The Korn Ferry Tour’s second edition of the Veritex Bank Championship at Texas Rangers Golf Club this week features a loaded field, and UT Arlington’s own Zack Fischer is part of it as he continues his pursuit of a PGA TOUR card.
A 2011 UTA alum, Fischer will begin his tournament at 7:45 a.m. off the 10th tee on Wednesday before a 2nd-round 12:50 p.m. tee time off the 1st hole on Thursday. He will be paired with four-time PGA TOUR winner Aaron Baddeley and fellow American Anders Albertson.
Fischer – who currently holds the lowest career scoring average in UTA men’s golf program history at 73.10 – enters play this week ranked No. 36 on the Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season Points List (similar points system to the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup Standings).
The Top 25 finishers at the end of the year automatically earn a PGA TOUR card, and a high finish by Fischer this week will go a long way in propelling the Texarkana, Texas, native toward that goal.
“It’s going to be so much fun having the crowd out here (at Texas Rangers GC), and having the support of everyone is going to mean a ton,” said Fischer. “I want it as rowdy as possible.”
Last year, Fischer Monday qualified his way into the Veritex Bank Championship, but did not make the cut despite a pair of 2-under 69s. This year, Fischer had no such issues thanks to winning the Final Stage of the Korn Ferry Tour’s Qualifying Tournament in Savannah last November to earn fully exempt status throughout the 2022 season.
This will be the 32-year-old Fischer’s 101st career start on the Korn Ferry Tour (formerly the Web.com Tour) and eighth this year. He already has three top-25 finishes this season, including a best of T-5 at The Panama Championship in February. Fischer enters this week with a 69.67 scoring average in 24 rounds.
Additionally, Fischer has played in seven PGA TOUR events with a career-best finish of T-14 at the 2019 Valero Texas Open.
The three-time Southland Conference all-league member and 2009 SLC Individual Co-Medalist will be competing this week against a strong field. The field of 156 players is comprised of 49 past Korn Ferry Tour winners totaling 65 victories – both season highs for any event this year.
Additionally, the field features 11 past PGA TOUR winners with 23 combined victories, led by four apiece from Sean O’Hair, Heath Slocum and the aforementioned Baddeley.
Live scoring is available via the PGA TOUR app and on PGATOUR.com. Third- and final-round coverage will be livestreamed via the NBC Sports App and GolfChannel.com, with coverage including featured holes (Nos. 15 and 17) and a featured group from 11 a.m. through 5 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday.
This will be the ninth tournament of the 23-event Korn Ferry Tour regular season. Those who do not finish as one of the aforementioned ‘The 25’, another 25 PGA TOUR cards will be awarded through the three-event Korn Ferry Tour Finals. Those 50 will receive fully exempt status for the 2022-23 PGA TOUR season and an exemption into the 2023 THE PLAYERS Championship.
Fischer completed 129 rounds at UTA from 2007-11. He still holds the program record for career rounds at – or below – par with 54, and his 110 counting scores remain the 4th-most all-time. He also still resides 4th on the program list with 363 career birdies, and is tied for 7th with 10 career eagles.
Thank you to UTA for this article.