While he wasn’t the one donning the plaid jacket after a breakthrough victory, Ollie Schniederjans still saw plenty of positives after a final-round charge gave him a career-best finish at the RBC Heritage.
While the rookie started the day five shots off the pace, he grabbed a share of the lead with a 5-under 31 on the front nine. But Schniederjans didn’t make another birdie the rest of the way and made an untimely bogey on the par-3 17th that ultimately dropped him into a tie for third, two shots behind fellow rookie Wesley Bryan.
For Schniederjans, it was still a strong week despite a rocky finish to his final-round 68.
“Absolutely dream front nine, and then the back nine was close,” Schniederjans told reporters. “I just didn’t make the putts, really. I was close, I hit a lot of good ones. It’s a fine line.”
Schniederjans was a standout amateur at Georgia Tech and last year earned his PGA Tour card via the Web.com circuit. This marks his fourth top-10 finish of the season to go along with the RSM Classic (T-6), Farmers Insurance Open (T-9) and Genesis Open (T-8).
“I feel really patient right now. I feel like good things are going to happen whenever they’re going to happen,” he said. “This is a good thing here, top-5 finish, and locked up the playoffs for sure. I’m sure I’ll get to the FedEx Cup Playoffs. ... I tried to win the golf tournament and I came up a little short maybe this time. But another good experience on Sunday.”