Headline: Richy Werenski Feeling Right at Home During PGA Tour Rookie Season; Finishes T9 at the CareerBuilder Challenge
For Immediate Release: January 22, 2017
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Richy Werenski |
Norton, MA — To say that it has been a whirlwind and almost dream-like journey thus far for Richy Werenski may not be far from the truth.
The 25-year-old who grew up next door to The Orchards GC and won the 2013 Massachusetts Four-Ball Championship title with his brother Mickey Werenski is off to an impressive PGA Tour rookie season.
After his top-10 finish on the Web.com money list last season earned him a PGA card for the 2016-17 season, Werenski has made five cuts in seven tries this season and most recently finished T9 at the CareerBuilder Challenge held on January 19-22 at the Stadium Course in La Quinta, California.
Heading into this past weekend, Werenski had posted solid finishes at the Safeway Open (T35) and Sanderson Farms Championship (75) in October, the OHL Classic at Mayakoba (T50) in November and the Sony Open in Hawaii (T49) in January.
His latest performance at the CareerBuilder Challenge earned him his biggest PGA Tour pay check to date - $156,600 - which increases his total amount earned in 2017 to $219,410. Werenski has also posted rounds in the 60s in seven of his last eight rounds.
His play has even drawn attention from media outlets outside of the Bay State. See below for an article that appeared last week in the The Desert Sun which included the headline, "Richy Werenski may soon be a household name on PGA Tour."
There will be no rest for Werenski as he will be back in action this coming weeked at the Farmers Insurance Open (January 26-29) at Torrey Pines GC (South) in San Diego, California.
Shad Powers , The Desert Sun 7:46 p.m. PT Jan. 21, 2017
Quietly and consistently, PGA Tour rookie Richy Werenski is starting to make his presence felt.
A top-10 finish on the Web.com money list last season earned him a PGA card for the 2016-17 season. He's been taking advantage of it so far. Last week at the Sony Open in Hawaii, he had four rounds in the 60s, and made his fourth cut in six tries this season.
This week he's stayed hot and consistent. An opening-round 69 on Thursday was followed by a 5-under 67 on Friday and a workmanlike 4-under 68 on Saturday. Add them all up and he's 12-under for the event, tied for 10th heading into Sunday's final round.
"I played solid today, and I think I played solid all week," said Werenski, a 25-year-old from Massachusetts playing in only his eighth PGA Tour event. "Definitely left some shots out there. Missed a few short little putts. These greens get kind of tough to read in the late afternoon. But I felt really good."
That's a feeling that didn't get lost in the luggage during the quick turnaround trip to the desert from Hawaii.
"I felt really good about my game in Hawaii last week, and I didn't have a great finish, but I could tell I was close," Werenski said. "I've put a lot of work in this offseason and I feel like I'm coming out here really sharp. It's just a matter of time for good scores to follow."
That time may have arrived this week.
Werenski is only five strokes behind leader Adam Hadwin and will be playing in one of the final groups of the day. It will almost certainly yield his best finish in a PGA event, which until now has been a tie for 35th at the Safeway Open to start the season.
If Werenski can just put together a full round, he thinks he can make a charge. He just hasn't put 18 good holes together yet this tournament.
"It seems like these last three days, it's been hitting the ball great for 10 holes and the other eight holes, not how I need it to be," Werenski said. "If I can put together a good solid 18 holes tomorrow, I'll be happy. I just gotta strike the ball the way I know I can for 18 holes."
