A.J. Ewart lost count how many of his putts hung on the edge or barely slid by the hole at Morgan Creek Golf Course during the first two rounds of the PGA Tour America’ Fortinet Cup Championship.
Not even the collection of family and friends who were following him could collectively will his ball into the hole, although they sure tried. As a result, Ewart missed out on an opportunity to claim one of the 10 Korn Ferry Tour cards that will be handed out late Sunday afternoon.
Ewart shot an even-par 70 in Friday’s second round to finish at three-over par. He missed the 36-hole cut by three shots. “It was one of those weeks where I played well and the ball just didn’t go into the hole,” Ewart said. “I am trying to take a lot of positives out of it and move forward. I saw a lot of good things. I hit a lot of good putts. Sometimes they go in and sometimes they don’t.”
Following a playoff loss at last week’s Times Colonist Victoria Open, Ewart had entered this week’s event 12th on the Fortinet Cup points list and had high hopes of moving inside the top 10 and earning Korn Ferry Tour status for 2026.
“Of course it’s disappointing, but it’s over with and there’s no need to dwell on it,” he said. “Of course, it hurts, but looking back on it and beating yourself up over it is just going to make it worse.”
Ewart prefers to dwell on the positives of what was a solid season that began way back in March in Argentina. “I set goals and I reached some of them and didn’t get to some of them,” he said. “But looking at what I have done, it was a solid year. I played good golf for seven months, so I will try and take a lot of positives out of it. I am happy with how the season went, but obviously I wish it could have been just a little bit better. Sometimes that’s just how it goes.”
Ewart does get one bonus for his fine play this season. By finishing inside the top 25 on the points list, he gets to skip the first stage and goes directly to the second stage of Korn Ferry Tour qualifying school. "It’s not like my opportunity is done,” he said. “I have a chance to go to Q-school and get my Korn Ferry Tour card that way.”
Right now, Ewart wants some rest. “I am going to put my clubs away and they are going to collect dust for probably two weeks,” he said. “I am going to shut that down. I am going to continue to do everything else, work hard in the gym and do everything else, but I am not going to physically touch a golf club for a couple of weeks. Then I will pick it back up and head south and get ready.”
While Ewart’s season ended early, Richmond’s Chris Crisologo prolonged his with one of the day’s better rounds Friday. Crisologo carded a five-under 65 and sits inside the top 15 at six-under par heading into the weekend. Crisologo began his round on the back nine and needed just 30 strokes to complete his round on Morgan’s Creek’s front side.
Crisologo, who had missed the cut in three of his last four starts, credited his putter with helping him go low on Friday. “The greens are really good out here, probably the best we have played all year,” he said. “So if you hit a bad putt, that’s on you. It’s nice to know that if you start it on line it has a good chance to go in.”
Crisologo is quite familiar with Morgan Creek from his junior golf days. “I played the Canadian Junior here (in 2011), I played the B.C. Amateur here (in 2017) and now a pro event,” he said. “It’s one of those full-circle moments.”
Crisologo and everyone else are chasing Derek Hitchner of Summit NJ who shot a course record 62 and Michael Brennan, who has already won three times this season. Brennan, the Leesburg, Va. native shot a seven-under 63 and both sat at 11-under par and lead the field by two shots.
Click HERE for complete leaderboard.
CHIP SHOTS: Crisologo had former B.C. Junior Girls champion Mary Parson of Delta caddying for him the first two rounds. His brother Michael will be on the bag for the final two rounds as Parsons heads to the Palm Springs area to prepare for next week’s Epson Tour Championship.