Potter's 'Breakthrough Performance' Still Gaining Momentum
1-17-2012
(January 17, 2012) - As 2011 was coming to a close, three Golf Channel senior writers offered their selections as the "breakthrough performers of the year." Randall Mell's choice was LPGA rookie Lexi Thompson, and Rex Hoggard opted for Webb Simpson. Jason Sobel 's pick was Teddy Potter.
Here's what Sobel wrote to back up his choice:
"If we search across all major tours for the breakthrough performer of 2011, there's one player who stands above all others. I'm going with Ted Potter Jr.
Don't know the story? You should.
Six years ago, the lefty reached the Nationwide Tour as a 20-year-old. A phenom in the junior ranks in his home state of Florida, Potter struggled mightily in his first full season on a PGA-sanctioned circuit. How mightily? He played 24 events that year. . . and made the cut in exactly zero.
In the time since, Potter has bounced back and forth between the NGA Hooters and Nationwide tours, which is golf's version of jumping between Double-A and Triple-A. In 2006 and '09, he was player of the year on the Hooters circuit; in 2007 and '10, he had more unsuccessful ventures on the Nationwide.
That all changed this year. After tearing up the Hooters Tour early on, he Monday-qualified for the Nationwide Tour's South Georgia Classic and won by three, then followed with a victory at the Soboda Golf Classic four months later.
The end result was a second-place finish on the money list, easily ensuring his place on the PGA Tour for the first time in 2012. It remains to be seen whether he breaks through in the big leagues in a big way, but his elevation in status this past season should qualify as the best on any tour."
Considering Teddy's T-13 at the SONY Open last weekend, and how steadily he played to earn his first $97,000 on tour, Sobel looks like a pretty good prognisticator, Of course, everyone around Marion County knew it was just going to be a matter of time before Teddy's breakthrough. And now that he's passed the first test with the proverbial "flying colors," there's no reason to believe it won't continue.
Potter Seeks Money Title in Tour Championship
10-26-2011
(October 26, 2011) - Earlier this year, the Nationwide Tour Championship would have seemed like an important event for Ted Potter and Matt Every, in Ted's attempt to make the PGA Tour for the first time, and for Matt to make his return. However, with the $1 million championship set to begin tomorrow at the Ralston Creek Course at Daniel Island, near Charleston, both the Ocalan and the former Gator/Gainesville star will only be competing for personal accomplishment and a higher spot on the money list. The latter would ensure more playing time when the real action kicks off in Hawaii in January.
For Ted, this is the conclusion of one of the most improbable seasons in the history of the Nationwide Tour. A Hooters Tour player when the season began, with no Nationwide status, he Monday qualified for the South Georgia Classic with a 66 in Valdosta and, amazingly, went on to win the event. It's been a whirlwind season ever since, and Ted goes into the final event in second place on the money list with $382,870 in the bank. In a heads-up move by the Tour, Ted will tee off in the final pairing tomorrow at 12:55 with J. J. Killeen, the money leader with $409,473.
In the 21-year history of the Nationwide Tour, which has previously been known as the Ben Hogan Tour, the Buy.com Tour and the Nike Tour, only 13 players have earned more than $400,000 in a single season, so Ted needs less than $18,000 to reach that pinnacle. In two seasons, 2008 and 2010, four players broke the barrier. The single-season leder is Michael Sim, whose $644,142 take in 2009 dwarfs all the rest; Troy Matteson is second with $495,009. Ted and Killeen can both jump over the field, except for Sim, with the winner's share of $180,000 this week. Second place is worth $108,000 and third $68,000. Ted can pass the elite $400,000 mark with a 15th or better finish.
As for Matt, he won the Tour Championship at Daniel Island in 2009, which raised his earnings to $300,936 and shipped him off to the PGA Tour last year. He played in 18 events, made 12 cuts, including an eighth-place finish at the Phoenix Open, and earned $456,847. That wasn't enough for him to make it back for 2011. He will be back for 2012.
Another former Gator and longtime resident of Gainesville, Camilo Benedetti, is also making a bid for "The 25," but it will take a huge effort. Camilo, who now lives in Orlando, is 49th on the money list with $115,154. The 25th player going into the finale is Billy Hurley III, with $167,151. Since every player will make a check in this one, Camilo is going to have to finish first or second to dent the leaders. A third could be a possibility.
Former Ocalan Brenden Pappas is also on the outside looking in after a disappointing season during which he earned $134,331, but withdrew from a slew of tournaments with back problems, several times after play began. Brenden, now living near Dallas, would probably have to finish in the top five to get back on Tour, and even fifth may not be good enough. Brenden tees off at 10:22 in the company of Luke List, Matt goes at 11:45 with 5-foot-4 Gavin Coles, and Camilo leads off the quartet at 9:10 with David Lingmerth as his playing partner. Another ex-Gator, Bubba Dickerson, is 42nd on the list with $124,631 and goes off at 9:46 with Matt Hendrix.
Potter Ready for Golf's Ultimate Experience
8-30-2011
(August 29, 2011) - This has been a life-changing year for Ted Potter.
After winning everything in sight around Central Florida early in the season, including a couple of Hooters Tour events and the Ocala Open at Candler, Ted was firmly entrenched atop the Hooters money list with more than $72,000 in the bank. Then came the life-changer. He took the short trip across the Georgia border to Valdosta on a Monday in late April and shot 66 in the qualifier for the Nationwide tournament called the South Georgia Classic presented by First State Bank and Trust Co.
Just making the cut would probably have satisfied Ted. From there the goal would have been to make the top 25 finishers to make him eligible to play again the next week. But he not only made the cut with rounds of 70 and 69, he exploded on the weekend with 65-68 for a 16-under finish and took home the $112,500 winner's check without working up a sweat. The victory put him in the enviable position of having a Nationwide exemption for the rest of the year, plus an exemption for 2012. Say goodbye to the Hooters Tour, even though it has been very good to Ted throughout the years - he earned more than $700,000 playing it.
Ted wasted no time getting in gear for the next level, and he didn't have to travel very far. In fact, he didn't even have to leave the state. He entered the Stadion Classic to be played at the University of Georgia, tied for 39th at one under, and collected another $2,450. The goal was simple - collect enough checks for the rest of the season to make "The 25," that list of players who graduate to the PGA Tour next year. Ted has never played a PGA event.
In his first Nationwide odyssey, achieved through Q School for 2004, Ted had played in 24 events and, it has been well-documented, never made a cut. In fact, in his first 14 tries, he never shot better than two over par for 36 holes. It wasn't until Aug. 15, at the Price Cutter Charity Championship, that he finally broke par - by two strokes, with 72-70. He still missed the cut. He only broke par once more before the end of the season, and was even in another event, but still failed to make it to the weekend.
Ted made it through Q School twice more in the ensuing years, finally making a few cuts - six in all - but never did enough to keep his card.
Since the Stadion Classic, Ted has played in 10 more Nationwide events. He made the cut in six, and missed by one stroke in the other four. He has never shot above par in any of the 12, even when he missed the cut, and his worst effort came in the Rex Hospital Open where he shot even par for two days. Unlike that infamous 2004 season, Ted is 110 under par for his 12 Nationwide tournaments.
It became apparent early that all Ted had to do for the rest of 2011 was keep making cuts, and keep collecting checks. He has done that. When he finished tied for third in the Knoxville News Sentinel Open last weekend, the $29,000 reward raised his earnings for the season to $227,934. Based on the past few years, that will be more than enough to ensure his graduation after the Tour Championship at Daniel Island near Charleston in the season-ending event. It took just over $209,000 to make "The 25" last year.
Of course, there's still a chance Ted could win two more events before the end of this season - there are eight left on the schedule - and receive the famed "battlefield promotion" that several have taken advantage of in the past five or six years.
But even if Ted doesn't begin his PGA dream until next year, the way he's been playing it appears to be just a matter of time before he conquers that hurdle, too.
