SAVANNAH, Ga. – It’s not uncommon for professional golfers to carry a rulebook in their golf bag. Saturday at Korn Ferry Tour Q-School, Chris Crisologo could also have used a dictionary.
Noble Bogey: To be nine times larger or as much above par.
Crisologo, a 26-year-old from Vancouver, was riding well into his second round of the finals, 6-under for the tournament thanks to a 4-under five-hole tee at Landings Club’s Marshwood course. Then he got to par-4 13e hole, where he proceeded to hit four tee shots into the penalty area and card a non-uple-bogey 13.
“I made my putt for 12,” said Crisologo, who didn’t drop a shot in a second round, 3 of 74.
While a par on the hole would have put Crisologo in the top five and just three off Chan Kim’s lead, he remains in the mix for guaranteed starts. At 1 over, Crisologo is three times from a block at T-28, and the top-40 and ties after Monday’s final round receive eight guaranteed starts to kick off next year’s KFT season.
“I’m lucky there are two more days,” Crisologo said. “One of the caddies said it best: better have it today than Monday.”
Crisologo fancies himself a good golf ball pilot, but with a tight landing zone and water to the left and across the fairway, plus strong wind from right to left, it was just enough to instill a little doubt with the big stick.
The first disc was left all the way. Splash.
The third shot, and the second tee shot, was a 3 iron, which went across the fairway. Splash again.
Another 3 iron, the fifth shot, suffers the same fate. So did the 4 iron that Crisologo hit with his seventh shot.
Finally, he landed another 4-iron, his ninth shot in play.
“Push it blocked in the middle of the fairway,” joked Crisologo, who then slipped into a greenside bunker 240 yards out before narrowly missing a 17-footer for an eight-fold bogey.
“I felt good off the tee on all five shots,” Crisologo said. “But you can’t really lose your focus there, plus you have to know the lines really well. With that starting box going up, I just felt a bit uneasy with what I was doing. needed to hit the tee.
It’s uncharted territory for Crisologo, who is playing the finals for the first time since graduating from university in 2019. He attended Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, the only institution in the NCAA outside the United States. Crisologo won six times while in school and was a four-time NCAA Division-II All-American.
“I wasn’t very recruited as a junior,” said Crisologo, who didn’t start playing tournament golf until he was 8 as he juggled other sports including baseball, hockey and tennis. “But it gave me a lot of playing time and gave me the opportunity to refine my game and sort of master it. It was great fun, my confidence grew and it helped me move forward.
As an amateur, he twice captured the South American amateur, beating fellow final-rounder Ale Tosti in 2018 in Buenos Aires before defeating former LSU standout Luis Gagné in a playoff in 2019 in Santiago, Chile. He played in the RBC Canadian Open in each of those years, missing the cut the second time around but winning low-level amateur honors in his debut.
Since turning professional, Crisologo has competed primarily on the PGA Tour Canada. He had two top-10 finishes in 10 starts last season.
Along the way, avid photographer Crisologo documented his journey through a private Instagram account.
“Golf gives you the chance to go to really cool places and different, unique opportunities to see the world,” Crisologo said. “So I try to take a nice little picture of each town and do some videos. It’s kind of on my own, but I had a lot of fun with it. I’d like to think I’m a good photographer.
Crisologo didn’t pack his Nikon on this week’s trip to Savannah; it’s all business as Crisologo looks to improve his status for his first KFT season. Moreover, he plans to come back here in a few months.
Saturday’s 13 may have closed its window to win and earn Full Exempt status, but that doesn’t have to be an unlucky number either.
Two solid rounds to close out could secure places for Crisologo in the Bahamas fields, both in Great Exuma and Abaco; Panama City, Panama; Bogotá – Colombia; Lakewood Ranch, Florida; Louisiana, both Broussard and Lake Charles; and Savannah.
Perfect places to pack the camera and leave the dictionary on the shelf.
“Coffeeaholic. Lifelong alcohol fanatic. Typical travel expert. Prone to fits of apathy. Internet trailblazer.”