Richy Werenski is on one of golf’s wildest rides.
You’re never quite sure where his adventure’s going to turn, but you can bet there are going to be thrills and spills wherever he ends up going, and he’s going to San Francisco this week.
He made it into the PGA Championship in typical Werenski fashion.
He raced through a closing door, just making it to TPC Harding Park by virtue of his dramatic finish Sunday at the Barracuda Championship, with his victory qualifying him just four days before the PGA Championship’s start.
It’s a big deal because the guy knows all too well what it’s like to have the game’s doors close in his face.
He finished 126th on the FedExCup list with 2,513 points last year, missing out on retaining his PGA Tour status by two stinking points.
That’s an eyelash in a car race.
So, the Georgia Tech grad was forced back to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, where he squeezed his way through, grabbing the 24th of 25 PGA Tour cards being given out.
That came with a couple more heart palpitations than he would have liked, after his close call in the FedExCup race.
Alas, the thrill of winning back his PGA Tour card didn’t last long.
After a terrific start to the new PGA Tour season, with a T-3 finish at A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier last fall, he broke a wrist in a car accident. He couldn’t build on his strong start while sitting out the rest of the fall season after just three starts.
And then after finally getting some momentum going again this spring, with a T-17 finish at the Honda Classic, the novel coronavirus shut down play.
But his wild ride turned fun again in the PGA Tour’s restart.
Werenski overcame a six-point deficit over the final three holes to win the Barracuda Championship’s Modified Stableford format. He holed a wedge for eagle at the 16th for 5 points on his way home, then birdied the 18th for 2 points. The week before that, he finished T-3 at the 3M Open.
“It's huge,” said Werenski, 28. “I feel like I've got a ton of momentum going my way ... I feel like my game is just getting better and better, so we'll see what we can do.”
Werenski’s rewards for enduring through challenges are spots in the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open next month.
He has only played in two majors, missing the cuts at the 2018 U.S. Open and last year’s PGA Championship.
“To be able to play the PGA and U.S. Open again, it's just incredible,” Werenski said. “There's nothing like it. Super excited about that.”
