Zac Blair regains PGA Tour card off medical exemption

Zac Blair, down to his final three starts on a medical exemption, was able to regain his PGA Tour card.

Blair, 32, missed almost two years of competition following surgery in the fall of 2020 to repair tears in his right labrum. In his return Blair has occasionally struggled, entering the 3M Open missing the cut in six of his last eight starts, but a T-2 at the designated event Travelers Championship—his best finish career finish on the tour—and T-10 at the Valspar Championship kept him within shouting distance of his card.

“The first year … I didn't really get to touch a club for a long time, and it was actually pretty nice just hanging out at home being with the family,” Blair said at last month’s Travelers. “You're on the road your whole life as a pro golfer. It was cool to just be able to hang out with them. But, yeah, never really thought about like not playing anymore.”

Blair’s mission was accomplished this week at TPC Twin Cities. Needing to finish T-31 or better to earn full-time status on tour next season, Blair turned in a final-round 64 on Sunday, jumping 26 spot up the leaderboard into a tie for 13th, more than enough breathing room to return to the tour.

Blair has made 167 starts on tour, with over $6 million in career earnings. He is perhaps best known for his love of architecture, and recently opened a course in Aiken, S.C., called The Tree Farm.