World No. 39 earns $98.57 in Florida mini-tour event

Jazz Janewattananond - the 39th-ranked golfer in the world - made his West Florida Golf Tour debut Monday and cashed $98.57 for his efforts, according to Golf Channel's Will Gray.

The 24-year-old from Thailand was supposed to be a few weeks removed from making his first career appearance at the Masters. Instead, he was keeping his game sharp during golf's hiatus and shot a 1-under 71 in a one-day tournament at the Ritz Carlton Club near Sarasota.

Despite finishing seven shots shy of first, Janewattananond, who most notably played in the penultimate pairing of the 2019 PGA Championship, was the main attraction in the 78-man field otherwise comprised of local professionals and a few Korn Ferry Tour members.

"Everybody's first question was, 'What did Jazz shoot? What did Jazz shoot?'" said tour executive director Christian Bartolacci. "I think the players, a lot of guys told me they wanted to play just to see how they would go up against him."

Janewattananond actually ended the day down money. His entry fee into the event was $230, and if you subtract his $98.57 in winnings, he pretty much paid a green fee in an attempt to get his competitive juices flowing.

"It just shows that there's a lot of good players out there," Bartolacci added. "With Jazz, obviously his mindset is a little bit different than those players. He wants to win, he wants to play well. But he's also got Colonial in a month. He's using this just to kind of stay sharp."

At the top of the leaderboard, Jimmy Stanger beat Erik Barnes in a playoff after the two Korn Ferry Tour members fired 64. Stanger took home $2,000.

This was the West Florida Golf Tour's first tournament since the end of March after being forced to shut down due to course closures in Florida.