When Philip Knowles withdrew before the first round of the 2023 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, a spot opened up for Jonas Blixt.
The 38-year-old Swede has only gotten into one PGA Tour event this season – he missed the cut at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship – so any chance to make a PGA Tour start is a good thing.
Blixt was also not in the field next week for the first full-field designated event of 2023, the WM Phoenix Open, so he made sure he threw his hat in the ring for the Monday qualifier, which some have dubbed an opposite-field event because of the sheer number of standout golfers.
Mother Nature, however, has other plans for Blixt and the 14 other golfers who made the belated cut Sunday at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. High winds suspended play and has forced a Monday finish on the Monterey Peninsula.
But Monday also happens to be the qualifier for the $20 million WMPO at TPC Scottsdale. Blixt, who shot 72-72-64 over the first three rounds and will start the final round 7 under and tied for 13th, will cash a paycheck on the PGA Tour for the first time since last July at the 3M Open but he’ll miss out on a potential blockbuster payday at the Phoenix Open, where the winner will get $3.6 million.
Thems the breaks, as they say.
“It’s unfortunate that some participants are going to miss out of the WM Phoenix Open Monday Qualifier due to the weather issues they have been experiencing at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am,” said Bill Ibrahim, the COO of the Southwest Section PGA. “With a Monday finish now slated for that event, a large number of the 31 participants registered in both are inside the cut line and thus will not be able to be here. With the WM Phoenix Open the first designated event of the year, I assume it hurts a little more missing out on trying to qualify with the uncertainty of these designated events in the future.
“It’s just bad luck for these gentlemen but as the old saying goes, ‘you can’t control mother nature’. Hopefully it stings a little less since those making the cut are at least making a check this week.”
Here’s a closer look at the golfers who played in the Pro-Am who were also on the list for the Phoenix Open Monday qualifier.
Made cut at Pebble Beach
7 under, T-13
Jonas Blixt
Nick Hardy
Kevin Yu
6 under, T-18
Eric Cole
5 under, T-24
Aaron Baddeley
Sam Stevens
Martin Trainer
Kyle Westmoreland
4 under, T-22
Harry Hall
Dylan Wu
3 under, T-42
Sung Kang
2 under, T-50
Byeong Hun An
1 under, T-59
Tano Goya
Sean O’Hair
Trevor Werbylo
Missed cut
Zac Blair
Kevin Chappell
Trevor Cone
Austin Eckroat
Harrison Endycott
Robert Garrigus
Michael Gligic
Will Gordon
Ben Griffin
Scott Harrington
Grayson Murray
Vincent Norrman
Kevin Roy
Ben Taylor
Bo Van Pelt
Carl Yuan
WD
Carson Young
