Sometimes you don’t have to win to score a victory.
Enter Doc Redman, the 2017 U.S. Amateur champion from Clemson who has been laboring in obscurity this season on the Mackenzie Tour.
Redman showed up in Detroit last week and earned himself a spot in the Rocket Mortgage Classic the old-fashioned way — Monday qualifying.
They call it a four-spot because that’s all there are. Redman scored one.
Scores were low, really low during the first round at the Detroit Golf Club and Redman’s 68, although it was a good start, left him back in the pack. A 67 on Friday and he easily made the 36-hole cut, his first goal. At nine-under, he was moving up.
Then came another 67 on moving day and suddenly Redman was 14-under par — with a chance to score a good check and some FedEx Cup points.
There was work to do and Redman had another good day on Sunday. A third straight 67 shot him past guys like Patrick Reed, Brandt Snedeker and Rory Sabbatini. His 19-under par finish, although it was six shots behind winner Nate Lashley, he found himself solo second.
With it came a check for $788,400 and to a guy struggling to get to the PGA Tour, that was huge. It puts him inside the current top 115 on the money list and he’ll get temporary status. He also found himself with a spot in the 3M Classic in Minnesota this week. And there’s another biggie — a spot in the Open Championship in three weeks at Royal Portrush.
The tournament offered two spots to players not already in if they finish inside the top eight.
Lashley and Redman went 1-2 and picked up both spots.
So for Doc Redman, this one has to go down as a huge victory. He didn’t win, but he was certainly a winner when all was said and done Sunday in Detroit.
