PGA Tour Policy Committee member Peter Malnati has been playing with yellow golf balls for quite some time.
That didn’t help much, as the former Missouri Tiger missed the cut four times this season and only finished in the top 10 once.
But he is on line to finish in the top 10 at this week’s Valspar Championship, tied for second after 54 holes.
After shooting a 3-under 68 on Saturday in what sponsors described as golf’s “most glamorous event,” Malnati revealed why he now uses a yellow golf ball.
“Well, I started using it last summer at the 3M Championship in Minnesota,” Malnati said.
“I switched to it because my son, who was 3 at the time and now 4, liked it. I think he’s gotten over it, but I still think of him. It’s worth a smile or two,” she says. That’s very valuable to me.”
For Malnati, it’s been hard to see her smiling these days.
Between struggles on the golf course and negotiations with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), the 36-year-old has had a stressful few years.
However, he finds comfort in remembering his son through the golf ball.
But even on the 18th green, he had good reason to smile when he saw a yellow golf ball drift into the center of the cup for a birdie. He improved his score from 31 feet and moved up to 8 under par, two spots behind leader Keith Mitchell.
“It feels really good to make the putt,” Malnati said.
“I hit it well today, I didn’t really pack it in all day, but I see a lot of putts on the back nine and mid-range and sometimes I miss them, and today I really didn’t have any. It felt really, really good to finally be able to make that.”
In fact, Malnati’s first birdie was on the 18th. Par breaker from the 7th hole. After making bogey on the 8th hole, he made nine consecutive pars.
Now he’s in a position to do something special: win again on the PGA Tour.
“I can hardly think of ever actually teeing off on a Sunday thinking realistically about winning a tournament,” Malnati added.
“Unfortunately, it feels special. I hope by the end of the year it feels normal, but it feels special and I’m really excited. That’s why I take an opportunity like this. I work hard to earn it.”
Malnati has only one PGA Tour victory, the 2015 Sanderson Farms Championship.
He has never played at Augusta National and has not qualified for the British Open. His win at Mississippi State earned him a spot in the 2016 PGA Championship at Baltusrol, but he was unavailable for the weekend. He returned for the 2021 edition but missed out once again.
A month later, Jon Rahm suffered the same fate at the U.S. Open, which he won at Torrey Pines.
The past few years have been tough for Malnati, who struggled to maintain his card even as he continued to win on the PGA Tour.
But he had a lot to smile about Saturday night, and perhaps the golf world will get to see him and his colorful golf balls win at golf’s most glamorous event.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through.Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.
