Golf is hard — we know that — but pro golf can be brutal.
As if you needed evidence, look no further than this past week’s Korn Ferry Tour event, the LECOM Suncoast Classic, where Michael Gellerman slept on his first 54-hole lead in 65 KFT starts and managed to reach the 72nd with a chance to win.
- Facing a birdie putt of more than 30 feet for the win, Gellerman motored it by the hole, leaving the 29-year-old an 8-footer to force a playoff with PGA Tour veteran Byeong-hun An.
- Gellerman missed the come-backer, and then lipped out the putt for bogey to drop him all the way down into a tie for 6th place.
What did Gellerman’s 4-putt cost him?
While it’s not reasonable to expect Gellerman to make the 30+-foot birdie putt, a two-putt would have still gotten him into a sudden-death playoff. As it played out, Gellerman’s potential $120,000 winner’s check dropped to just $20,000 with an eight-way tie for sixth.
It was a tough sleep last night. That one hurt to let slip away. I was simply not good enough. I appreciate all the kind texts/messages and all the support. I’ll be back! @TurtlesonTour @SrixonGolf
— Michael Gellerman (@OUknowmike) February 21, 2022
The missed tap-in proved to be the most costly. Instead of racking up 167 points for a T2 — the measure by which the KFT awards PGA Tour cards — Gellerman walked out of LECOM with just 78, a gap that could prove very costly come the end of the season when Tour cards are being handed out.
As it stands, Gellerman sits in 16th place on The 25 points list.
