Amid New Orleans Disappointment, Trainer and Brehm Find Silver Linings

I think it could be fun to watch. LIV players can play in European tour events as long as they pay fines for being on the Saudi circuit without having a release.

The disappointment on Martin Trainer's face was obvious when he pushed a 6-foot par putt that would extend the playoff in the Zurich Classic. Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy wound up winning over Trainer and Chad Ramey.

But, it wasn't the worst consolation prize for Trainer. His portion of the runner-up finish was USD 525,100, the second-largest payoff of his PGA Tour career behind the USD 540,000 he earned from winning the 2019 Puerto Rico Open. It also was more than he made in all of the 2020, 2021 and 2023 seasons.

"There's a lot of really good things to take from this week, and that's what I'm going to do," Trainer said. "Solo's second finish in the end is still pretty good." Solo third also isn't awful as Ryan Brehm can attest. The big hitter from Michigan was right in the mix with Mark Hubbard, narrowly missing out on a playoff when Brehm's birdie putt from the fringe grazed the cup.

Third place was worth USD 343,763 for Brehm, in the final year of his full exemption from winning the 2022 Puerto Rico Open. That was his second-largest paycheck behind the USD 660,000 he earned from his only win.

Trainer also moved up from No. 171 to No. 103 in the FedEx Cup, while Brehm went from No. 162 to No. 114. Both are in the field for The CJ Cup by Byron Nelson. Trainer is at No. 4 in the "Swing Five" list that get into the $20 million Wells Fargo Championship next week.

GOING LOW ON THE KORN FERRY Frankie Capan III opened with a 58 in the Veritex Bank Championship to further highlight a trend in low scoring on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Scores have been coming down across golf over the last decade, a natural progression. What makes the Korn Ferry Tour stand out is that Capan was the third player this year with a sub-60 round, following Aldrich Potgieter (59) and Cristobal Del Solar (57) in Colombia.

This is the second straight year for the Korn Ferry Tour to produce three sub-60 rounds. Mac Meissner (Lecom Suncoast Classic), Michael Feagles (BMW Charity Pro-Am) and David Kocher (Albertsons Boise Open) each shot 59 a year ago.

No other tour worldwide has produced more than two sub-60 rounds in the same year.

Equally remarkable about the Korn Ferry Tour is none of those six players who shot in the 50s in 2023 and 2024 went on to win. There have been 13 sub-60 rounds in Korn Ferry Tour history, and only two players went on to win — Stephan Jaeger in the 2016 Ellie Mae Classic and Jason Gore in the 2005 Cox Classic.

Golf has seen two other sub-60 rounds this year — Joaquin Niemann at LIV Golf Mayakoba and John Catlin at the International Series Macau on the Asian Tour. Both wound up winning.

BRADLEY ON LIV Keegan Bradley doesn't know where golf is headed and how it can be healed. "I hear a different new rumour every day," he says.

But, part of him wouldn't mind seeing a few PGA Tour events with LIV Golf involved.

"I think it would be really fun to have a tournament like the Travelers, where you're coming down the stretch against a PGA Tour versus a LIV guy," Bradley said Monday at media day for the Travelers Championship, where he will defend his title in June.

"I think that would be fun for the media. I think it would be fun for the public. I think it could be fun to watch." LIV players can play in European tour events as long as they pay fines for being on the Saudi circuit without having a release. But, they are suspended by the PGA Tour, and showing up at a non-major still seems far away.

Bradley said several players who left for LIV were "big characters, good and bad, and great players." "And, I think eventually you'd see them come back," he said. "But, the LIV guys are going to have to play on LIV. It would just be an event here or there. I don't think any of them are going to jump over and play full-time."

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)