SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda – Adam Schenk delivered a bogey-free round with a score of 67 strokes, amidst strong winds on Saturday, which allowed him to share the lead with Braden Thornberry at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, a competition marked by tension in the fight for a PGA Tour card. Thornberry, a PGA Tour rookie who won the NCAA title at Mississippi eight years ago, signed a card of 69 strokes to join Schenk at -12, with very little margin for error heading into the final round. Schenk and Thornberry are two of the top ten players in the top 11 of the rankings who arrived in Bermuda outside the top 100 in the FedEx Cup, with time against them. The situation is critical, as next week’s RSM Classic at Sea Island will mark the end of the season, the first to award cards to the top 100 instead of the top 125. Schenk, currently ranked 134th, is facing a scarcity of options. However, he has implemented adjustments to his game in recent months, and these seem to be yielding results at the opportune moment in Port Royal. With 242 PGA Tour starts without a win, he now faces an unexpected opportunity.
Thornberry, in 178th place, could only secure his card with a victory, which would also grant him a two-year exemption. The competition is fierce. The group that follows closely includes Adam Hadwin of Canada, who was leading after 36 holes, but settled for 71 strokes, tying for third place; Max McGreevy (69), Chandler Phillips (70), and Takumi Kanaya of Japan (66). Rikuya Hoshino shot a 67 and is two strokes off the lead. The only player three strokes off the lead who doesn’t face as much pressure is Vince Whaley, with 68 strokes. Whaley is ranked 86th in the FedEx Cup, which practically assures him of remaining in the top 100. The pressure to keep the PGA Tour card intensifies with the wind, which gives no respite. Thornberry feels that the key is to take advantage when the wind helps and to resist when it doesn’t. An example was the 16th hole, a par 3 of 124 yards.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 motivator.
Adam Schenk
Schenk is an example of players who managed to enter major events in 2023, despite not participating in the tournaments with $20 million prizes at the beginning. He reached the Tour Championship without winning, and was able to participate in all the 2024 majors. Now he feels like he’s starting over, but the 33-year-old player from Indiana feels optimistic about the changes he made in September.I tried a chip with a 6 iron, the wind changed. You have 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
