Monday qualifiers: Valspar Championship

Qualifiers: Blake Kennedy, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Andrew McCain, Luke Guthrie

The Valspar Championship qualifier at Southern Hills Plantation Club ended Monday afternoon in a 3-for-1 playoff to determine the fourth and final spot in this week’s PGA TOUR event.

The playoff included two-time 2021-22 PGA TOUR qualifier Patrick Flavin, Mickey DeMorat, and two-time Korn Ferry Tour winner Luke Guthrie. All were tied at 4-under at the conclusion of regulation play.

Flavin, who has finished top-25 in each of his two PGA TOUR appearances this year, was eliminated after missing a 5-foot par putt on the first playoff hole.

Guthrie and DeMorat continued to the next playoff hole where Guthrie made a lengthy par putt to grab the final qualifying spot. Despite 104 previous starts on the PGA TOUR, this will be his first start since the 2019 U.S. Open.

“It’s been about five years since I last played (on the PGA TOUR), and there have been ups and downs with a lot more downs,” Guthrie told PGA TOUR Digital, after securing his first TOUR start aside from the 2019 U.S. Open since the 2016 Wyndham Championship. “It’s finally kind of all come together in the last few weeks. It’s been fun.”

Guthrie, who missed 23 consecutive cuts on the Korn Ferry Tour last season, didn’t think 5-under would qualify after signing his card Monday in Brooksville, Florida.

“I thought 7 (under) would be the number with where the pin locations were, but with how cold and windy it was this morning, and then with the wind staying strong this afternoon, each hour felt a lot better,” Guthrie said.

The three medalist qualifiers at 5-under were Blake Kennedy, Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Andrew McCain.

Kennedy, 2014 U.S. Amateur participant, eagled the par-4 sixth hole at Southern Hills, which helped him rebound from consecutive bogeys on Nos. 3 and 4.

Aphibarnrat, who finished 28th at the Puerto Rico Open, was 4-under thru 10 holes and held steady over the last eight to punch his ticket to Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course.

McCain, winner of the 2015 Minnesota State Open as an amateur, will make his first PGA TOUR start since his debut at the 2020 Honda Classic. Unfortunately for McCain, there was little momentum gained after his PGA TOUR debut.

“It’s been a bit of a journey. Things were really going in the right direction when I got into The Honda Classic a few years back, but that was right before the pandemic,” McCain told PGA TOUR Digital. “Then I had a forced year off. I had some stuff happen off the golf course in my personal life that was really difficult for me, so last year I wasn’t all there mentally. I’ve been getting back to where I was before and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to be out on the big TOUR again.”

McCain’s comeback has been fueled by being in better physical condition for the grind of a professional golfer.

“Ultimately, the most important thing on the PGA TOUR is just being comfortable,” he added. “Playing on PGA TOUR Latinoamerica, PGA TOUR Canada or the Korn Ferry Tour prepares you pretty well, but it’s a bigger stage and all of a sudden you’re playing against guys you used to watch on TV. Being comfortable and believing that you belong is the most important part.”

Here's a capsule look at the four players to earn Valspar Championship tee times via Monday's open qualifier ...

QUALIFIERS

Blake Kennedy (5-under 67)

Age: 27
College: Clemson University
Turned pro: 2016
PGA TOUR starts: 1
Cuts made: 0

Notes: Will make his first PGA TOUR start since the 2017 Wells Fargo Championship … Earned conditional status for the first half of the 2020 PGA TOUR Latinoamerica season at PTLA Qualifying Tournament – Weston Hills CC … Won 2019 SwingThought tournament at Belmont Lake CC … Qualified for the 2014 U.S. Amateur at Atlanta Athletic Club … Was a part-time starter on Clemson’s 2014 team that reached the NCAA Tournament …. Worked at Ruth’s Chris Steak House after college to help finance his professional golf career.

Kiradech Aphibarnrat (5-under 67)

Age: 32
Turned pro: 2008
PGA TOUR starts: 91
Cuts made: 51

Notes: Will make his eighth start of the 2021-22 season … Has made majority of starts this year on exempt status via 2021 Korn Ferry Tour Finals … Best finish this season came at the Puerto Rico Open (T28) … Won the 2021 22nd Singha Thailand Masters … Played four events on the 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour with best result coming the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron (T20) … Played 17 events on the 2020-21 PGA TOUR, making five cuts, with best finish coming at the Bermuda Championship (T11) … Played 20 events on the 2018-19 PGA TOUR, making 13 cuts … Had top-5 finishes in the WGC-Mexico Championship and WGC-HSBC Champions that year … Became first player from Thailand to earn membership on the PGA TOUR by virtue of earning as many as or more non-member points as the No. 125 player in the FedExCup standings after the Wyndham Championship in 2018 … That year, he made 11 cuts in 14 starts, finishing in the top-10 twice, both T5 results in World Golf Championships events ... Represented Thailand at the 2018 Olympics and finished T5 … Recorded top-10 finishes at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard in back-to-back years (2015 and 2016) … Finished T25 at the 2013 PGA Championship … Competed at the 2011, 2013, 2016 and 2018 World Cup … Was previously known as Anujit Hirunatanakorn but changed his name, a Thai tradition that is said to bring good luck … Stands No. 234 on Official World Golf Ranking.

Andrew McCain (5-under 67)

Age: 27
College: University of Maryland
Turned pro: 2018
PGA TOUR starts: 1
Cuts made: 0

Notes: Will make his second career PGA TOUR start … Last start was the 2020 Honda Classic … Played three events on the Korn Ferry Tour between 2018 and 2021 … Competed in eight events on the 2021 PGA TOUR Canada …. Finished T17 at the Rolling Green Championship and T27 at the Forme Tour Championship … Finished T20 at the 2019 Canada Life Championship … Played in 21 events on The Dakotas Tour between 2017 and 2021, with best finish coming at the 2017 Bobcat (second) and 2020 The Ridge/Sioux Center (T2) … Won the 2015 Minnesota State Open as an amateur.

Luke Guthrie (4-under 68)

Age: 32
College: University of Illinois
PGA TOUR starts: 104
Cuts made: 59

Notes: Will make his first PGA TOUR start since the 2019 U.S. Open … Currently a member on the Korn Ferry Tour via advancing to Final Stage of the 2021 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament … Finished T10 at the 2020 Panama Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour … Last played full PGA TOUR season in 2016 … Finished T10 at that year’s Fortinet Championship … Made 18 of 26 cuts on the PGA TOUR in 2014 with two top-10s including a T8 finish at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday … Made 14 of 27 cuts in his rookie season (2013) and made it to the FedExCup Playoffs ... Won the Korn Ferry Tour’s 2012 Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron and WNB Golf Classic … Helped Fighting Illini win four consecutive Big Ten Conference Championships and won seven times as an individual … Won a pair of Big Ten titles in 2011 and 2012, becoming first to do so since Luke Donald (2000-01 at Northwestern) … Named the 2012 Big Ten Conference Player of the Year … Two-time Illinois state champion at Quincy Senior High School.

2021-22 Monday qualifier statistics

Top-25s: Martin Contini (T16, The Honda Classic); Grant Hirschman (T17, Sanderson Farms Championship); Patrick Flavin (T17, Butterfield Bermuda Championship); Patrick Flavin (T22, Puerto Rico Open)

Best finish: Martin Contini (T16, The Honda Classic)

Most times qualified (2): Patrick Flavin; Kyle Wilshire; Ben Silverman

Last event’s qualifier results (Puerto Rico Open): Patrick Flavin (T22), Christian Salzer (MC), Alejandro Tosti (MC), Brett Stegmaier (MC)

Next PGA TOUR qualifier: Valero Texas Open qualifier, contested at The Club at Comanche Trace (Hills/Creek) in Kerville, TX on March 28