NAPA, Calif. – Late Wednesday afternoon, Tag Ridings was the third alternate into the season-opening Safeway Open.
By lunchtime on Thursday, things weren’t much better. He’d moved to second on the waiting list but was running out of time.
“I figured I had to leave at 1:30 [p.m.] to make my flight [in San Francisco] comfortably,” he said.
At 12:30 p.m. (PT), Ridings was informed he would be replacing Billy Hurley III in the field with a 12:50 p.m. tee time.
“That’s the closest I’ve ever had it happen,” Ridings said.