- November 2, 2024
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With the Korn Ferry Tour's 2023 LECOM Suncoast Classic coming to Lakewood National Golf Club on April 20-23 — the fifth iteration of the event — here's a look at past winners and runner-ups of the event to see where they are now.
While some have struggled to find a consistent groove, others have done well on the PGA Tour.
After winning the Suncoast Classic last February by shooting 17 under par, Byeong Hun An would finish in the top 10 at just one more Korn Ferry Tour event. He tied for second at that event (20 under par), then rode that high into the PGA Tour's Zurich Classic of New Orleans, held the next weekend at TPC Louisiana, where he finished tied for 14th (20 under par).
Even though An would struggle down the stretch, he did enough to earn his PGA Tour card, and he's played well in 2022-2023, making the cut in 13 of 17 events and finishing in the top 25 of five events, including a tie for fourth (12 under par) at the Fortinet Championship at Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa, California, in September. An has made $1,263,286 this season and is 57th in the FedEx Cup standings.
Griffin finished tied for second with three others at 16 under par at the 2022 event and used that momentum to earn his PGA Tour card, ending the year with five top 10 finishes. This season on the PGA Tour, Griffin has played in 17 events and made the cut in 14 of them, with six top 25 finishes.
His best finish came at October's Butterfield Bermuda Championship, held at Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton Parish, Bermuda, where he finished tied for third (17 under par). Griffin has earned $1,520,047 this season and is 46th in the FedEx Cup standings.
The 2021 champion has perhaps the best narrative of any past winner. Buckley won in 2021 by shooting 13 under par and winning a playoff. He did it after starting the tournament 10th on the alternate list, getting the official call 15 minutes before he had to tee off.
Buckley has never stopped building off his improbable win. He earned his tour card at the end of the 2021 season and has been playing well on the PGA Tour. As of April 7, Buckley has played in 14 events in the 2022-2023 season and made the cut in eight of them — but finished in the top 25 in five of those eight events, including three top 10 finishes. His best performance came at January's Sony Open in Hawaii, held at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, where he finished alone in second place (17 under par), one shot back of Si Woo Kim.
Buckley has earned $1,836,289 this season and is 33rd in the FedEx Cup standings.
Montgomery lost the 2021 Suncoast Classic on a playoff hole, then failed to follow up the tournament with enough good results to earn a Tour card as he finished 26th in both the Korn Ferry Tour's regular season standings and the KFT Finals standings (the top 25 get cards). But Montgomery played well in 2022 and finally earned his card, and has gone on a tear in the 2022-2023 PGA Tour season.
Montgomery has played in 16 events and made the cut in 14 of them, with 10 top 25 finishes and four top 10 finishes. His best performance came at the Fortinet Championship, where he finished third (13 under par, one shot better than An). Montgomery has earned $2,382,435 this season and is 16th in the FedEx Cup standings.
Novak shot 23 under par to win the 2020 event by one stroke over John Chin. He did not have a strong finish to the 2020 season, but because the PGA Tour decided to combine the 2020 and 2021 seasons when distributing Tour cards because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Novak got another chance, and despite playing the Suncoast Classic again and missing the cut, he played well enough overall to earn a card.
This year, Novak has played in 12 PGA Tour events and made the cut in nine of them, with four top 25 finishes. HIs best performance came at the Valero Texas Open, held March 30-April 2 at the TPC San Antonio, when he finished ninth (nine under par). Novak has earned $718,322 this season and sits 86th in the FedEx Cup standings.
After coming within one stroke of a Suncoast Classic win, Chin has struggled to replicate his success. He failed to get his PGA Tour card after the combined 2020 and 2021 seasons and did not get one in 2022 either, after missing the cut in 12 of 22 Korn Ferry Tour events and never finished higher than 26th, which he did at the Utah Championship at
Oakridge Country Club in Farmington, Utah in August.
Chin, 35, has not played in any event in 2023.
The first LECOM Suncoast Classic champion, who won by shooting 26 under par, has held his PGA Tour card since the 2019 season ended, though Hubbard did return to the Suncoast Classic in 2022 in the hopes of working out some kinks in his game. He finished tied for sixth (15 under par) in his return.
On the PGA Tour, Hubbard has been up and down. He has played in 17 events this season but made the cut in just eight of them, with three top 25 finishes. His best result came at the Sanderson Farms Championship, held Sept. 29-Oct. 2 at the Country Club of Jackson in Jackson, Mississippi, where he finished tied for fifth (13 under par). Hubbard has earned $695,390 this season and sits 96th in the FedEx Cup standings.
McNealy finished two strokes behind Hubbard at 24 under par, but had two other top 10 Korn Ferry Tour finishes in 2019, which was enough to earn his PGA Tour card. McNealy has had a consistent hold on his status in the years since.
This year, McNealy has played in 13 PGA Tour events and made the cut in 10 of them, with five top 25 finishes and three top 10 finishes. His best performance came at the Sony Open in Hawaii, where he tied for seventh (13 under par). McNealy has earned $1,271,920 this season and is 66th in the FedEx Cup standings.
