Island golfer qualifies for pro tour: Jake Card makes cut for the Korn Ferry
It’s been a long road for Jay “Jake” Card III to get his chance to play on the Korn Ferry (KF) tour, but it’s finally over, and he made it. The Korn Ferry tour is the best golf tour in the world outside of the PGA Tour.
The KF is one of the best ways to get a chance to compete on the PGA, with many players on the former tour good enough to be playing on the latter.
The KF is the developmental tour for the United States Tour. It features professional golfers who have not yet reached the PGA tour or have been on the PGA tour but lost their card with poor play,
Formerly the Web.Com tour, the unusual name comes from the two founding members, Lester Korn and Richard Ferry.
But even with all his success, Jake is still not happy. The final four rounds of the Korn Ferry, held in Savannah, Ga. this past week, was for 10 starting positions next year on the American PGA. He didn’t make the elite stage that would give him those starting positions.
In the final stage, he missed by three shots over a grueling four rounds of golf. He had a poor first round of 4 over par (75) and the next three rounds equaled 1 under par. If he was just 1under par in that first round ,you would be watching him on TV on weekends this year.
After his last round, I had a chance to speak with him. He simply said he didn’t play well, but never stopped giving his best. He was very complimentary about his caddy, Islander Tony Wong. Jake kept saying that Tony did a superb job of keeping him in the game.
The Island pro is dedicated and works hard at his game. From the perspective of a 60-year golf professional, I say he has everything he needs in his game to keep us excited and put money in his pocket. If he keeps playing, I will keep writing to help you understand the mind of a committed young golfer.
What do I tell him? That this week was a tough loss. You have a large investment in time and money and I feel if you can stay patient, your time will come and you will get your share.
