Story by D.J. Pigg, Contributing writer
Former Murray State golfer Patrick Newcomb received his exemption card for the ‘WebDotCom Tour’ last week.
Newcomb played for Murray State’s men’s golf team from 2009 to 2013. He’s no stranger to success. While playing for Murray State he won several tournaments, including an OVC Championship his senior year. He also won two Kentucky State Amateur Championships, was low Amateur at the Kentucky Open in 2011, and became the first Murray State player to advance to the round of 16 in the United States Amateur Championship. He also won several awards, including 2011 Kentucky Golf Association John Owens Player of the Year, as well as 2011-2012 OVC Player of the year after winning three tournaments and grabbing eight top-five finishes.
Turning pro after his senior season at Murray, Newcomb has spent the last five years slowly gaining momentum in his professional career. For the first few, he didn’t quite see the results he wanted to. He won a few local tournaments, including the West Kentucky Open, held at Drake Creek Golf Club in Ledbetter, Kentucky and the Irvin Cobb Championship two years in a row, held at Paxton Park Golf Course in Paducah, Kentucky.
This seems to be Newcomb’s breakout year in 2017. He grabbed his first win on the Latin American Tour in South America this summer after firing a round of 61 in the third round, which he followed up with a 69 in the final round to put himself in a playoff that he would win on the second hole. More recently, Newcomb won twice on the Mackenzie Tour in Canada. In August, he won the Syncrude Oil Country Championship by battling through 38 holes in the final round because of weather delay and a four hole playoff. That win made Newcomb the first to have ever won on the Latin American Tour and the Mackenzie Tour. He followed that win with another less than a month later at the Cape Breton Open at Bell Bay Golf Club.
With the two wins, Newcomb finished fourth in the order of merit which landed him a tour card for the Web.com Tour, which is the the step below the PGA Tour. He will start playing Web Tour tournaments in the coming up season.
Murray State Head Coach Eddie Hunt coached Newcomb during his time as a Racer, and said he still keeps in touch with him to track his play.
“I text him after just about every tournament to see how he played and where he’s going next,” Hunt said. “It’s easy now with the internet I can follow the results every day. It’s exciting to see how he’s been playing and the success he’s had and the hard work he’s put in trying to get to the PGA Tour.”
With Newcomb finishing the 2017 season strong, he seems to have momentum going into the 2018 season. If he plays well in the 2018 season, it could possibly lead to him getting his PGA Tour Card.