Fore! Things: Taylor Moore's Clutch Finish, Masters Qualifying Time Running Out
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Fore! Things
1. Taylor Moore was the only player in the top five on the leaderboard who did not make a bogey over the closing nine Sunday at Innisbrook, making three birdies to get to 10 under and win for the first time on the PGA Tour at the Valspar Championship.
2. Moore moved to 49th in the world with the victory but it’s too late to qualify for this week’s WGC-Dell Technology Match Play Championship. The cut off was after the Players Championship.
3. Jordan Spieth now has three top-10 finishes in nine starts this season on the PGA Tour, and two top-5s. His last victory came at the RBC Heritage the week following last year’s Masters.
4. Adam Schenk’s runner-up finish was the best of his career and moved him to 91st in the Official World Golf Ranking. He also moved to 31st on the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup points list.
Fore! More Things
1. This week’s WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play is the last. The 64-player field has gone to 77th in the world (as of last week’s ranking) as two players—Justin Rose and Justin Thomas—elected not to play, while 11 LIV Golf players who would have otherwise qualified were ineligible.
2. Rickie Fowler has climbed to 59th in the world after beginning the year at No. 103. The Match Play is the last opportunity to qualify for the Masters via the top 50 in the world and Fowler can assure himself a spot by advancing through pool play with some other scenarios allowing him to advance without that.
3. Moore’s victory at the Valspar meant a Masters invite, bringing the field to 85 players. The Match Play offers another chance via either victory or top 50 in the world. The Valero Texas Open then becomes the last chance to earn an invite via a victory.
4. The first round of the Masters is 17 days away.