Takeaways from Club Car Championship: Jack Maguire's career-changing Sunday in Savannah

By Justin Evans, PGATOUR.COM

Here’s a look at notable storylines from last week’s Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club, where David Skinns captured his third Korn Ferry Tour title and moved atop the season-long standings …

Open qualifier to top-five finish

After opening the tournament with rounds of 72-67-71, conditional member and open qualifier Jack Maguire sat T30 after 54 holes. The 28-year-old Florida State University alum heated up in the final round as he carded a 9-under 63 and jumped 26 spots in the leaderboard to finish T4, tying his career-high finish in his 102nd Korn Ferry Tour start.

Maguire will now have a place to play for the remainder of the season, as he moves to No. 37 on the season-long standings and will comfortably reshuffle toward the top of his category at the next Priority Ranking reorder (after the LECOM Suncoast Classic).

"Mentally, I've always thought this course does not fit my game very well," Maguire said of The Landings Golf & Athletic Club. "Being able to prove to myself that it does, and it doesn't really matter as long as I'm hitting it well and rolling it well ... that was definitely the biggest confidence booster."

Home court advantage

Following his first-round, 4-under 68, Shad Tuten said, “I haven't played in any PGA TOUR events, but this is my major. This is the one that I look forward to. This is the one that I prep for.”

Being a native of Augusta, Georgia and alum of Armstrong State University (which is now inherited to Georgia Southern University), this start clearly meant more to Tuten than most events. A birdie on his 72nd hole of the tournament gave a chance to enter a playoff with eventual champion David Skinns, but a par on the par-5 18th earned Skinns a one-shot victory over Tuten, as well as Tom Whitney, who sat at 16-under for the week. His T2 marked the second runner-up finish for Tuten, who was making his 69th career start on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Massive final putt for Whitney

United States Air Force veteran Tom Whitney played out of the last group to tee off Sunday, and a final-round 4-under 68 was good enough to earn him a T2 finish, alongside Tuten. Despite falling one shot behind Skinns, Whitney’s final stroke of the tournament was a meaningful one for his positioning to be inside the top 30 when TOUR cards are awarded in October.

On his final hole, Whitney rolled in a 10-footer for birdie, moving to 16 under par and rising from a three-way T3 to a two-way T2, earning himself an extra 100 points toward his total on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List. Whitney has finished inside the top-70 on the Points List each of the past two seasons but is still in search of his first TOUR card. Despite not winning in Savannah, Whitney played well enough to make a big jump up the Points List, rising from 24th to ninth through five events this year.

Wholesome moment

David Skinns was not alone on the 18th green when his winning putt rolled in – his wife, three sons and mother were on hand to witness the 41-year-old’s third career win on the Korn Ferry Tour. Two of Skinns’ three boys play youth baseball, and his five-year-old, Bennett, had a game on the schedule this past weekend. When the family found out the game would be canceled, they hit the road for Savannah. Less than an hour into the drive, the cancelation was reversed. Skinns and his wife left the decision to Bennett. “You ask a 5-year-old if you want to go on a trip or you want to stay home, he’s going to pick the trip every time,” Skinns said. “Kristin made the spontaneous decision when it was canceled to make the five-hour drive down here, which isn’t like her, so I was proud of her for making that decision. It wouldn’t have worked out better. They managed to win the baseball game without him, so that was good. Just worked out so great.”

Another top-10 for Drewitt

By placing T4 at the Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club, Brett Drewitt notched his fourth top-10 finish of the season, the most by any Korn Ferry Tour member this year, and his third inside the top five. Drewitt, who played primarily on the PGA TOUR last season, has made 155 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour since 2015 and this past weekend in Savannah marked his 17th top-10 finish. The 32-year-old Aussie now sits No. 8 on the Points List through five events.

Rookies shine in the spotlight

Korn Ferry Tour rookies Cristobal Del Solar, Abel Gallegos and Bryson Nimmer all finished the week in Savannah at 12 under par, good enough for a three-way T10, the first top-10 finish for each player. Gallegos, a 21-year-old from Buenos Aires, Argentina, is the youngest Korn Ferry Tour member in 2023. Tim Widing, another 2023 rookie, posted his first finish inside the top 10, as he placed T8 and jumped up the Points List from 65th to 29th.

Greyserman finishes strong

Max Greyserman’s week didn’t get off to an ideal start as he posted a first-round, 2-over 74. He bounced back in the second round with a 4-under 68 to reach 2-under total through 36 holes, which was good enough to make the cut on the number. The 27-year-old continued to improve his score each day as he posted a third-round 67 and final-round 65. Greyserman played the final two rounds bogey-free while carding 10 birdies and one eagle. After sitting T107 through the first round, Greyserman finished the week T6, marking his best finish since a T4 at the 2021 Visit Knoxville Open.