Curtis Luck Starts Pro Career at Valero Texas Open

After an impressive amateur career, Curtis Luck is ready for the PGA Tour.

Curtis Luck is the latest in a string of amateur players who have tried to vault past the possibility of spending a year or more on the Web.com Tour by using up to seven allowed PGA Tour sponsor exemptions. He’s starting his quest at the Valero Texas Open, where he opened with a 73 in Thursday’s first round. He will need to improve on that to progress toward PGA Tour status.

In his journey from amateur to professional, one hurdle Luck has to navigate is learning how to co-exist alongside the superstars of the game. He played with Adam Scott at the 2016 Australian PGA, with Jason Day at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and with Rory McIlroy in a practice round at The Masters.

“It’s definitely hard not to watch these guys. These are the guys I’ve grown up, I’ve wanted to aspire to,” he said about them at The Masters. “It’s cool to actually be playing alongside them rather than just watching them.”

To gain a PGA Tour card, starting this season, it’s no longer money that he has to earn. It’s points. If he earns enough FedEx points in his exemption events to be equal to the 150^th player in 2016, he will be able to take special temporary membership. That means he will be able accept as many sponsor exemptions as he can get.

http://www.pgatour.com/news/2017/16-17-eligibility-ranking.html

If Luck should be able to get to the top 125 in points by the end of the season, that will be good enough for a PGA Tour card for 2017-2018.

“I’ve been playing golf ten years now so I guess it’s been a long time coming to be and turning professional,” he said to media. “It’s going to be a great week this week to be able to say I could potentially make some money.”

http://www.pgatour.com/video/2017/04/18/curtis-luck-on-first-professional-start-before-valero.html

After the Valero Texas Open, Luck has an invitation to the Dean & DeLuca Invitational, and will see which others come his way in days and weeks ahead.

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golf-central-blog/amateur-champ-luck-set-pro-debut-valero

Now, while getting accustomed to the big names that populate the PGA Tour, he must also focus on trying to secure temporary status, and then, eventually, a PGA Tour card that bears the name “Curtis Luck.”

To date, though many have tried, just a handful of players have managed to play their way onto the PGA Tour in less than a year via sponsor exemptions. Tiger Woods, Justin Leonard, Jordan Spieth and, more recently, Jon Rahm are among those who skipped the Q-School or Web.com experience because they earned enough money (the parameter at that time) to qualify for the following season. Phil Mickelson skipped the entire process by winning the Tucson Open while he was still in college, granting him membership upon completing his education.

Now, Curtis Luck is beginning the exemption countdown in San Antonio and would love to add his name to that list.

“I guess there’s a little bit more pressure to perform. As an amateur you know you’re kind of paying money to go play and there’s nothing comes out of it, where here, it’s kind of I’m starting to try to make a living so there’s the added pressure,” he noted.

He said at the Valero Texas Open that he’s been asking others for advice, including Jordan Spieth, Geoff Ogilvy, Adam Scott and Jason Day, and that they have been generous with it. What he’s heard most often is that scheduling carefully is a must. The reason, he was advised, is so he doesn’t go into a tournament feeling like he’s struggling to make a cut. He thinks a three weeks on, one week off routine will suit him, but of course, he really can’t plan until he obtains PGA Tour membership.

More from Pro Golf Now

Luck still has six remaining exemptions, and he has another two bonus tournaments because his U.S. Amateur victory also gets him entry to The Memorial and the Quicken Loans, according to the PGA Tour. So in reality, he has nine chances. In the last six months, he’s played the Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Masters and other professional events as an amateur. If he qualifies for the U.S. Open and British Open, those will also be point-getters and, technically, will not count against his exemptions.

Starting this season, money is no longer the means by which players earn and keep their PGA Tour cards. It’s points. If he earns enough FedEx Cup points in his exemption events to match the 150th player in 2016, Luck will be able to take special temporary membership. That means he will be able accept as many sponsor exemptions as he can get.

Should Luck manage to crack the top 125 in points by the end of this season, that will be good enough for a PGA Tour card for 2017-2018.

“I’ve been playing golf ten years now so I guess it’s been a long time coming to be and turning professional,” he said in San Antonio. “It’s going to be a great week this week to be able to say I could potentially make some money.”

After the Valero Texas Open, Luck has an invitation to the Dean & DeLuca Invitational and will see which others come his way in the days and weeks ahead. Don’t look now, but we could start to see a lot more of Curtis Luck in the coming weeks.

Next: Tiger Woods Undergoes Another Back Procedure

What are you expecting from new pro Curtis Luck? Let us know in the comments, and keep it here at Pro Golf Now for more updates on Curtis Luck’s career.

Home/Golf News