Last weekend Patrick Newcomb curled in a birdie putt on the final hole to win by one over Tim O’Neal, whose birdie putt lipped out on the 72nd hole at Torrey Pines in the APGA Farmers Insurance Open.
The win earned Newcomb an exemption into the Korn Ferry Tour’s 2022 Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation, May 5-8 at The Grove in College Grove, Tennessee, but the 31-year-old Murray State grad has decided to pass his exemption on to O’Neal.
“We are thrilled that Patrick Newcomb’s request to pass along his exemption to Tim O’Neal has been approved. Tim has been a tremendous player on the tour since its inception and has been an incredible role model to the younger generation on our tour today,” said the APGA Tour’s CEO Ken Bentley. “He proved on Sunday at Torrey Pines that he still has the game to compete on PGA Tour level courses and it is exciting to see him get the opportunity at the Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation. Patrick’s decision to pass along this exemption to his friend Tim is a perfect example of the inclusivity and togetherness that best represents what the APGA Tour stands for.”
Patrick Newcomb announced today he is passing his exemption into the @KornFerryTour's 2022 @simmons_bank to fellow friend and APGA Tour Player Tim O'Neal pic.twitter.com/TybgstavcN
— APGA TOUR (@APGA_Tour) February 2, 2022
O’Neal, 49, has three wins on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica, most recently in 2016 at the Casa de Campo Dominican Republic Open, and three additional APGA Tour titles. He also qualified for the 2015 U.S Open and competed in the 2019 Genesis Open as the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption recipient.
Since 2010 the APGA Tour, a non-profit organization, has been striving to help prepare African Americans and other minority golfers to compete and win at the highest levels of professional golf.
