Last fall, Shad Tuten just missed out on earning his PGA TOUR card by only two strokes, partially because of a surprise penalty. And when Qualifying School presented a chance to solidify the card another way, he was hit with a medical situation.
A heart condition.
However, there he stood Friday near the top of the leaderboard of the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper, having fired a 4-under par 68 at Highland Springs Country Club. That gave him a two-day total of 11-under par.
“It’s been an interesting grind,” Tuten said, having re-joined the Korn Ferry Tour in early May. “It was definitely a challenge for me to get back into it. … That was never the plan (to play seven consecutive events). I told my wife – and we talked about it a lot, she helps me out a lot – I told her at the beginning, ‘We’re going to roll with the punches and see how it goes.”
It went well Friday on a day with the tournament saw other notable storylines, including two recent champions – 2020’s Max McGreevy and 2022’s David Kocher – now at 11-under par, as well.
Poplar Bluff native Carr Vernon also is at 11-under, tied for fifth.
For Tuten, his career already was a neat story. A Georgia native, he didn’t attend a big-name school but instead competed for Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Ga.
Last fall, he seemed close to earning his PGA TOUR card. Unfortunately, he was assessed a two-stroke penalty after the final round of the Korn Ferry Championship – he didn’t properly place his ball on the 15th fairway.
The penalty left him No. 32 in points, or two points away from qualifying for the big tour.
Then came the heart issue, knocking him out of participating in Q school. Tuten, now 32, took four months off.
“I was very rusty with tournament golf and had played a little big before hand. It was really developing my speed back,” Tuten said.
On Friday, opened with a bogey on No. 10, but then reeled off pars on 12, 14, 17, 18, 2 and 5.
Meanwhile, two former PCCC champions – 2020’s Max McGreevy and 2022’s David Kocher – also are in the hunt.
McGreevy entered at 6-under par on Friday and then fired a 5-under par 67. He birdied 2, 7, 8, 11, 13 and 15, overcoming a bogey on 12.
Kocher fired an 8-under par 65 thanks to an eagle on 8, and pars on 7, 9, 10 and 11.
Vernon is playing in his fourth consecutive PCCC and looks comfortable out on the course. He carded seven birdies Friday, overcoming bogeys on Nos. 4 and 9. The former Poplar Bluff standout has been playing despite a shoulder issue.