KEVIN CHAPPELL CAPTURES VALERO TEXAS OPEN
Kevin Chappell captured the Valero Texas Open title and win No. 462 on the PGA TOUR by a Web.com Tour alum. In 2010, Chappell graduated from the Web.com Tour with an impressive resume. In 24 starts, he recorded seven top-10s including a victory at the Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae and finished the season No. 9 on the money list. In the seven-year history of the Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae, three past champions – Chappell, Tony Finau, and Si Woo Kim – have all gone on to win on the PGA TOUR after their wins in the Bay Area. Chappell’s maiden TOUR victory in San Antonio was the seventh consecutive win by a former Web.com Tour player in tournament history. The 30-year-old finished a career-best eighth in the FedExCup a year ago after four runner-up finishes and has made the FedExCup playoffs each of the last six seasons since graduating from the Web.com Tour.

D.H. LEE EDGES OUT JASON GORE FOR VICTORY AT UNITED LEASING & FINANCE CHAMPIONSHIP
South Korea’s D.H. Lee battled a difficult Victoria National Golf Club layout to win the United Leasing & Finance Championship with rounds of 70-71-67-74—278 (-6) to edge Jason Gore by one shot. Lee became the sixth South Korean-born player to win on the Web.com Tour, joining Kevin Na (2006 Mark Christopher Charity Classic), Danny Lee (2011 WNB Golf Classic), James Hahn (2012 Rex Hospital Open), Seung Yul-Noh (2013 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship), and Si Woo Kim (2015 Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae). Each of the five previous South Korean-born winners on the Web.com Tour have all gone on to win on the PGA TOUR.

Lee’s victory in Evansville propelled him to No. 6 on the Regular Season money list. The 30-year-old Seoul native is back on the Web.com Tour after finishing No. 201 in the FedExCup standings a year ago. Lee earned his TOUR card in Portland after finishing 15th on the Web.com Tour Regular Season money list in 2015. In 22 starts that season, he posted two runner-ups, three additional top-10s, and 20 made cuts. His last professional victory came in 2011 at the Toshin Golf Tournament in LakeWood on the Japan Golf Tour.

WEB.COM TOUR IS MEXICO BOUND  FOR 10TH ANNUAL EL BOSQUE MEXICO  CHAMPIONSHIP
The Web.com Tour returns to Leon, Mexico and El Bosque Country Club for the 10th annual El Bosque Mexico Championship by INNOVA. Four of the nine winners of the event were voted Web.com Tour Player of the Year the same year they won, including Wesley Bryan who earned a Three-Victory Promotion in 2016. Bryan earned his second of three victories a year ago in Mexico, edging out Richy Werenski and Brad Fritsch by four shots with a 19-under 269 total. As a rookie on the PGA TOUR this season, Bryan is 14th in the FedExCup standings after winning the RBC Heritage.

Oregon Duck Daniel Miernicki earned his spot in this week’s field as an alternate. In 2012 Miernicki led the Ducks to an NCAA semi-final appearance where they ultimately fell short against a Jordan Spieth led Texas Longhorns team. With a strong showing in Mexico, Miernicki would increase his status and take a significant step towards joining fellow Duck Aaron Wise in the hunt for a PGA TOUR card that will conclude here in Portland August 24-27.

THE RACE TO SECURE ONE OF 25 PGA TOUR CARDS
At the conclusion of the WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by Kraft-Heinz in August, the top 25 players on the 2017 Web.com Tour money list will earn their PGA TOUR cards for the 2017-18 season. Here’s a look at Nos. 23 through 27 on the money list through six events:

NUMBERS TO KNOW

4 – Among the top four on the leaderboard at the 2016 El Bosque Mexico Championship, all four – Wesley Bryan, Brad Fritsch, Richy Werenski, and Martin Flores – all went on to earn their PGA TOUR cards. Among the 12 players inside the top 10, eight went on to earn their TOUR cards.

4.029 – The average number of strokes over par for players in the final round of the United Leasing & Finance Championship. The mark was the highest final-round scoring average on the Web.com Tour since the 1991 Ben Hogan South Texas Open at North Shore C.C. (+6.087), and was the third-highest all time.

2017 WEB.COM TOUR MEMBER TO WATCH

Derek Ernst – 26 – Woodland, California

In 2012, Derek Ernst finished T17 at the final PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament before the TOUR changed the system for PGA TOUR qualification to earn his TOUR status. Ernst went on to win at the 2013 Wells Fargo Championship in a playoff in one of the most unlikely victories in recent memory after entering the week as the fourth alternate with a world ranking of No. 1,207. The now 26-year-old has spent the last four seasons on TOUR but is back on the Web.com Tour this season after finishing No. 186 in the FedExCup standings a year ago. Ernst is making the most of his time with six consecutive made cuts – one of only three players on the Web.com Tour to have made the weekend in each start this season. After a season-best T10 at the United Leasing & Finance Championship last week, he is up to No. 32 on the Regular Season money list and on the verge of a potential return to the TOUR next season. In four years at UNLV, Ernst was a four-time All-American and was named the Mountain West Player of the Year twice.