Davis Thompson became the fifth rookie and 11th first time winner this season as he won on his 23rd birthday last Sunday at the REX Hospital Open.

More importantly, he was in the Power Rankings last week!

Nobody said this would be easy and after 16 weeks I can attest it's exactly the opposite. Each week over 150 players battling for their spot on the food chain are gaining something, losing another, all while trying to hit that magical mark of 875 points and a PGA TOUR card.

The Carolina exacta heads to South Carolina and an event which has been on the Korn Ferry Tour calendar since 1992. Thornblade Club will serve as host as it has since 2008. Old friend Carolina CC will help handle half of the field in Rounds 1 and 2 for the first time since 2012.

Mito Pereira won't be back to defend his title as he's rattled off four consecutive T17 or better on TOUR including a pair of top 10 paydays at the PGA Championship and Colonial.

Adding amateurs to the proceedings will bump the field to 160 players. On the line is a purse of $750,000 with the winner enjoying $135,000 plus 500 Korn Ferry Tour points.

POWER RANKINGS

Just Missed: Mac Meissner, Tyson Alexander, Kevin Roy

The BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX joined the Korn Ferry Tour rotation in 1992 but did not become a Pro-Am until 2001. This will be the second multi-course tournament of the season (Astara Golf Championship - Colombia) but the first with Pro-Am angle.

Thornblade and Carolina CC are reunited for the first time since 2012. It will be different this year as each course will be used once in determining the cut before Thornblade hosts the entire weekend. In 2012 there were three courses in the rotation.

The host will provide Bentgrass putting surfaces, four Par-5 holes and FIVE Par-3 holes. Carolina CC won't stretch to 7,000 yards but will have slick Bermudagrass as the major defense.

As is the case in Pro-Am events, scoring will be the key. With amateurs around pins won't be completely tucked, rough won't be gnarly and the putting surfaces cannot be lightning quick.

Or the rounds will be glacially slow.

The mark of 27 under has been posted in two of the last three events (no event 2020) for the winner.

The secret in a shootout isn't much of a secret: Find fairways, spin wedges close and hole putts on the pure greens. With only 25 acres of fairways, hitting more of them will provide more chances to attack flags. The Bentgrass will be kept at a reasonable 11 feet this week because of the heat in the forecast I'm told. At that speed, with that surface, it won't be a surprise to see putts dropping by the bushel this week!

Thornblade's par-3 holes will need full attention, especially those on the back nine, but the Par-5 holes will help mitigate any damage. Plus the par-4 holes can be attacked with wedges.

Bentgrass greens are on the menu for the fifth consecutive week in three of the four rounds but I like the angle of one round on slippery Bermuda.

Rain might soften the tracks Tuesday or Wednesday with another chance on Saturday morning but nothing as of Monday night that suggests delays or long days. Temperatures in the mid to upper 80s remind us all that summertime, officially, is right around the corner.

Last Week - REX Hospital Open

No. 10 - Chris Baker - T19
No. 9 - Kyle Reifers - MC
No. 8 - Ben Martin - DNS
No. 7 - Sam Stevens - T61
No. 6 - Grayson Murray - T37
No. 5 - Davis Thompson - WINNER
No. 4 - Christopher Petefish - MC
No. 3 - Erik Barnes - T19
No. 2 - Justin Suh - T65
No. 1 - MJ Daffue - T37

Just Missed: Kevin Dougherty - T52, Kevin Yu - T52, Albin Choi - WD

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