Last week Robby Shelton fired 61 in Round 3 and defeated Ben Griffin in a playoff to pick up his third career win on KFT.

Griffin might not have comeout on top that day but he ended up cliaming the season objective. His runner up finish in a playoff pushed him over the 875 point threshold and onto the PGATOUR for 2022-23. There are now seven players who have booked their tickets to the big leagues, including Brandon Matthews (T15) who also joined Griffin in celebrations last Sunday afternoon.

With seven regular season events left to play the pressure will start building, if it hasn't already. Remember, 25 TOUR cards are awarded during the regular season. An additional 25 TOUR cards will be distributed to the top 25 based on their finish in the KFT playoffs for total of 50 players moving on at the end of the year.

One of the original events on the Hogan Tour from 1990, the Wichita Open Benefitting KU Wichita Pediatrics will play the 33rd edition at Crestview Country Club's North Course. Current KFT member Harry Hall is the defending champion but isn't listed in the field this week.

Back to a normal field of 156 this week in Wichita. On the line is a purse of $750,000 with the winner enjoying $135,000 plus 500 KFT points.

Crestview CC - North Course

POWER RANKINGS

Just Missed: Kevin Daugherty, Philip Knowles, Rob Oppenheim, Nelson Ledesma, Brad Hopfinger

The storied history of Wichita on KFT began in 1990 but not at Crestview CC until 2001. The North Course debuted as Par-72 while the second edition checked in at Par-70. Year three brought Par-71, of course, and that was the standard until the 2014 edition shifted back to Par-70.

The stock Par-70 is the second shortest course on the schedule this season ranking only behind Country Club de Bogota (Pacos), which stretched only to 6,249 at altitude.

The tree lined fairways require concentration off the tee as the field missed the short grass over 52 percent of the time last year. The Bentgrass greens are strategically bunkered but the winning score here over the last five years has hovered around 16-under so getting up and down is paramount.

The four Par-3 holes all play into the wind and are 186 yards plus. The first Par-5 hole is 563 and is second on the scorecard. The definite scoring opportunity comes on the backside as the second of two barely stretches to 500 yards at 501.

Posting four-under daily suggests bogeys and rounds above 70 need not apply. In the last three editions COMBINED, there were 21 rounds above par from the top 28 players. The top 25 the last three editions have all posted 10-under or better.

Wise's victory was the exception to the recent rules. He's the youngest winner, last 54 hole leader to close the deal and he posted the only margin of victory larger than one shot/playoff as he won by five. The 2018 edition was the only recent event where the cut was OVER par. The 2020 edition was held in September,

The golf ball is gonna fly this week as Wichita hit 101 today and will be 96 or better every day! Gustier winds subside, for The Plains at least, as tournament play begins Thursday.

Last Week - BMW Charity Pro-Am

No. 10 - Vincent Norrman - T15
No. 9 - Justin Suh - T15
No. 8 - Ben Griffin - P2
No. 7 - Austin Eckroat - T25
No. 6 - Spencer Ralston - MC
No. 5 - MJ Daffue - MC
No. 4 - Paul Haley II - T7
No. 3 - Harry Hall - T31
No. 2 - Davis Thompson - MC
No. 1 - Erik Barnes - MC

Just Missed: Mac Meissner - T44, Tyson Alexander - MC, Kevin Roy - MC, Mark Hubbard - T44 RBC Canadian Open BONUS PICK

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out through Twitter or email me at mikeglasscott@gmail.com.