Monday qualifiers: Valspar Championship

This week’s qualifier featured another emotional Monday moment, as Michael Visacki’s tearful phone call to his father went viral. Visacki, 27, holed a 20-footer to qualify for his first PGA TOUR event. The Central Florida alum has 37 wins on the West Florida Pro Golf Tour alone and is considered one of the best mini-tour talents in the country.

Now he’ll have his chance to prove himself against the best players in the world at this week’s Valspar Championship. That’s what Monday qualifiers are all about. They give players from all walks of life the opportunity to live out their dreams.

I caught up with Visacki after his emotional moment. Below our Q&A is more info on the other three qualifiers: two-time TOUR winner Daniel Chopra, former TOUR player Brad Adamonis and 23-year-old Jordan Hahn, who stands 6 feet, 8 inches tall.

Q&A

PGATOUR.COM: The phone call with your dad has gone viral. What have your parents meant to your career?

Visacki: They sacrificed everything for me. They have given up everything for me. They knew I was able to do it and they were always there for me. My dad cried, my mom cried, and I cried. My mom was driving when she called me, she had to pull over and she had to take a minute. She just cried for a couple minutes. They know I can do it, and to have it finally happen, it just means the world to me and to them. It was just a really special moment.

PGATOUR.COM: Have you had some time to reflect on what this moment means to you?

Visacki: I know I can compete out there. Everyone around me knows I can compete on the PGA TOUR and the Korn Ferry Tour. I went through some swing changes over the last year and I kept on grinding. I knew if I kept knocking on the door it would happen. I finally did it. I broke through. I walked through this time.

PGATOUR.COM: In the first playoff hole you hit your drive into a bush. What was your thought process as you saw where you were?

Visacki: When I was younger, I would have been a little more down on myself, but I felt really good today. I’ve tried to work on not getting down on myself as much. So, once I saw that I could chip out and make par I was a little bit more comfortable. I was six inches from being dead. I chipped out to 107 (yds) and I had a very similar shot in the morning, so I felt really comfortable. Chris (Baker) gave me a little more life, he left his birdie putt short, then made his par putt. I stepped up and poured it right in the center to keep my chances alive.

PGATOUR.COM: Where does that 3-footer rank as far as the pressure you have felt in your career?

Visacki: I really felt the pressure. I wanted it so badly, especially with it being a PGA TOUR event. That up-and-down was probably the greatest up and down I’ve ever had. Considering the situation, to get into my first PGA TOUR event, that is the greatest 107 yards to 3 feet I’ve ever hit in my life.

PGATOUR.COM: You made a 20-footer on the second playoff hole to get through, what were your emotions when you saw the putt fall?

Visacki: I saw Chris’ putt go a little bit to the right. A guy I played with this morning had the same putt and it went a little to the right also. So, I told my caddie I think we will keep it on the edge. We picked the spot and trusted it. Four feet before the hole it went right over the pitch mark we had picked out. I was just thinking I hope it has the right pace. When it went in, I almost dropped to the ground. I could barely stand..

QUALIFIERS

Brad Adamonis (66)
Age: 48
College: Miami (Ohio)
Turned pro: 1996
PGA TOUR starts: 71
Cuts Made: 28
Best PGA TOUR Finish: P2, 2008 John Deere Classic
PGA TOUR earnings: $1,229,496
Twitter: N/A
Notes: His closest brush with a PGA TOUR win came at the 2008 John Deere Classic, where he lost a playoff to Kenny Perry … One of the ultimate grinders, playing in developmental tours and Monday qualifiers across the country … Has 205 career starts and one win on the Korn Ferry Tour, the 2007 WNB Golf Classic in 2007 … His last PGA TOUR start came after he Monday qualified for the 2018 Mayakoba Golf Classic … Was the last person added to the U.S. Open field as an alternate in 2011, his only career major … Has a degree in Sports Management.

Jordan Hahn (66)
Age: 23
College: University of Wisconsin
Turned pro: 2019
PGA TOUR starts: 0
Cuts made: 0
Twitter: @jordy_hahn
Notes: Earned his first pro win earlier this year on the Florida Elite Tour, shot 65-66 to win by six … Is a Korn Ferry Tour member after getting to final stage in 2019 but doesn’t have any career starts … Will be the tallest player in the Valspar field at 6 feet, 8 inches … Holds both the career and single-season scoring records at Wisconsin (73.08 and 71.69) … Won the Illinois State Amateur in 2018 … Has a degree in Financial Planning.

Daniel Chopra (67)
Age: 47
College: N/A
Turned Pro: 1992
PGA TOUR starts: 284
Cuts made: 136
Best PGA TOUR finish: 2 wins
PGA TOUR earnings: $8,007,885
Twitter: N/A
Notes: His two PGA TOUR wins came in a span of three starts across two years. Won his second-to-last start of 2007, the Ginn Sur Mer Classic at Tesoro, before winning the 2008 Sentry Tournament of Champions … Also has three Korn Ferry Tour wins, the last coming in 2011. He shot a closing 61 and won after the Fresh Express Classic at TPC Stonebrae was shortened to 54 holes … Owns nine international wins in Asia and Europe … Played on European Tour and other overseas tours before joining PGA TOUR in 2004 … Lived in India most of his childhood after moving there when he was 7 years old.

Michael Visacki (67)
Age: 27
College: University of Central Florida
Turned Pro: 2014
PGA TOUR starts: 0
Cuts made: 0
Twitter: @visackigolfer
Notes: Made a 20-footer on the second playoff hole to defeat Chris Baker and earn his first PGA TOUR start … Is considered one of the best developmental tour players in the country … Has 37 wins on the West Florida Tour alone … During the COVID hiatus last year, defeated then-World No. 39 Jazz Janewattananond in a playoff on the West Florida Tour … Has made one career Korn Ferry Tour start (T27, 2018 KC Golf Classic) … Made double-bogey on the 71st hole at the second stage of 2019 Q-School to miss by one.

NOTES

NOTABLE MISSES: Chris Baker 67 (playoff), MJ Daffue 68, John Somers 68, Isaiah Salinda 69, Andrew Yun 69

COURSE INFO:
Southern Hills Plantation Club: 7,557 yards, 76.7 rating, 145 slope

2020-2021 SEASON MONDAY QUALIFIER STATS
Average Medalist score: 64.8
Average last qualifying spot score: 66.9
Total number of cuts made: 22 of 58 (37.9%)
Valero Texas Open: Sam Fidone (T44), Tain Lee (T59), Patrick Grimes (MC), JJ Killeen (MC)
Money earned: $615,671
Best Finish: MJ Daffue, T12 Sanderson Farms Championship

NEXT MONDAY QUALIFIER

Wells Fargo Championship: May 3, Gastonia, North Carolina

NOTES FROM OTHER TOURS:

Sahith Theegala, the 2020 Ben Hogan Award winner, Monday qualified for this week’s Huntsville Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour. It’s his third consecutive successful qualifying attempt. He also Monday qualified and finished T19 at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open Presented by MISTRAS. Then he Monday qualified and finished T9 at the MGM Resorts Championship at Paiute. Both time he earned spots in the next week’s event.

Sam Saunders qualified for the MGM Resorts Championship at Paiute, made the cut and finished T56.

Josh Hart qualified for the Korn Ferry Tour’s Emerald Coast Classic earlier this month and finished T10. It was his first start on the Korn Ferry Tour (and only second career) since 2008.

The PGA TOUR announced that the Forme Tour that will be played in US. It will be an alternative to the PGA TOUR-Mackenzie Tour in 2021 and will have eight events.