Not all made-cuts are made equal.
On Friday at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, Richy Werenski showed us why.
As the PGA Tour journeyman stood on the 17th tee box (his eighth hole) on Friday in Bermuda, he was fully out of it. After another bogey on the 16th, Werenski was three over for the day, five over for the tournament, and seven back of the projected cutline.
Worse yet, Werenski knew the forecast for the day called for storms during the final two hours of his round. Rain can — and often does — reign terror on Port Royal Golf Course during the PGA Tour’s visit. The seaside setup has almost no protection from Bermuda’s stiff coastal winds, leaving room for all sorts of competitive chaos.
In Werenski’s case, this was extra bad news, seeing as he needed to birdie almost every hole on the way in to even dream about making it into the weekend in Bermuda.
There was a chance of making the cut, sure, but it was disappearing faster than the mid-November daylight.
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Two and a half hours later, Richy Werenski stood on the fringe of the 9th green at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship clinging to a miracle.
He’d made birdies on six of his last 10 holes, including four in a row starting with the 17th and ending on the second hole. He’d climbed from seven shots outside the cutline to standing within a chip shot of a weekend berth — and a paycheck — in Bermuda.
But as he sized up his third shot on the par-4 9th, he knew he needed more than skill to find the bottom of the hole.
The wind was howling now on the seaside 9th, and the sun had long since disappeared into the horizon. Rain fell sideways from the clouds, pelting players and caddies alike. Werenski didn’t just need to judge the slope of the green and the grain and the distance, he also needed to account for Mother Nature.
Finally, he stepped up to the chip and plunged his club into the ground.
The ball popped up into the air, skittering out across the putting surface with a delicate touch. Werenski watched as the ball tumbled down towards the hole, the flag rippling back towards him, closer and closer to the hole. And then, just when it seemed like the wind might veer it off course, the ball reached the flagstick and fell directly in.
Werenski had made birdie on the ninth, making up seven shots in 11 holes to make the cut and cap off one of the most impressive PGA Tour comebacks in recent memory.
It was a remarkable finish for Werenski, but he wasn’t done there. He came out hot again on Saturday, making six birdies and no bogeys to push himself all the way to eight under and T32.
He’ll enter Sunday in Bermuda a safe distance out of the lead, but having secured a solid payday with plenty of room still to grow.
If Friday’s round is any indication, we won’t count him out yet.