The PGA Tour is the highest level of professional golf, but there are levels that exist even within that. Primarily, the Tour’s elites are welcomed into numerous “Signature Events” each season, in which 70 players compete for massive purses with guaranteed payouts and loads of FedEx Cup points that matter deeply come the end of the season.
But earning an invitation into those events is a challenge, particularly for rookies.
Yet, Frankie Capan III just a lot closer to slipping his foot inside the door.
Capan shot 17-under in the American Express Championship this weekend in La Quinta California — culminating with a 2-under round of 70 on Sunday — good for a tie for 12th. It’s his best PGA Tour finish amid limited starts in his pro career.
Through two starts to open his rookie campaign, the North Oaks’ produce is 2 for 2 on cuts made. And this weekend’s high finish surged Capan up the points list. He’s currently in 42nd in the FedEx Cup standings. The top 70 reach the playoffs and secure their card for next season. The top 50 guarantee their place in next year’s Signature Events.
It’s a great spot for Capan to be in early in the year, but a tough position to maintain. Because if you aren’t in the Signature Events, everyone else who is collects free points, making it difficult to keep your nose in front. Fifty of the spots in those tournaments are locked in by last year’s results.
But there are alternative routes to getting into the big tournaments. One of which is the Aon Swing 5 — the five players with the most points accrued in the Sony Open, the American Express and next week’s Farmers Insurance Open will earn a ticket to the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the second Signature Event of the season.
Capan is currently 11th on that list. And if he can deliver a performance next week at Torrey Pines that mirrors or improves upon his finish this week, there’s a good chance he’d punch his ticket to Pebble Beach.
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