Page 56 - Las Vegas Golf & Leisure Fall 2021
P. 56
GOLF
Other players with ties to Las Vegas on the LPGA Tour in
2021-22 include Dana Finkelstein (UNLV) and residents
Jenny Shin, Na Yeon Choi, Natalie Gulbis, and Alison Lee.
If you stay aware when you are out playing golf in Las
Vegas, you never know who you might see at a course. A
prime example is a recent Tuesday at Las Vegas Golf Club
when both PGA TOUR player Scott Piercy and LPGA Tour
player Tiffany Chan showed up to play in the legendary
skins game at “Muni.” Piercy was joined by his longtime
friend and caddie, Darren Woolard, who was back on his
bag for the last three events on the 2021 season. Piercy was
on the outside looking in for PGA TOUR status, but with
Woolard, a top amateur, back on the bag after a few years
away it seemed to spark some solid play.
Piercy finished tied for third at the Wyndham Championship
and tied for 15th at the Barracuda Open to jump from 144th
on the Fed Ex Cup points list to 116th to qualify for the
Playoffs and secure his card for 2021-22.
Another sighting was former UNLV 4-time All-American
and 2004 NCAA champion Ryan Moore, who played a
couple rounds at The Las Vegas Country Club in early
September. Moore is healthy after a back injury curtailed
his season. He will play the fall tour schedule on a medical
exemption and needs about 100 FedEx Cup points to solid-
ify his card for the remainder of the 2021-22 season.
Other players with ties to Vegas who are exempt on the
PGA TOUR include Garrick Higgo, Adam Scott, Charley
Hoffman, Wyndham Clark, David Lipsky, Kevin Na,
Sangmoon Bae, Doug Ghim, Seungsu Han, Kurt Kitayama,
Maverick McNealy, Aaron Wise, and Rickie Fowler.
ALEX CEJKA first had the golf spotlight shone on him
when he packed up his RV in summer of 2020 during
Covid and played in mini tour events in Arizona and dom-
inated them. Some golf media labeled him as the hottest
golfer on the planet. He then parlayed his good play onto
the PGA TOUR Champions through Monday qualifiers.
He next won two majors in 2021, the Kitchen Aide PGA
Championship and the Regions Tradition. “It's gone better
than I expected it,” Cejka says about his inaugural sea-
son after turning 50. “I knew it was going to be tough. I
was really looking forward to playing out here for the last
54 LAS VEGAS GOLF & LEISURE FALL 2021 www.lasvegasgolfandleisure.com