Monday Matters

The Procure Championship Monday qualifier delivered an inspiring start to the Fall Series. Four players shot 7-under par 65s at Yolo Fliers Club in Woodland, Calif., to advance into the PGA Tour event. An engineer, a South Korean stand out, a major winner, and a grieving widower will tee it up at Silverado Resort in Napa Valley this week, and the tournament is better for it. 

Former PGA Tour member and current Ping engineer, Jim Knous, holed out a 60 yard wedge to win the Colorado Open back in July, taking home $50,000. He added to his impressive summer run nabbing a spot in the Procure Championship on Monday. Knous had already accepted a job with Ping when he Monday qualified into the 2024 Waste Management Open. Knous closed his career (or so we thought) with a birdie on the 72nd hole to finish T28. As the raucous fans surrounding the 18th green cheered him off-stage, Knous walked away with misty eyes. He wasn’t the only one. Based on his summer results, Knous’ game hasn’t missed a beat. There’s less pressure now and Knous might just make a run in Napa. 

It’s not often you see major winners at Monday qualifiers but 2013 PGA Championship winner, Jason Dufner, has struggled in the past few years. The five-time PGA Tour winner made just one of six cuts this year on the PGA Tour with a best finish of T75 at the Puerto Rico Open. Dufner’s game came together on Monday and he undoubtedly hopes it’s a sign of things to come.

When he was 10, Sangha Park played his first round of golf in South Korea and shot 97. Since his earliest junior golf days, he has been mentored by eight-time PGA Tour winner K.J. Choi. Park played for University of Texas Permian Basin and later for Colorado Christian University, where he graduated earlier this year. In 35 competitive collegiate rounds, Park averaged 69.2, was ranked 3rd in Division II golf, and made the Ping All-America team.  This week in Napa, Park has the chance to follow in Choi’s footsteps. 

The most emotional story of the week (and probably the year) is Corey Pereira. The 30-year-old has played in the U.S. Open and two PGA Tour events in his career, but has not yet broken through on a big stage. In June, Pereira’s wife, Leah, passed away after a years-long battle with cancer at age 28. Ryan French spoke with Pereira after his round. Pereira said his first instinct after successfully qualifying on Monday was to call his wife. To wrestle with such a tragic and sobering reality after finally earning a celebratory moment is difficult to imagine.  

“Today had some tough moments. Leah and I got engaged in Napa in December of last year,” says Pereira. “Being here brings a lot of emotions. She’s been with me for everything. She was here in December for the Asher Tour event. That’s when I proposed to her. It’s emotional to pick up the phone to dial a number and that person is not alive.”

Pereira told French that he’s felt numb since Leah passed. French took to social media on Monday evening, writing, “I hope all of you look at the Monday Q today and see the stories that can come from them.” He challenged anyone to find a more compelling story than Pereira’s. 

Every week the PGA Tour delivers exceptional golf. The question is who will be playing it? Pereira is giving fans something more than golf to cheer for this week. That he’s playing at all is amazing. 

“When something as traumatic as what happened to our family and what happened to Leah happens, you question what purpose to follow. Golf felt very insignificant for a long period of time for me,” says Pereira. “When something really tragic happens you just shut off. You try to avoid the happy moments and you try to avoid the sad moments. You just try to exist. This week, I have thought a couple times, ‘man this is awesome. I have played zero golf and went out and shot seven under and Monday qualified.’”

Pereira has experience disassociating his personal life with his golf game. Too much. But he’s starting to feel competitive excitement again. He’s starting to see a glimmer of hope. He’s trying not to put any expectations on the week. Let’s all hope the bounces go his way and he finds some peace between the ropes. 

“What I shoot this week is as far out of my control as it can get really,” says Pereira. “I hope I can go out there and have good control of my mind and go compete well.”

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Listen to Pereira’s interview on Any Given Monday here.

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