ZIMBABWEAN golfer Brendon de Jonge kept his season on the US PGA Tour alive after advancing to the penultimate leg of the money-spinning FedEx Cup Playoffs in Boston, Massachusetts, on Monday.
BY DANIEL NHAKANISO
Needing to finish in the top 70 at the Deutsche Bank Championship to progress to the third playoff event, the BMW Championship, De Jonge, who had been struggling for form prior to the event, dug deep to finish tied on position 22.
The former Wingate Golf Club junior initially stormed into early contention with solid opening rounds of 65 and 68 before struggling with identical scores of 73 in the final 36 holes for a total of five-under-par 279.
However, De Jonge, who was tied on 22nd alongside South Africa’s Rory Sabattini and American Zach Johnson, walked away with a cool $85 800 to move seven spots up to 49th in the FedExCup standings with season’s earnings of $1 550 267 from 30 tournaments.
His next goal would be to finish in the top 30 in next week’s BMW Championship for him to qualify for the FedEx Cup playoff-final, The Tour Championship by Coca-Cola at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia, from September 17-20.
A place at The Tour Championship by Coca-Cola would guarantee De Jonge a place in all four major championships, namely the Masters, the US Open, the Open Championship and the PGA Championship next year.
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Meanwhile, qualifying for The Tour Championship by Coca-Cola looks like a distinct possibility for De Jonge as the Harare-born golfer seems to have given up on making his second appearance at the Presidents Cup.
The Presidents Cup, which pits United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe, will be held at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon City, South Korea, from October 8 to 11.
De Jonge made his debut in the biannual team competition two years ago as one of International team captain Nick Price’s picks and could have booked his spot with a win in Massachusetts on Monday.
“That ship has sailed,” De Jonge told Golf Channel.
“I’ve put myself so far behind the 8-ball with regard to that. I feel even if I won this week, it wouldn’t even come close to warranting that. So that’s far from my mind.”
