Met Area Players Return to Professional Competition
Theo Humphrey
(June 14, 2020) -- As the highest levels of professional golf made their return, Theo Humphrey of Greenwich, Conn., led a quartet of Met Area players making the cut in the Korn Ferry Challenge at TPC Sawgrass (Dye's Valley Course), finishing tied eighth for his first career top-10 finish on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Related: Final Leaderboard
Humphrey, the 2011 MGA/MetLife Boys champion, carded rounds of 67-68-67-70 en route to his 8-under total, four shots back of winner Luke List. Humphrey has now made the cut in three of his six Korn Ferry Tour starts this season.
Close behind Humphrey were two-time MGA Player of the Year Mike Miller of Brewster, N.Y., and 2012 Met Amateur champion Ryan McCormick of Middletown, N.J., who finished T-10 and T-14, respectively. Miller tallied scores of 69-68-67-70 for his 6-under total while McCormick's 5-under tournament total was fueled by his second round 65 (72-65-69-69). McCormick shot 8-under 64 on Monday to qualify for the event, taking the top spot at Eagle Harbor Golf Club.
James Nicholas of Scarsdale, N.Y., finished T-39 in his Korn Ferry Tour debut. Nicholas also Monday qualified for the event, firing an 11-under 61 to best the field by five shots. at The Palencia Club.
(June 9, 2020) -- Professional golf's highest levels of competition return this week, with a number of Met Area players slated to compete in the Korn Ferry Challenge at TPC Sawgrass (Dye's Valley Course), June 11-14, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Former MGA Player of the Year James Nicholas and past Met Amateur champion Ryan McCormick earned some of the final positions in the championship through Monday qualifying. Nicholas fired a stellar 11-under 61 at The Palencia Club to medal by five shots, while McCormick's impressive 8-under 64 placed him as the No. 1 qualifier at Eagle Harbor Golf Club. Nicholas had a clean card with 11 birdies and no bogeys, firing nines of 31-30 en route to the top spot. McCormick's 64 came with a pair of bogeys, with nines of 31-33 in which he recorded a trio of birdies to close both sides.
Qualifying Results: Palencia | Eagle Harbor
The pair join several Met Area players who had already previously qualified for the event, which marks the Korn Ferry Tour's return to play following a three-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Korn Ferry Challenge will be contested without fans and is the seventh Regular Season event of the season.
Other Met Area players in the field include former MGA/MetLife Boys champion Theo Humphrey, two-time MGA Player of the Year Michael Miller, two-time Met Open champion Andrew Svoboda, and former Met Junior runner-up John VanDerLaan. VanDerLaan had been among the most consistent competitors early in the Korn Ferry Tour season, making the cut in all six events and logging four top-25 finishes.