01벼랑 끝에서 쏘아 올린 희망, 선두권 추격전
피터 말나티가 PGA 투어 커리어를 연장하기 위해 출전한 멕시코 대회에서 상위권에 이름을 올리며 반전의 계기를 마련했다. 말나티는 "아직 이대로 선수 생활을 끝낼 준비가 되지 않았다"며 투어 잔류를 향한 강한 집념을 나타냈다.
현재 시드 유지 경계선에 서 있는 말나티에게 이번 멕시코 대회는 투어 생존 여부를 가름할 분수령이다. 그는 배수진을 둔 상황에서도 침착하게 타수를 줄여나가며 우승 경쟁에 합류하는 저력을 발휘했다.
벼랑 끝 위기에서 집념을 발휘하고 있는 말나티가 남은 라운드에서도 상승세를 유지하며 PGA 투어에서의 입지를 지켜낼 수 있을지 골프 팬들의 관심이 집중되고 있다.
02Original (English) — PGA TOUR
Peter Malnati began speaking, then prefaced, “This is more than I need to reveal in this setting.”
That’s never stopped him before. The infectiously positive, open book that is Malnati has spent more than a decade walking the fairways on the PGA Tour. He vividly remembers when that wasn’t the case. Back when he was just a mini tour player, dating his now-wife, Alicia, all he wanted was to make the Korn Ferry Tour. He believed if he did that, he could make enough money to support his family.
“Then I play a couple years on the PGA Tour,” Malnati said. “I'm like, 'oh my gosh, if I go back to the Korn Ferry Tour, we're not going to be able to afford a house, we're not going to have anything.'”
Malnati followed by saying that, of course, isn’t true. He’s been wise with his money. His family will have what they need no matter how this fall finishes.
The pursuit now isn’t monetary. The two-time winner just can’t fathom doing anything else, and for the first time in a while, that’s an open question.
Malnati, 39, began the week ranked 157th in the FedExCup Fall. The top 100 keep full status in 2027. Only the top 125 maintain conditional status. With just two events to play after this week, time is running thin.
“The only thing I've ever wanted to do was play golf on the PGA Tour,” Malnati said. “I'm feeling a lot of pressure in that I'm not ready to be done doing that yet.”
That pressure has sparked strong golf at the right time. After just one top-25 finish in the entire Regular Season, Malnati has notched two more this fall. Yet he’s contended in neither, so he hasn’t made much of a jump in the standings. His game has felt even better than the results. It just hasn’t all aligned for low enough scores to contend.
That changed this week.
Malnati followed an opening round 66 with an 8-under 64 on Friday to rocket into solo-second, just one shot back of Ben James, the 36-hole leader. Malnati putted phenomenally and struck his irons well. After a poor week off the tee last week at the VidantaWorld Mexico Open, that club is cooperating too. The fairways are wide at El Cardonal at Diamante, but Malnati has missed just one through two rounds.
All that added up to a pair of low scores. Finally.
“I feel really good about my work, but once you get inside the ropes, you've got to do it there and I don't know that I saw this coming,” Malnati said.
"This," on Friday, included seven birdies and an eagle. He made just one bogey on his last hole, the ninth, which dropped him out of a share of the lead.
Malnati isn’t new to this moment, though it feels new this year. He’s had a poor season (or two) by his standards. The American has never been a top player, but he’s always stayed around.
This is his 11th straight year playing a full PGA Tour schedule. His most recent win at the 2024 Valspar Championship earned him status through this year. There’s no safety net now. Malnati needs a win or several strong weeks to keep the streak alive.
At the halfway point, Malnati is doing all the right things to keep living his childhood dream.
“This is what I love to do and I don't think that I've done it to the best of my ability yet in life,” Malnati said. “I think I have more.”