SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda – Adam Schenk delivered a bogey-free round under strong winds, signing a card of 67 strokes (-4) on Saturday. This performance gave him the shared lead alongside Braden Thornberry in the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, a competition marked by tension in the quest for a PGA Tour card. Thornberry, a PGA Tour rookie and NCAA title winner eight years ago, completed the day with 69 strokes, tying Schenk at the top of the leaderboard with a total of 201 (-12). The situation is critical, with little room for error for the final round. Schenk and Thornberry are two of the ten players who are in the top 11 of the ranking, but who started the tournament outside the top 100 in the FedEx Cup, with time against them. The RSM Classic in Sea Island next week will mark the end of the season, which for the first time will award cards to the top 100 instead of the top 125. Schenk, currently ranked 134th, has implemented adjustments to his game in recent months, and these seem to be yielding results at the opportune moment in Port Royal. With no wins in 242 PGA Tour starts, he now envisions an unexpected opportunity.
Thornberry, at 178th place, only secures his card with a victory, which would grant him a two-year exemption. The competition is fierce. In the group closely following them are Adam Hadwin of Canada, who led after 36 holes but finished with 71 strokes, tying for third place, along with Max McGreevy (69), Chandler Phillips (70), and Takumi Kanaya of Japan (66). Rikuya Hoshino, with a round of 67, is two strokes off the lead. Vince Whaley, with a round of 68, is the only player within three strokes of the top who doesn’t face as much pressure, as he is ranked 86th in the FedEx Cup, which practically assures him a place in the top 100. The added difficulty of maintaining the PGA Tour card is increased by the persistent wind. Thornberry highlighted the importance of taking advantage of the favorable wind and resisting when it is not. An example was the 16th hole, a 124-yard par 3.A great opportunity for tomorrow. I know that if I don’t make it, I’ll have to go to qualifying school if I don’t get into the top 100, so that’s a great motivation.
Adam Schenk
Schenk is an example of players who, in 2023, managed to enter major events without having won in tournaments with significant prizes at the beginning. He managed to reach the Tour Championship without winning, and managed to participate in all the 2024 majors. The 33-year-old golfer from Indiana feels optimistic about the changes made in September.I tried a chip with a 6 iron, the wind changed. There are shots like that so you have to accept that they won’t end up near the hole, even if you make a decent swing. Just try to fight, that’s really the key.
Braden Thornberry
I wish I could have done this earlier in the season because I wouldn’t be in this position, but here we are. And if I can make some putts tomorrow, it’s difficult with the wind, maybe play another bogey-free round, that would be incredible.
Adam Schenk
