Grace, Smith and Lowry accept PGA Tour membership

Reuters
Jun 21, 2015; University Place, WA, USA; Branden Grace hits his tee shot on the 1st hole in the final round of the 2015 U.S. Open golf tournament at Chambers Bay. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports

(Reuters) - South African Branden Grace, Cameron Smith of Australia and Ireland's Shane Lowry have accepted special temporary membership for the remainder of the 2014-15 PGA Tour season, the tour said on Monday. The trio all produced strong showings at this month's U.S. Open, finishing the event at Chambers Bay with more non-member FedExCup points than the total of the player who qualified at No. 150 on last year's list. Both Grace and Smith tied for fourth at the U.S. Open, while Lowry tied for ninth. They are eligible for unlimited sponsor exemptions for the remainder of the tour season as they attempt to earn 2015-16 PGA Tour cards through the non-member money list or non-member FedExCup points list. Special temporary members are not eligible for the FedExCup playoffs, but can become regular PGA Tour members by winning an official event during the season and would then have their FedExCup points counted and be eligible for the playoffs. The trio join Patrick Rodgers of the United States and Danny Willett of England, who also became special temporary members earlier this year. (Reporting by Larry Fine in New York; Editing by Frank Pingue)