Fritsch, Murray earn PGA Tour cards

Peter Koutroumpis, Triangle Sports Network

RALEIGH, N.C. – Triangle-area Web.com Tour players Brad Fritsch and Grayson Murray earned their PGA Tour cards on Sunday, finishing among the Top 25 money winners following play at the WinCo Foods Portland Open.

Fritsch, from Ottawa, Ontario and a current Holly Springs resident, secured his card with a 14th place finish ($194, 857) overall, having played in 13 events during the Web.com Tour’s 21-event regular season.

A win at the Servientrega Championship and a T2 finish at the El Bosque Mexico Championship early in the year helped to keep the 38-year old and Campbell University graduate in the mix to earn his third promotion to the PGA Tour following stints there in 2012 and 2013.

“This is huge,” Fritsch said.

“My whole golfing life I haven’t won a lot. This is easily the biggest win against the best field that I’ve ever faced. I mean, obviously it gives me a nice jump on getting my card for next year. To do something I’ve never really done before and to execute under pressure on 18, I love it. I want that feeling again.”

Murray is no stranger to pro golf competition dating back to 2010 when he made the cut at the Web.com Tour’s Rex Hospital Open as an amateur while still attending Leesville Road High School.

However, while trying to discover his place in collegiate golf competition, he finally decided to follow his professional path along mini-tour and Web.com Tour accomplishments to finally make it onto the PGA Tour.

Competing in his second year on the Web.com Tour with conditional status, Murray’s sponsor exemption into the 2016 Rex Hospital Open allowed him to post his first significant earnings towards finishing in the 18th overall spot on the money list ($159, 963).

Murray posted six top-10 finishes in 14 events played, including a T2 placing at the Digital Ally Open, an event he lost in a playoff just three weeks ago.

While not a win, the top-level finish provided a substantial boost to ending his season strong and to finally earn his card.

“That was the goal to start the season, even with conditional status,” Murray said.

“Once I got the invite to Raleigh, that was the goal. I’m just proud of how I hung in there all year. I went through some stretches where I wasn’t playing well, and it’s just an unbelievable year. I’m pumped to get to where I wanted to be to start the year.”