a PGA Tour card in the Web.com Tour Championship, shooting a 7-under 64 to take the third-round lead.

With the top 25 earners in the four-event Web.com Tour Finals getting PGA Tour cards Sunday, Straka birdied the final three holes to reach 18-under 195 – a stroke ahead of Curtis Luck, Lucas Glover and Denny McCarthy at Atlantic Beach Country Club.

“It’s always good to get an extra birdie in late. I got three of them to finish, which was nice,” Straka said. “It’s very bunched up there, so you can’t really take off, you’ve got to keep the pedal down and see where you end up at the end.”

Straka entered the week tied for 80th in the card race with $2,744. The 25-year-old former Georgia player from Austria won the KC Golf Classic in August for his first Web.com Tour title. He finished 31st on the money list to advance to the four-tournament series.

“My ball-striking is really good,” Straka said. “It’s been good all week. It’s been really solid. I really haven’t gotten in a whole lot of trouble and have been able to capitalize on a good number of chances with the putter. Hit a couple of bad putts today, but some really good ones to make up for it.”

Luck also shot 64. The 22-year-old Australian went into the week 16th with $41,587.

“Obviously, it just comes down to keeping that momentum going and trying not to change anything,” Luck said. “That’s the really important thing and I felt like I did that really well. I played really aggressive on the back nine, still went after a lot of shots and I hit it close a lot out there.”

Glover had a 68. The 2009 U.S. Open champion entered the week 40th with $17,212.

McCarthy shot 67. He already has wrapped up a card, earning $75,793 in the first three events to get to 11th in the standings.

Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., also hit a 67 to stay in the chase, and sits in a three-way tie for sixth at 15 under. Fellow Canadian Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., who has already earned his PGA Tour card, hit a 66 to move into a tie for ninth at 14 under.

Roger Sloan of Calgary is the next best Canadian at 10 under, while David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., is at 7 under.

Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., and Ryan Yip of Calgary missed the cut.

The series features the top 75 players from the Web.com regular-season money list, Nos. 126-200 in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings, and non-members with enough money to have placed in the top 200. The top-25 finishers on the Web.com regular-season money list are competing against each other for tour priority, with regular-season earnings counting in their totals. The other players are fighting for the 25 cards based on series earnings.

ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. – Lucas Glover entered the Web.com Tour Finals with the likely safety net of a PGA TOUR medical extension but still in search of a victory and a guaranteed card for the 2018-19 season. The Greenville, South Carolina, native posted back-to-back rounds of 64 at the Web.com Tour Championship to reach 14-under par at host Atlantic Beach Country Club, good for a one-shot lead heading into Saturday’s third round of the Web.com Tour’s season-ending event.

Glover played brilliant golf over the opening 36 holes in Atlantic Beach, recording 14 birdies against zero bogeys to finish the halfway point at 14-under par.

After starting Friday’s second round in the afternoon wave, Glover parred his opening four holes before notching birdies on 14, 17 and 18 to turn in 3-under 33.

Birdies on Nos. 1, 4, 6 and 7 vaulted him into the lead at 14-under par before he closed with pars on Nos. 8 and 9 to round out a closing 31 and a second-round 64.

“Similar to yesterday, just gave myself a lot of chances and just converted a bunch of opportunities. Drove it a little better today and I’m hitting my irons a little worse, but same result, so pretty happy obviously,” he said after his round. “I hit a lot of good putts today that could have gone in, I just didn’t make the ones I made yesterday. So I felt like it could have been one of those scary low ones.  But I hit my lines, felt like I just misread a bunch by like half a ball or something, kind of like the last, but I’m not displeased at all, believe me.”

Glover has accrued 382 starts on the PGA TOUR, collecting wins at the 2005 Children’s Miracle Network Classic, 2009 U.S. Open and 2011 Wells Fargo Championship. The win in Charlotte, where he defeated 2017 Web.com Tour Championship winner and former Clemson teammate Jonathan Byrd, came 7 years, 4 months and 13 days ago.

In June, Glover had arthroscopic knee surgery to repair two meniscus tears that had bothered him for the last three to four years. Under a PGA TOUR medical, he was granted eight starts in the 2018-19 season to accrue 53.151 FedExCup points to retain his full membership status.

“Yeah, I mean, like I’ve got a lot to fall back on regardless of this week, but any time I tee it up, I want to play well.  Tomorrow won’t be any different, Sunday won’t be any different,” said Glover when asked if the medical allowed for less pressure this week.

This year marks Glover’s second time in the Web.com Tour Finals. In 2015, he posted top-25 finishes in all four events (including a T12 in the Web.com Tour Championship) to finish 19^th on the Finals-only money list to secure his card for the 2015-16 season.

Through the first three events of the 2018 Finals, he sits at No. 46 on the Finals-only money list with his lone top-25 being a T17 effort at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. With $44,000 as the safe benchmark for a PGA TOUR card, Glover needs to finish solo-10^th or better to secure a return to golf’s biggest stage.

“It’s good. It’s 36 holes, we’ve got 36 more. Nobody’s going to all of a sudden stop making a bunch of birdies, so I’ve got to do the same thing,” he said.

Canadian Ben Silverman shot a 3-under-par 68 to sit three shots back of the leader in a two-way tie for 4th place. Fellow countryman Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., holds a share of 11th at 9 under par – the Team Canada graduate has already earned his PGA TOUR card for 2019 via Web.com Tour money list.

Denny McCarthy, who graduated from the Web.com Tour in 2017, is one shot behind Glover at 13-under 129.

The former University of Virginia golfer opened his week with a 7-under 64 before recording seven birdies on Friday en route to a 6-under 65.

McCarthy finished the PGA TOUR season with conditional status for 2018-19 following a rookie campaign which left him at No. 149 in the FedExCup. The 25-year-old posted four top-25 finishes over the last year, including a season-best fourth-place effort at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship.

In the Web.com Tour Finals, McCarthy recorded top-10 finishes in his first two starts to secure status for next year’s PGA TOUR season, entering the week in Northeast Florida at No. 13 in the Finals-only money list. With $75,792 in earnings, he is still within striking distance of wining the Finals money list, which would provide a fully-exempt card for the 2018-19 season as well as an exemption into THE PLAYERS.

“Yeah, 100 percent, I’m trying to get that spot. There’s no secret about it. I’ll come out and tell you I’m here to win this tournament and get that No. 1 spot,” said McCarthy. “I’ve been hungry for a while. I have a pretty hungry attitude and I’m going to stay hungry.”

Longtime PGA TOUR member Cameron Tringale is in solo-third place at 12-under 130 following rounds of 63-67.

Tringale is making just the 13^th Web.com Tour start of his career this week, as the former Georgia Tech standout has spent most of his career on the PGA TOUR. The 31-year-old has made at least 22 starts per season on TOUR since 2010, recording 50 top-25 finishes in 243 starts, including runner-up efforts at the 2014 NORTHERN TRUST, 2015 Zurich Classic of New Orleans and Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

Over the last two years, Tringale has found himself in the Web.com Tour Finals at season’s end following 133^rd– and 195^th-place finishes in the FedExCup in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

Last year, Tringale entered Web.com Tour Championship week at No. 63 on the Finals money list but posted 17-under 267 in Atlantic Beach for a T5 effort which vaulted him to No. 24 and back on the PGA TOUR.

“Yeah, I was hoping last year was my last time here, but I do have a comfort at this golf course and I’m excited to keep pressing,” he said after Friday’s round.

ATLANTIC BEACH, Florida – England’s Chris Paisley used four starts on the 2017-18 PGA TOUR to earn a spot in the Web.com Tour Finals and inched one step closer to full status on golf’s biggest stage on Thursday at the Web.com Tour Championship. Paisley recorded eight birdies and one eagle on his way to a 10-under 61, good for a two-shot lead heading into Friday’s second round of the Web.com Tour’s season-ending event.

Paisley opened his week at host Atlantic Beach Country Club with three birdies in his first four holes before closing with a birdie on the 17^th and an eagle on the par-5 18^th (thanks to a holed bunker shot) to turn in 6-under 30 after starting on the back nine.

The 32-year-old’s momentum slowed mid-round with four pars on Nos. 1-4, but he rallied quickly thereafter with a birdie on the short par-3 fifth and back-to-back birdies on Nos. 7 and 8 to reach nine-under overall.

“I think just all around was really good. I hit it well off the tee, which gave me a lot of kind of short irons into the greens and opportunities to, you know, I had to knock it on the green in two on the par 5s or leave a good wedge number,” he said. “I hit a lot of really good iron shots close, and then a few other bonus kind of things happened where I holed the bunker shot on 18 and holed a long putt on No. 8. So, there was a couple little things like that that obviously helped a lot.”

Paisley, who won twice during his college golf career at the University of Tennessee, turned professional in 2009 and has since spent the majority of his time playing overseas on the European and Challenge Tours. Since 2015, he has competed mainly on the European Tour, earning third-place finishes in the 2015 BMW International Open, 2016 Italian Open and 2017 Made in Denmark.

Earlier this year, the Stocksfield, England, resident broke through for the biggest win of his career when he captured the BMW SA Open in South Africa with a three-shot victory over PGA TOUR winner Branden Grace. The biggest week of his career, however, may have come at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in April, where he and fellow Englishman Tommy Fleetwood partnered in the team event to finish T4. The $216,900 paycheck, coupled with earnings from a T37 effort at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship in March allowed Paisley to earn a spot in the Web.com Tour Finals via non-member FedExCup points.

“Well, I mean, the nice thing was I won early in the year in Europe. I’ve got the first two Final series events locked up, I think I’m in those. I’m not guaranteed to be in Dubai yet,” said Paisley when asked of his decision to play in the Finals. “But I just thought we have a house over here, my wife’s American, my goal is to try to get on the PGA TOUR, so it was a perfect opportunity to try and do it.”

Paisley missed the cut in each of the first three Finals events, which left him needing a strong week at the Web.com Tour Championship in order to achieve his PGA TOUR goal.

“In January I obviously played amazing and I was ‘Player of the Month’ in Europe and I went from 300th in the world to top 100 in the world and everything’s great,” he said. “Then all of a sudden about four or five months where I can’t make a cut and can’t seem to break par. It’s just a weird game.”

Paisley needs to finish in a two-way tie for fourth or better, in order to mathematically secure his card.

“I’m sure it’s a thing where you miss the first three, you don’t play very well and your expectations drop and you almost write it off, a bit like what I have. I was just trying to make a cut and get back to playing well again. So kind of putting that pressure on yourself and maybe it frees you up and you just have that really good week, hole a few putts, get a bit of confidence,” Paisley said. “It’s the nature of golf, I think. It’s a strange sport psychologically and hopefully I’m one of those guys that does that.”

Ben Silverman and Cameron Tringale are tied for second, two shots back of Paisley after matching rounds of 8-under 63.

Silverman, who played in the morning wave, was the outright leader for much of the day in Atlantic Beach, recording eight birdies against zero bogeys to set the early mark.

“I’ll make it easy,” quipped Silverman when asked to sum up his round. “I hit a lot of good shots and made some good putts. Actually, it could have been lower, but I’m not complaining. Missed a couple putts inside six feet, but I’m not complaining at all, it was a great round.”

From 2014 through 2016, Silverman competed on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada, posting four top-10s in 26 events, including a career-best runner-up at The Syncrude Boreal Open Presented by AECON. He qualified for the Web.com Tour via Q-School in 2015 and again in 2016 after losing his card.

In 2017, Silverman bloomed late on the Web.com Tour, posting four consecutive top-10 finishes – including a win at the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper – to finish No. 10 on the money list, securing one of 25 PGA TOUR cards awarded at the WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by KraftHeinz, where he finished T2.

On the PGA TOUR, Silverman recorded two top-10 finishes in his first five starts to finish the fall season at No. 49 in the FedExCup, but struggled thereafter with just three top-25 finishes and a missed cut at the Wyndham Championship to wind up at No. 136. That standing guaranteed him conditional 126-150 status on TOUR next season, but put him in the Web.com Tour Finals with hopes on improving his standing.

“I have zero pressure on myself right now. I know I’m going to get some starts on TOUR next year anyway with my conditional status and I’m thinking more long term,” he said. “I like the strategy that I’m going with my game moving forward, so I’m just going to play and try to make some birdies, see what happens.”

Canada’s @Bsilvermangolf leads the @WebTourChamp after an opening-round 63 ???? pic.twitter.com/NzjnHsa3iO

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) September 20, 2018

After opening the Finals with a T58 finish at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, Silverman notched back-to-back missed cuts at the DAP Championship presented by NewBrick and the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft Nabisco to dip to No. 103 on the Finals-only money list.

Tringale, who played in Thursday’s afternoon wave, turned in a modest 2-under 33 but played brilliant golf on the closing nine with birdies on 10, 11, 14, 15, 17 and 18 for a 6-under 30 and an opening 63.

“I really hit my irons well, I gave myself a lot of good birdie opportunities,” said Tringale. “I believe I just had look after look all day and really had a low stress round and was able to get some of those putts to go in.”

Tringale has accrued 243 PGA TOUR starts over his career, notching three runner-up finishes and over $9.8 million in earnings. After finishing 195^th in the FedExCup this past year, he was forced to return to the Web.com Tour Finals again in order to secure playing status for the 2018-19 season.

The former Georgia Tech star used a T5 at the 2017 Web.com Tour Championship to earn his PGA TOUR card for the 2017-18 season and feels good about his chances on an Atlantic Beach Country Club course that suits his eye.

“No doubt, I like the golf course,” he said. “To come back a year later and think, ‘Oh, I played well last year, I can do it again despite how I was playing coming in,’ it feels doable. I’m excited for the next three days and to see how I can hold up.”