Davis Riley kickstarted his rookie year with six consecutive top-15 finishes which included a T4 at the 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge. However, this season has been rather lousy. He missed seven out of the fourteen events that he had participated in. With that, his chances of winning at the Colonial Country Club yet again looked pretty slim.
Nonetheless, the former Alabama star had an ace up his sleeve. Recently reuniting with his swing coach Jeff Smith was all the change that he needed. Despite having the World No. 1 player Scottie Scheffler back in form, he did not falter on Sunday. This resulted in a 5-stroke victory at the Charles Schwab Challenge, defeating Keegan Bradley and Scheffler who tied for the runner-up.
The official Instagram page of the PGA Tour took to its wall on this occasion and shared a picture of Davis Riley cruising out of the course. Apart from the trophy and the whopping $1.68 million, he also won a brand-new car. Davis Riley was endorsed with a hand-built 1975 Schwab Stingray.
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While the first two pictures were of Davis Riley riding across the Colonial Golf Course in his blue-tinted car, the second two were with the strongest support system of his life – his wife Alexandra Patton in the passenger seat. They wrote, “Rolling out with a new ride 🚘”, in the caption.
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Well, the Charles Schwab Challenge being one of the five invitational events on the PGA Tour brings a lot more than just the prize money and rewards for the winners. Apart from the additional tartan jacket he was adorned with, Riley’s entry into the field of the upcoming PGA Tour events will be a cakewalk, here’s why.
Davis Riley makes his way into the signature events
With just two of the eight signature events left for this season, The Memorial Tournament presented by Workday (June 6-9), and Travelers Champion (July 20-23), winning at the Colonial Country Club earns him an exemption to be a part of the field of both of them. These championships only feature top players with increased prize money and FedExCup points.
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He has also earned 700 FedEx points to his scorecard, which has moved him up to No. 55 on the FedEx standings, where he was at 60 previously. The win has undoubtedly catapulted his career and given him just the push he needed.
In the presser on Sunday, expressing his excitement, Riley said, “It’s been a slower start to the year than I’ve been wanting and obviously this helps a lot, catapulting me in the right direction, and as you said, being in the field for the remaining two Signature Events will be huge and hopefully I’m looking forward to those as good opportunities to make a push towards the TOUR Championship and, yeah, I’m over the moon and excited for the rest of the season.”