Monday qualifier Peter Kuest comes inches shy of Special Temporary Membership
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Three-way T4 at Rocket Mortgage punches ticket to John Deere Classic
Monday qualifier Peter Kuest was inches from securing Special Temporary Membership – twice – on the final hole at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
He’ll settle for a spot in the John Deere Classic, which begins Thursday, and another opportunity.
Kuest, a conditional Korn Ferry Tour member, finished in a three-way tie for fourth at the Rocket Mortgage, carding 21 under at Detroit Golf Club. It marks a career-best TOUR-sanctioned showing for the 2020 collegiate All-American who had previously struggled to find his footing as a pro, and it could prove instrumental as he builds a career path.
The BYU product needed a two-way T4 in Detroit to cross the threshold for Special Temporary Membership, which required a birdie on the par-4 18th hole Sunday. After blasting his tee shot 333 yards down the middle, he had a short wedge from 133 yards that landed just past the hole, spun back and narrowly missed the hole on the left edge. He couldn’t convert the 18-foot birdie try, meaning there is some more work to be done at the John Deere.
Peter Kuest chips out of rough to set up birdie at Rocket Mortgage
He doesn’t need too much, as a solo 76th or better in the Quad Cities would be enough – a made cut would likely do the job.
Furthermore, his performance through the week at the Rocket Mortgage is proof positive that the 25-year-old Californian possesses the mettle to compete at this level.
After finishing outside the top 100 on last year’s Korn Ferry Tour standings, Kuest needed to play Q-School just to regain status. He advanced to Final Stage but finished a distant T126, meaning no starts were guaranteed. He has since spent a large part of his attention this season on PGA TOUR Monday qualifiers and has found some success – this marked his third start of the season as a Monday qualifier (MC at Valero Texas Open; T57 at RBC Canadian Open).
Critically, he also finished T14 at the AT&T Byron Nelson on a sponsor exemption, accruing 53 non-member FedExCup points, useful in building a base that has allowed him to move to the verge of Special Temporary Membership.
Peter Kuest’s crafty chip-in birdie is the Shot of the Day
Kuest now holds 172.9 non-member FedExCup points, just 2.328 points shy of the threshold to secure Special Temporary Membership. The 2023 STM threshold (175.228 points) is equivalent to No. 150 on the 2022 FedExCup Playoffs and Eligibility Points List (Dylan Wu).
By securing Special Temporary Membership, Kuest would earn a spot in a conditional category on the 2023 TOUR Priority Ranking. This category reshuffles a combination of TOUR members including past champions (beyond their exemption) and veteran members (150 or more career cuts made).
Special Temporary Members can also accept unlimited sponsor exemptions through the remainder of the 2023 PGA TOUR calendar, including the fall portion. Non-members can only accept up to seven sponsor exemptions in a single TOUR season.
This has been a robust season for Special Temporary Membership, with players to cross the threshold including Akshay Bhatia – on the strength of a runner-up at the Puerto Rico Open – as well as Ryan Gerard, Ryan Fox, Min Woo Lee and Nicolai Hojgaard.
Kuest is now on the verge of adding his name to that list.
Kevin Prise is an associate editor for PGATOUR.COM. He is on a lifelong quest to break 80 on a course that exceeds 6,000 yards and to see the Buffalo Bills win a Super Bowl. Follow Kevin Prise on Twitter.