Web.com Tour leaders keep an eye on the prize at Air Capital Classic

Every stop on the Web.com Tour presents an opportunity for a golfer to improve his situation.

But as the 2016 season crosses the midway point this week at the Air Capital Classic, only a couple could emerge from Crestview Country Club with the coveted No. 1 position in season earnings.

Second-year pro Richy Werenski and tour veteran Ryan Armour are part of a 156-player field that will begin play Thursday on Crestview’s North course. The $625,000 event, one of four tournaments played annually throughout the tour’s 27-year history, will conclude Sunday with the champion receiving $112,500.

Current money leader Wes Bryan, the tour’s lone two-time winner this season, is bypassing Wichita to play in the PGA Tour’s Quicken Loans National. Bryan, who snagged victories in Louisiana and Mexico five weeks apart, has secured a PGA Tour card for next season with $296,092 in earnings.

Nine of the other 10 winners this season are scheduled to tee it up at Crestview. Canadian Brad Fritsch, who is third on the money list, withdrew Monday.

“The goal is to finish No. 1 on the money list,” said Werenski, a 24-year-old Georgia Tech product who is second in earnings, $32,622 behind Bryan. “That was the goal coming into this season. That hasn’t changed.”

Werenski has made it possible with a pair of runner-up finishes and a victory in May at the BMW Charity Pro-Am. While it would take a top-three finish this week for Werenski to move ahead of Bryan, he relishes the chance.

“You’re going to have your bad events and you’re going to have your good ones,” said Werenski, who missed the cut last June at Crestview. “Wes not being here, you don’t know if this was going to be a good one or bad one for him.

“It definitely helps me a little bit.”

Armour, who is fourth on the money list, needs to replicate his season-opening victory in Panama to move past Bryan. But after posting five top-20 finishes through April, the 40-year-old Armour has made just two cuts in his last six starts.

“The driver has gone a little haywire and the putter has gone a little haywire,” said Armour, who has played three seasons on the PGA Tour, most recently in 2015. “Stuff I was doing well at the beginning of the year has kind of cooled off.

“You’ve got to ride it while it’s hot and stand pat when it’s not.”

Armour, who tied for fifth in the Air Capital Classic two years ago, said his strong start this year has allowed switch some of his focus to the 2016-17 PGA Tour season, which begins in the fall.

“About one day a week I’m working on stuff for the long term instead of just working on stuff for Wichita or wherever we may be,” Armour said. “I want to know why I go up there (to the PGA Tour) and don’t stay up there.

“I want to be prepared in the fall. I felt like two years ago I was not. I played so much that season that I was cooked.”

As a result, the No. 1 spot on the Web.com list isn’t Armour’s end-all.

“You know you’re going to have to win two or three times to win the money list,” Armour said. “The money takes care of itself. If you play good golf, you’re going to make money.

“That’s what I was doing at the beginning of the season.”

This story was originally published June 22, 2016 at 7:31 PM with the headline "Web.com Tour leaders keep an eye on the prize at Air Capital Classic."