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Here are the top 5 golfers who have played in the Memorial Health Championship

bill welt, state journal-register
·3 min read

The Memorial Health Championship has assembled quite a cast of golfers in its short history.

A number of them now regularly contend at the highest level after appearing in the Korn Ferry Tour tournament at Panther Creek Country Club, which returns with the first round on Thursday and ends on Sunday in Springfield.

Four past participants currently rank in the top 10 of the PGA Tour FedEx Cup standings.

Abraham Ancer, who tied for 28th place in the 2017 tournament, is ranked No. 21 in the World Golf Rankings. Mito Pereira, who made three appearances in Springfield and finished as high as 11th place in 2017, led this year’s PGA Championship until the final hole.

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J.T. Poston, the 2016 runner-up to Martin Flores, just captured the John Deere Classic while Seamus Power has carded three impressive major performances this year alone.

Others such as K.H. Lee (2016, 2017, 2018), Corey Conners (2017), Talor Gooch (2017), Mackenzie Hughes (2016), Carlos Ortiz (2017, 2018), C.T. Pan (2016), J.J. Spaun (2016) and Sepp Straka (2017, 2018) have all notched at least one win on the PGA Tour.

Not even these aforementioned golfers made the top list — at least for now anyway.

Here are the Memorial Health Championship’s top five participants since its debut in 2016.

Cameron Champ watches his shot on the ninth hole during the first round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament at TPC River Highlands, Thursday, June 23, 2022, in Cromwell, Conn. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Cameron Champ watches his shot on the ninth hole during the first round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament at TPC River Highlands, Thursday, June 23, 2022, in Cromwell, Conn. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

5. Cameron Champ 

The Sacramento, California, native tied for fifth place in the 2018 Springfield tournament. He has since notched three PGA Tour victories to go along with two top 10 major finishes. He tied for 10th place in both The Masters in 2022 and PGA Championship (2020).

Max Homa watches his chip onto the 17th green during the final round of the Memorial golf tournament Sunday, June 5, 2022, in Dublin, Ohio. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Max Homa watches his chip onto the 17th green during the final round of the Memorial golf tournament Sunday, June 5, 2022, in Dublin, Ohio. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

4. Max Homa

The Burbank, California, native has recorded two PGA Tour victories this season and totals four career wins. He is perched at No. 9 in the Cup standings and has collected $5 million for the 2021-22 season.

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Sam Burns watches his shot on the 13th hole during the second round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament at TPC River Highlands, Friday, June 24, 2022, in Cromwell, Conn. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Sam Burns watches his shot on the 13th hole during the second round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament at TPC River Highlands, Friday, June 24, 2022, in Cromwell, Conn. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

3. Sam Burns 

The Shreveport, Louisiana, native tied for 11th place in what was then the Lincoln Land Charity Championship in 2018. He has claimed three PGA Tour victories this season and ranks second in the Cup standings only behind Scottie Scheffler. He also has eight top 10 finishes this season while raking in $6.6 million in official money. He also comes in at No. 11 in the World Golf Rankings.

Will Zalatoris reacts after a putt on the ninth hole during the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at The Country Club, Sunday, June 19, 2022, in Brookline, Mass. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Will Zalatoris reacts after a putt on the ninth hole during the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at The Country Club, Sunday, June 19, 2022, in Brookline, Mass. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

2. Will Zalatoris

The San Francisco, California native missed the cut in the 2019 tournament and has been on the brink of winning a major multiple times since then. The 2021 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year has gone runner-up in three different majors: Masters (2021), PGA Championship (2022) and U.S. Open (2022). He is still searching for his first PGA Tour victory and sits at No. 10 in the Cup standings.

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Xander Schauffele watches his shot on the 12th hole during the first round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament at TPC River Highlands, Thursday, June 23, 2022, in Cromwell, Conn. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Xander Schauffele watches his shot on the 12th hole during the first round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament at TPC River Highlands, Thursday, June 23, 2022, in Cromwell, Conn. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

1. Xander Schauffele 

The San Diego, California native tied for 55th place in the inaugural 2016 tournament and has reaped a stellar career since joining the PGA Tour the following year. He has seven career PGA victories, including three this season after claiming the Genesis Scottish Open this past weekend. He clocks in at No. 3 in the Cup standings and No. 5 in the World Golf Rankings while earning $6.3 million in official money for 2021-22. He additionally has nine top 10 finishes in the majors. That includes second place in The Open (2018) and The Masters (2019).

Contact Bill Welt: (217) 788-1545, bill.welt@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/BillWelt 

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Korn Ferry Tour: Top players to appear in Memorial Health Championship