By Joel Beall
Former PGA Tour player Kevin Stadler accidentally injured a fan at the WinCo Foods Portland Open on Friday by breaking his club.

Shaun Micheel wrote about the incident at the Web.com Tour event Facebook Friday night. Micheel refused to name Stadler, referring to him simply as his playing partner.

“One of my playing partners played a poor shot with a 7-iron on the par-3 15th hole this morning,” Micheel wrote. “In a fit of anger he slammed his club against the ground and the side of his foot which caused the club to break about 6” from the bottom. I had my head down but the clubhead flew behind me and hit a spectator to my right. It’s been a while since I’ve seen so much blood. We stayed with him for about 15 minutes before the EMT’s arrived.

“The last I heard was that he had a possible skull fracture but that he was doing ok otherwise. The player was absolutely shattered and we did our best to keep his spirits up. This was not done on purpose and we were astounded at the way the club was directed but it shows you just how dangerous it is to throw or break clubs.”

ESPN’s Bob Harig followed up on the story, which revealed that Stadler was the player in question. According to Harig, a rules official at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club, host of the Portland Open, said the spectator was taken to a local hospital and received six stitches.

Stadler, son of former Masters winner Craig Stadler, has made over 260 starts on the PGA Tour, highlighted by winning the 2014 Waste Management Phoenix Open. Stadler has not made an official appearance, however, since 2015, as the 38-year-old has battled a broken hand. The Portland tournament—he ultimately missed the cut—was just his third outing of the season.

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By Ryan Herrington
The final round of the final regular-season event on the Web.com Tour had all angst and agita you’d expect when PGA Tour cards are on the line, even if the final results didn’t necessarily reflect it. As it turned out, the top 25 on the Web.com money list entering the WinCo Foods Portland Open were the same 25 coming out on Sunday, only the order changing.

That said, somebody might want to check on Keith Mitchell come Monday morning. With back-to-back birdies on Nos. 14 and 15, he needed another coming in to move from 36th on the money list inside the top 25. After burning the left edge with a six-foot birdie try on the 16th hole, then leaving a 20-foot birdie attempt on the 17th hole one revolution short, the 25-year-old former Georgia All-American, who shot a Saturday 62 to get into Sunday’s final twosome, still had a chance on the par-5 18th at Pumpkin Ridge G.C.’s Witch Hollow course to bump out Roberto Diaz for the final PGA Tour card.

Mitchell, who led the tour in eagles this season, confidently blasted a driver 330-plus yards, but tugged his second shot left, missing the green on the short side as his ball game to rest in a shortly mowed area. Mitchell’s third shot surprisingly raced 20 feet by the hole and, despite the benefit of seeing playing partner (and eventual winner) Brice Garnett roll in an almost identical putt, Mitchell hit his too hard and too far right. He’d have to settle for a par, a closing 70, T-6 finish and, ultimately, the No. 26 on the money list.

Adding insult to insanity, Mitchell said afterward that he had been told on the 18th tee he needed to eagle the last hole rather than birdie to earn his card. It might explain the chip shot and his poor birdie putt.

“I only learned in the trailer what I really needed,” he said.

Mitchell, who started the week No. 36 on the money list, described the final few holes as “the most stressful I’ve ever been. … There were a couple shots out there I was almost numb. “It’s really, really, really disappointing.”

When you see this birdie miss on the 17th, you’ll understand why.

So, so close.@K_M_Mitchell can secure a @PGATOUR card with a closing birdie at the last.

Otherwise, @BobbyDiazz will earn the 25th card. pic.twitter.com/7ZG753qeDI

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) August 28, 2017

The fate of a pair other players on the “bubble” weren’t as dramatically painful, but still remained disappointing.

• Rob Oppenheim, No. 26 on the money list to start the week, closed with a 76 to finish T-65 in the tournament, falling back to No. 27.

RELATED: Somehow, Rob Oppenheim is on the bubble for a PGA Tour card, again

• After a 65-70 start, No. 27 Martin Piller, who skipped the second-to-last Web.com Tour event to watch his wife, Gerina, compete at the Solheim Cup, shot 74-75 on the weekend to finish T-60 and drop to No. 28.

And then there was the story of David Skinns, an Englishman who started the week 115th on the money list. His target wasn’t the top 25 so much as the top 75, which would secure him full Web.com Tour status in 2018 and a spot in the Web.com Tour Finals Series

Skinns started the week 115th on the money list, and started the day projected at 107th, but a closing 64 moved him into T-2 for the tournament and bumped him to 58th on the money list, securing his Web.com Tour status for 2018 and giving him a spot in the Web.com Tour Finals. He was one of two players to move inside the top 75, along with Ben Kohles. Brady Schnell fell from (75th to 77th) and Samuel Del Val (74th to 76th).

WEB.COM TOUR MONEY LIST (Top 25 earn PGA Tour cards for 2017-’18)
Brice Garnett, $368,761
Sam Ryder, $314,306
Abraham Ancer, $295,528
Andrew Landry, $292,939
Stephan Jaeger, $278,364
Talor Gooch, $271,316
Kyle Thompson, $266,312
Andrew Putnam, $266,296
Chesson Hadley, $264,350
Ben Silverman, $256,906
Nate Lashley, $252,160
Adam Schenk, $236,792
Andrew Yun, $222,856
Ted Potter, Jr., $207,368
Austin Cook, $206,515
Zecheng Dou, $203,630
Conrad Shindler, $203,483
Aaron Wise, $199,922
Matt Atkins, $192,029
Xinjun Zhang, $186,306
Brandon Harkins, $172,162
Lanto Griffin, $169,689
Beau Hossler, $164,326
Ethan Tracy, $161,211
Roberto Díaz, $157,823

The post Web.com Tour pro thinks he needs eagle for a PGA Tour card but only needs birdie, makes par and feels “almost numb” appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.