Jhonattan Vegas
One month into the PGA TOUR season, rookie Jhonattan Vegas has skyrocketed up the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) and finds himself atop the FedExCup standings. Vegas' hot start, highlighted by a victory two weeks ago at the Bob Hope Classic, the first by a Venezuelan on the PGA TOUR, and a T3 at last week's Farmers Insurance Open, has created the distinct possibility the 24-year old could qualify for the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship. Should he qualify, Vegas would become the first Venezuelan to compete in Cadillac Championship history.
The 2011 Cadillac Championship returns to TPC Blue Monster at Doral, March 9-13, and will feature the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking (as of both February 28 and March 7), the top-two players from the different professional tours around the world that make up the International Federation of PGA Tours (Japan Golf Tour, Australasian, Sunshine and Asian), the top 30 players from the final 2010 FedExCup standings, the top 20 players from the 2010 European Tour Race to Dubai and the top 10 players from both the 2011 FedExCup Standings and 2011 European Tour Race to Dubai, if not otherwise qualified (as of March 7 and February 28, respectively).
Vegas earned his PGA TOUR card after finishing No. 7 on the 2010 Nationwide Tour money list on the strength of a victory at the Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open, two second-place finishes and a third. He wasted little time settling in on the PGA TOUR, capturing the Bob Hope Classic in a three-way playoff in just his second start of the year. The victory, coupled with his T3 last week at the Farmers Insurance Open, landed Vegas atop the FedExCup standings and moved him to No. 69 in the OWGR. His victory at the Bob Hope Classic was the earliest in a season by a rookie since Garrett Willis won the second event of the year at the 2001 Touchstone Energy Tucson Open.
"Jhonattan Vegas has provided us all a tremendous amount of excitement to start the 2011 season, both with his playoff victory at the Bob Hope Classic and go-for-broke approach down the stretch at the Farmers Insurance Open," said Eddie Carbone, Executive Director of the Cadillac Championship. "With such a strong South American presence in the community here in South Florida, having Jhonattan qualify and become the first Venezuelan to compete in the Cadillac Championship would be an incredible story."
Vegas leads the current FedExCup standings with 672 points through the Farmers Insurance Open. Though he has not assured himself a spot in the Cadillac Championship field, the odds are in his favor to qualify for the second World Golf Championships event of the year. The top 10 players from the 2011 FedExCup points list, not otherwise qualified, through the Honda Classic (Feb. 28 -- Mar. 6) will earn an invitation to the Cadillac Championship. In 2010 No. 10 on the FedExCup points list through The Honda Classic earned 532 points while No. 10 had 553 points in 2009.
Should Vegas remain in the top 10 of the 2011 FedExCup standings through The Honda Classic, or move inside the top 50 in the OWGR (as of both February 28 and March 7), he would become just the seventh player from South America to qualify for the Cadillac Championship. South Americans who have competed in the Cadillac Championship include Argentina's Angel Cabrera, Jose Coceres, Andres Romero and Eduardo Romero, Paraguay's Carlos Franco and Colombia's Camilo Villegas.
