After nearly a year of injury-related setbacks, followed by a successful return to PGA Tour competition this fall, Rochester’s Dominic Bozzelli, a brand ambassador for RDGA Coprorate Partner Power Management,is set to return to the 2019 PGA Tour schedule early next year with a newly-earned Conditional Status.
“Earning Conditional status was very big for him because it means he is in a very good position on the current FedEx Cup list (85th place) and well on his way to securing his Card for the 2019-20 season,” said Bozzelli’s father, Dom Sr., this week. “By no means is it a lock and he still needs to play very well in the remaining events he plays in, but it is a good start. He feels great both mentally and physically and is eager to get back after it in 2019.”
Bozzelli’s troubles began during the last half of his rookie season on the PGA Tour in 2017, when he suffered a shoulder injury following the Canadian Open. Fortunately, he had earned enough FedEx Cup points to guarantee a top 125 finish and full status for the 2017-18 season. The injury turned out to be a torn labrum in his shoulder. Bozzelli received a specialized treatment for the injury (the PRP method, or Plasma Rich Platelets) which was much less invasive than surgery and proved to be very successful.
Despite a full recovery from the injury, however, Bozzelli did not earn enough points in the 20 events he did play during the 2017-18 PGA Tour season, losing his Tour exemption for the 2018-19 season. However, since he had missed approximately 4 months of play due to his injury, Bozzelli was granted a Major Medical Exemption, which allowed him to play in 5 events in the current season to earn the necessary points to achieve Conditional or Full status – during which he needed 187 points for Full Exempt status or 76 points for Conditional status.
Since his return, Bozzelli has made the most of his limited run. Earlier this fall, he earned 83 points, thanks to an 11th place finish at the RSM Classic. As a result, he also gained Conditional status back for the remainder of the season. “He still has one more Medical exemption, which he will use to play the Sony Open in Hawaii on January 10-13,” added Bozzelli Sr. “If he finishes in the top 5 there, he will earn Full status which would essentially get him into all of the regular events on the schedule (potentially 25 more events approximately). With Conditional status we have estimated that he will get into about 15 events.”
After the Sony event, Bozzelli will likely be able to play in the Desert Classic in LaQuinta, California (Jan 17-20), the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego (Jan 24-27), the AT&T Pebble Beach ProAm in Pebble Beach (Feb 7-10) and the Puerto Rico Open (Feb 21-24). Although nothing is guaranteed after that, good play in these events will give him an opportunity to earn his way into the Arnold Palmer event at Bay Hill and the Players Championship, among others.
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