Shuhei Matsuo
Assistant Sports Editor
Former All-American Wave Michael Putnam came back on TV when he made a top-5 finish at the last week’s Rex Hospital Open.
Even though Putnam took the lead after the second round with a 9-under 133, he ended up tying for the third with the current Nationwide Tour leader Tripp Isenhour with a 12-under 272 at the Tournament Players Club at Wakefield Plantation in Raleigh, N.C. But still, the name Michael Putnam was near the top of the leaderboard during the weekend.
Putnam, who graduated from Pepperdine in 2005, turned pro soon after he completed his college career with an impressive runner-up finish at the NCAA Championship in June 2005. Since then, he has made five appearances on the PGA Tour, including the U.S. Open and Buick Championship, where he tied for the 4th place. During the time that he was playing for those big tournaments, he was often seen on national TV. However, playing on the Nationwide Tour does not give a player much chance to appear on TV unless he is near the top of the leaderboard. And Putnam was last week.
Putnam’s 3rd-place finish at the Rex Hospital Open was his second top-5 finish of the year, and he is at the 10th place in the money list.
Putnam is playing this week’s LaSalle Bank Open at the Glen Club in Glenview, Ill.
06-06-2006
