Upper Midwest Connection of the Week Ending 24 September 2023

 Last week's tour golf was, of course, the first to take place in astronomical fall in the Northern Hemisphere, at least in part. With the Solheim Cup taking up much of the attention of the golf world for that week and the Ryder Cup taking up seemingly all the rest, there were slim pickings for the tours the bigwigs of the United States and Europe left behind them. After the previous week had at least seen the Fortinet Championship on the PGA Tour and (especially) the BMW PGA Championship, flagship event on the DP World Tour--to say naught of the Simmons Bank Open on the Korn Ferry Tour, part of its Finals--this week's biggest affairs were merely the Cazoo Open de France at le Golf National, which hosted the Ryder Cup in 2018, and the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship. The latter was played on the Scarlet Course near Ohio State University, the most masochistic track on the KFT, bar none. The winner, Norman Xiong, carded a mere -10 after going -4 Sunday to secure his PGA Tour card for next year.

The men's tours featured a grand total of one Umcee, and that was Frankie Capan III of North Oaks, Minnesota. FCIII came into the event having missed his last two cuts and three of six, all while failing to record a single top 45 finish. He put both droughts to bed with a -2 week, which sufficed to move him to #355 in the OWGR. Unfortunately, a first Upper Midwest Connection of the Week honour will continue to elude him, as he actually lost a spot in the points list, slipping to #50 because of strong showings by Xiong and three other players who passed Capan with top-four finishes. This ensures Capan will need at least a three-way T3 to secure his PGA Tour card or finish in the top five and ties at Final Stage of Q-school this December. He may even have to start a stage earlier if he does poorly enough at the KFT Championship in Newburgh, Indiana, next week. But just for making the final of the Finals, Capan won't have to worry about going to Q-school just to get his privileges for next year, nor about the reshuffle at any point in 2024.

Meanwhile, the Epson Tour carried on to El Dorado, Arkansas, at the Murphy USA Shootout. Kate Smith started out well, carding a -4 with 68 Friday. Unfortunately, she stumbled the last two days with delays galore and recorded back to back 75s, which incurred +3 for both rounds. Even so, she did just well enough to maintain a ranking of #20 on the money list, though as with Capan, her sex's Q-school finals--namely, LPGA Q-Series--is her most likely next stop after the Epson Tour Championship. She would need to gain at least $23 grand on Nataliya Guseva to secure her card via the tour money list. That leaves one Umcee to garner the weekly honour for the second time...

Kim Kaufman.

The South Dakota native rose from #71 to #67 on the money list as a result of her T13 at the event. She had a rocky middle portion, but a -3 Sunday made it all the more worthwhile and brings her closer to securing full membership on next year's Epson Tour. Remember, only the top eighty on the money list secure their cards for next year. One more made cut should get Kaufman over the top and into 2024 as a result of her efforts before she faces Second Stage of LPGA Q-School as a lesser finisher within the top 125 of the money list, most likely.

This week features slim pickings again. Smith and Kaufman are the only two Umcees participating in tour golf through Sunday, but look for things to pick up again next week with Troy Merritt and Erik van Rooyen resuming their quest to retain membership on the PGA Tour at the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi; Capan at the KFT Championship; and, of course, the Epson Tour Championship in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Edward the Scop

Q-School Primer 2023: Prequalifying, Part III: Texas (plus Two Fun Facts about Chris Meyer)

 The first hurdle of PGA Tour Q-School is almost complete, as tomorrow through Friday (27-29 September) is the final site for prequalifying. For a detailed explanation of how Q-school works, please see my post from two weeks ago.

The last prequalifying site of 2023.

Texas: The Bridges Golf Club, Gunter (par 72, 7569yd)

74 players, projected 37 advance to First Stage. The sole Umcee in the field is University of Wisconsin alumnus Chris Meyer, who tees off from the 10th tee at 9:39am.

Two fun facts about Meyer:

1. This isn't Meyer's first go-round at a Q-school this fall. Last week, at DP World Tour Q-School First Stage at Bogogno Golf Resort in Italy, Meyer finished T13 out of 112 starters. The event, which was supposed to be 72 holes as usual, was halved to 36 holes by inclement weather, and Meyer made it to Second Stage on the number of -5!

2. Meyer also has a curious pairing for his first-round tee time. In his group, he'll be playing alongside Tony Romo, former NFL quarterback and current CBS NFL commentator. No, I'm not playing you. Though I wonder if Tony is a bit delusional as to his second act.

Edward the Scop

Upper Midwest Connection of the Week Ending 17 September 2023

 After the closing three-week stretch on the PGA Tour Canada, both for its season and its existence, last week was a relatively quiet week for Umcees in tour golf. Only six competed during the week that I know of, but there were still plenty of storylines with the Korn Ferry Finals resuming for a fortnight, the BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour (that circuit's flagship event, akin to the Players on the PGA Tour), the opening of the FedEx Cup Fall and the Epson Tour's Race for the Card all involving Umcees. Let's break it down and name an Upper Midwest Connection of the Week.

Firstly, there was the non-starter in Frankie Capan III. FCIII has yet to secure a single point in the KFT Finals, and he has slipped from the top thirty to just inside the top fifty on the points list, as what was for so long a promising Korn Ferry Tour season is crumbling. It seemed he might get paid last week at the Simmons Bank Open in College Grove, Tennessee, as he followed up an even-par opening round with a -2 Friday. Indeed, at the time he bore off the course, he was on track to make the cut of 65 and ties. Unfortunately, the field as a whole did so well, the cut tightened to -3, and Capan missed out by a single stroke. Even so, I expect him to make it this week at the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship in Columbus, Ohio, and get at least guaranteed entry into Final Stage of PGA Tour Q-School.

My attention then shifted to the Epson Tour, as the Guardian Championship went down in Prattville, Alabama. Following a promising first round of -3/69, Kim Kaufman failed to break 70 either of the last two rounds and finished T50 with three others. More promising was Kate Smith. She has been something of a force to be reckoned with this season on the Epson Tour and, buoyed by successive -5 rounds, finished T11 with four others, moving from #22 to #20 on the money list. With three events left on the schedule, starting with this week's Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout in Arkansas, Smith should, as with Capan, have no trouble getting into her sex's Q-school finals, AKA Q-Series.

That leaves the main tours to consider. The PGA Tour, as mentioned above, opened its reimagined fall series in Napa Valley (as with the previous three falls) at the Fortinet Championship. Unlike previous seasons, which took on a "wraparound" character, fall events from this year will primarily be for lesser-performing golfers, including those who failed to advance to the BMW Championship in last month's FedEx Cup Playoffs. Players who did advance that far aren't allowed to collect points for various exemption perks since they have those in tow anyway (such as entry into all signature events other than majors). As for the DP World Tour, it held its aforementioned flagship event in England at the BMW PGA Championship (no relation to the FedEx Cup Playoff event). Having failed to qualify for the playoffs and needing a good fall showing as a result, Troy Merritt and Erik van Rooyen both played the Fortinet. Tom Hoge, who not only did qualify but reached the (FEC) BMW Championship, had the opportunity to play the (DPWT) BMW PGA Championship as part of a fortnightly British Isles swing.

Van Rooyen was first to show promise, going from -1 to -6 Friday and easily making the cut in Napa Valley. Unfortunately, he stumbled Saturday with a +1 73 and failed to break 70 the next day as well, reaching that number on the dot. Even so, it was a third straight made cut worldwide, and it was van Rooyen's first top-30 finish in a full field PGA Tour event since March's Valspar Championship, as he tied on the number. This shifted my money to Hoge, who tied for 14th in Surrey on the impetus of consecutive -4 rounds. Alas, Hoge slipped to 50th in the world rankings for his trouble. The problem is that the OWGR only counts a maximum of one's last 52 events, and his appearance at the DPWT flagship pushed his runner-up finish from last year's Amex on the PGA Tour off of consideration, costing him some valuable points. His next event will be the Shriners Children's Open in Las Vegas next month. Only one male Umcee moved up in the OWGR after involvement in an approved event last week...

Troy Merritt.

For the first time, the Devilish Rake comes full circle! Having missed thirteen successive cuts in the regular season after the Sony Open, the future for the blood-clot survivor on tour seemed bleak, but he has shown up often the last couple months. He seemed headed for yet another MC after a +2 Thursday, but he scrambled to a -5 Friday to make the cut by the narrowest of margins--one of only 67 players to do so (van Rooyen being another). He then doubled his distance under par Saturday before going wild at the last with a -7 in 65 strokes. Not only did he return to the top 200 of the OWGR, but more importantly, he jumped from #133 to #118 in the FedEx Cup standings, putting him on track to survive to another season on the PGA Tour. At this rate, he might just crack a signature event or two!

This week will be barely audible in tour golf. FCIII is the only male golfer in tour golf this week or next, as the game revolves around the Solheim Cup (women) this week and Ryder Cup (men) next week, both of which pit Americans against Europeans. Expect more noise to kick off October, when the PGA Tour has its Sanderson Farms Championship and both the Korn Ferry and Epson tours have their finales. In the meantime, though, don't hesitate to stay tuned for Q-school news, as PGA Tour prequalifying began last week and continues through next week's Texas site, while the DPWT Q-School runs its first stage through early October. Already one Umcee, Kaylor Steger of Wisconsin, has progressed to Second Stage in Europe.

Edward the Scop

Q-School Primer 2023: Prequalifying, Part II (AL, GA, NC, OH)

 Week two of PGA Tour Q-School commences tomorrow, 20 September with four more sites for prequalifying in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and Ohio. For a brief explanation of how Q-school works on the PGA Tour, please see my post from last week. As with last week's prequalifying sites, about half the starters will advance to First Stage, as has been determined by the Tour. Again, I will list any and all Upper Midwest connections among the starting rosters with their first-round tee times and starting holes.

Alabama: Canyon-Loblolly Golf Club, Greenville (par 72; 7088yd)

52 players, 26+ties progressing to First Stage projected. No Umcees.

Georgia: Brunswick Country Club, Brunswick (par 70; 6802yd)

71 players, 36+ties progressing to First Stage projected. No Umcees.

North Carolina: The Club at Irish Creek, Kannapolis (par 71; 7099yd)

76 players, 38+ties progressing to First Stage projected. No Umcees.

Ohio: Mayfield-Sand Ridge Club, Chardon (par 72; 7275yd)

75 players, 38+ties progressing to First Stage projected. Umcees: Nate Vance, Marshalltown, IA (8:50am at 10); Zach Sklebar, Fargo, ND (9am at 10); Jack Ebner, Edina, MN (9:40am at 1)

Sand Ridge Club in Chardon, Ohio, is the only prequalifying site with any Umcees this week.

Edward the Scop

Q-School Recap 2023: Prequalifying

 As the first week of the resurrected PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament drew to a close on 15 September, I decided to add information on each prequalifying site's outcome as it comes in. Included here are the medallist for each site, his score in both to-par and absolute terms, the number of progressions from each site with overhangs (ties beyond the minimum number) and the outcomes faced by Upper Midwest connections in order of finish. A summary for the medallist and each Umcee who made First Stage is provided.

This post will be updated as often as necessary. Bookmark and check back every Friday during prequalifying.

Week I: CA, IL, KS

Ironwood CC, South Course, Palm Desert, CA, par 71, 7274yd

Medallist: Clayton Seeber (Am), Newport Beach, CA (-8/70-67-68=205)

Needing to match Harrison Kingsley of San Diego (the site's top professional finisher) at the last, Seeber did one better with a closing birdie to win by two strokes. Reminds me of thrice U.S. Mid-Am champ Stewart Hagestad for some reason--maybe the shared hometown and both being amateur. Though Mr Seeber, should he advance far enough to join a tour, would probably differentiate in that regard immediately.

Total progressions: 41 (two overhangs)

No Umcees participated at this site.

Bull Valley GC, Woodstock, IL, par 72, 7190yd

Medallist: Matthis Besard, East Flanders, Belgium (-7/68-68-73=209)

He held on despite a triple bogey at 15 and two other bogeys on his last three holes to hold off Andrew Walker of Holt, MI by four strokes. Obviously, starting with successive 68s helped.

Total progressions: 23 (no overhangs)

Umcees:

T10: Lucas Scherf, Pleasant Hill, IA (+7/75-76-72=223)

Avoided serious mistakes the last two days with only one 6 on the week.

T10: Austin Kendziorski, Germantown, WI (+7/77-73-73=223)

While he failed to reach par any of the three days, he was consistent the last two.

T10: Jack Hiemenz, Blaine, MN (+7/76-68-79=223)

Qualified for First Stage despite two triple bogeys and a quad! A strong middle round Thursday, 14 September helped for sure.

T14: Tyler Leach, Spring Valley, WI (+8/73-73-78=224)

Despite four doubles, Leach also overcame volatility to advance.

T17: Emmet Herb, Middleton, WI (+10/77-73-76=226)

Despite a 7 on the par-5 3rd hole Friday, 15 September, Herb had nothing worse relative to par than that.

Umcees missing out on First Stage (alphabetical): Charles Jahn, Sperry, IA (35th); Blake Jens, Waunakee, WI (T24); Eric Regall, Sussex, WI (DNS).

Sand Creek Station GC, Newton, KS, par 72, 7339yd

Medallist: Andres Acevedo, San Antonio, TX (-14/68-67-67=202)

Jointly fewest bogeys of the week (five), and a closing birdie got him top honours over Wil Gibson of Jonesboro, Arkansas.

Total progressions: 24 (one overhang)

Umcees:

T5: Brady Madsen, Raymond, MN (-4/72-70-70=212)

While he struggled on par-5s, Madsen showed consistency by carding par or better each day.

T22: Austin Rene, Jamestown, ND (+3/76-72-71=219)

A closing birdie meant the difference between First Stage and going home. A master of par-3s this week.

Umcee missing out on First Stage: Dawson Wills, Chaska, MN (T42).

Week II: AL, GA, NC, OH

Canyon-Loblolly GC, Greenville, AL, par 72, 7088yd

Medallist: Michael Shears, Panama City, FL (-17/65-66-68=199)

Jointly fewest bogeys of the week (four) and outright best par-4 score (-6). Despite slowing down somewhat Friday, he broke 70 all three days.

Total progressions: 27 (no overhangs)

No participating Umcees.

Brunswick CC, Brunswick, GA, par 70, 6802yd

Medallist: Erik Edwards, Louisville, KY (-10/66-67-67=200)

Best back nine performance of the week (-6) and took advantage of par 4s and 5s (joint best in both categories), as well as only four bogeys (joint fewest). He maintained minimum volatility en route to his top finish, as you can tell from the round-by-round score recounted above.

Total progressions: 39 (two overhangs)

No participating Umcees.

The Club at Irish Creek, Kannapolis, NC, par 71, 7099yd

Medallists: Evans Lewis, Sumter, SC (66-68-67) and George Bryan IV, Aiken, SC (66-67-68) (both -12/201)

Lewis was the top performer on the back nine and par 4s, while GB4 topped the ranks in terms of par-5 success and had just two bogeys all week (fewest in the field).

Total progressions: 40 (one overhang)

No participating Umcees.

Mayfield-Sand Ridge Club, Chardon, OH, par 72, 7275yd

Medallist: Andrew O'Leary, Norfolk, MA (-7/68-67-74=209)

Best back-nine performer on the week and tied for the most birdies with sixteen. The last of these was the most important, as it gave him the honours over Ohioans Reid Martin of Columbus and amateur Tyler Jones of Westerville. It made a disappointing final round all the more worthwhile and enabled him to at least break 75.

Total progressions: 39 (one overhang)

Umcees:

T8: Jack Ebner, Edina, MN (-2/72-73-69=214)

The key to his advancement to First Stage was his excellence on par 5s, as he tied for the low score on such holes this week (-9). Most notably, his eagle Friday at the par-5 14th sufficed to give him an under-par finish overall.

T10: Zach Sklebar, Fargo, ND (-1/72-72-71=215)

He finished under par as well despite a double bogey at 7 Friday. Other than that faux pas, he suffered only six other bogeys or worse all week, jointly third fewest in the field.

T35: Sterling McIlravy, Solon, IA (+4/73-74-73=220)

Normally a par on a par 5 doesn't satisfy much, but for him, it was satisfactory because it lifted him to First Stage. Thanks to his timely bogey avoidance, McIlravy was one of the last five to survive to the next leg!

Note: All Umcees at this site progressed to First Stage successfully.

Week III: Texas

The Bridges Golf Club, Gunter, par 72, 7569yd

Medallist: Justin Grondahl (Am), Jupiter, FL (-15/67 all three days=201)

Co-leader in bogey avoidance, as he committed only five all week. He also tied for the low score on par 3s, carding -2 on such holes. His medal was secured as a result of holes 11 and 12 Friday, when he birdied the former and his nearest challenger, Harrison Hineline of Boerne, Texas, doubled the latter.

Total progressions: 38 (no overhangs)

Note: Former Wisconsin Badger Chris Meyer, who was the lone Umcee at the site, missed out on progression by four strokes (+3). However, he does have Second Stage of DP World Tour to look forward to this November!

Upper Midwest Connection of the Week Ending 10 September 2023

 With day one of PGA Tour Q-School 2023 in the books, it's time to turn back to my usual grind of selecting the Upper Midwest Connection of the Week. Last week, there were seven Umcees involved on significant tours the world over. Tom Hoge and Erik van Rooyen teed it up at the Horizon Irish Open on the DP World Tour. The former did so ahead of his participation this week at the BMW PGA Championship, which has historically been the most prestigious event in the British Isles for tour golf outside the Open Championship. He gets to participate this year for having nailed down a top-fifty finish in the FedEx Cup, which entitles him to tee times in next season's bigwig "Signature Events." Meanwhile, van Rooyen took advantage of a fortnightly stretch of decent-profile golf before he begins his purgatory for a second straight disappointing PGA Tour season at the Fortinet Championship this week.

Not to be confused with this week's FedEx Cup Fall opener, the PGA Tour Canada had its much-anticipated swan song at the Fortinet Cup Championship in Calgary. Three Umcees qualified as a result of their good performances on the PGA Tour Canada's final season before it merges with the PGA Tour Latinoamerica to form the PGA Tour Americas next year: George Kneiser, Thomas Longbella and Derek Hitchner. Lastly, Kate Smith and Kim Kaufman took on the Black Desert Resort Championship with its unprecedented purse (for the Epson Tour) of $375K.

So, how did everybody do? Kaufman missed the cut at the Black Desert, so she was eliminated by default. Ultimately, Smith wasn't much better, finishing 72nd--dead last--among those who did make the cut. Hoge and Longbella showed up during the workweek but fell apart at the weekend, while Kneiser fell apart in the final round. Kneiser avoided the heartbreak of losing his bye to Second Stage by .79 Fortinet Cup point! Longbella wasn't so lucky. Needing a good week to replicate last year's feat of making Second Stage right off the bat, he imploded for a T55, finishing 33rd in the Fortinet Cup. Hoge, who battled allergies in Ireland, finished outside the top eighty despite making the cut.

That leaves two candidates: Hitchner and van Rooyen. The South African, who is an Umcee by virtue of his University of Minnesota education and playing Gopher golf, saved his best for last by carding a -5 Sunday to rise to a T16 in County Kildare's K Club at Adare Manor. He's even back in the OWGR top 200 (such as it is) for the first time since his 3M Open MC. However, he didn't even have the biggest jump of anybody in that tourney, won by Sweden's Vince Norrman (who, you will recall, also won the Barbasol Championship on the PGA Tour to gain membership through 2025). You know who did in his?

Derek Hitchner.

Unlike van Rooyen, he unfortunately didn't save his best for last, as he slogged to a +2 Sunday to finish the weekend on -16, good for a third-placed tie with Jeffrey Kang. What he did do was jump from #45 to #22 in the final Fortinet Cup standings, as well as get nearly 200 places closer to the top thousand in the OWGR. Admittedly, his placement in Second Stage in late November was already secure, seeing as how he finished top-20 in the PGA Tour U standings this year. Still, it was great to see Hitchner crack the top 40 every time he made the cut this year. Not bad for a guy who skipped two events this PGA Tour Canada season and missed two other cuts!

This week, as mentioned above, the FedEx Cup Fall kicks off with the Fortinet Championship. (Gee, all these mentions of the same corporate sponsor for two different events on two different PGA Tour-sanctioned tours! I personally miss when it was the Safeway Open.) In addition to van Rooyen, Troy Merritt will be teeing it up as part of his efforts to keep his PGA Tour card. Again, Hoge will be in England, participating in the BMW PGA Championship. The winner of that gets an invite to next year's U.S. Open and the next three Open Championships.

Edward the Scop

Q-School Primer 2023: Prequalifying, Part I (CA, IL, KS)

UPDATE, 13 SEPTEMBER 2023: I stand corrected on the number of players progressing from each site. With 522 total players participating in prequalifying, the mean number of players per site is only about 65. Given this, an average of ~28 players per site advancing to First Stage would normally imply a mean of ~43 per cent advancing per site, and the rules stipulate pro rata cutoffs for progression. However, it would seem, based on past Q-schools, that about eight per cent of the field will overhang the nominal cutoff by tying for the final position, so the mean is closer to 51 per cent of each field. So, the Ironwood CC prequalifying site will have at least 39 places for advancement, while the Bull Valley and Sand Creek Station sites will have a minimum of 23 each.

Okay, now that we've gotten the basics of Q-school out of the way, let's dig into the details of prequalifying. As alluded in my last post, if you aren't exempt on any applicable tour or haven't been of late, among other exemption criteria to skip this stage, odds are you'll be starting at this point.

There are eight sites in prequalifying, and according to the document provided, at least 225 First Stage slots are available across them. That equates to about 28 places per site, provided each has 78 finishers and there are no ties for the last place. Of course, this is subject to variance, so let's detail each site. In particular, I intend to focus on Upper Midwest connections on the player list for each qualifier.

(All tee times are local and for Round 1 only)

California: Ironwood CC, South Course, Palm Desert (par 71; 7274yd)

77 players. No Umcees.

Bull Valley Golf Club may only have 45 entrants for prequalifying, but eight are Umcees.

Illinois: Bull Valley GC, Woodstock (par 72; 7190yd)

45 players. Umcees: Emmet Herb (Middleton, WI), 8:00am on 1; Jack Hiemenz (Blaine, MN), 8:00am on 10; Charles Jahn (Sperry, IA), 8:12am on 1; Eric Regall (Sussex, WI), 8:12 on 10; Blake Jens (Waunakee, WI), 8:24 on 1; Luke Scherf (Pleasant Hill, IA), 8:36 on 1; Tyler Leach (Spring Valley, WI), 9:12 on 10; Austin Kendziorski (Germantown, WI), 9:24 on 1.

Kansas: Sand Creek Station GC, Newton (par 72, 7399yd)

45 players. Umcees: Dawson Wills (Chaska, MN), 8:22am on 1; Austin Rene (Jamestown, ND), 8:34 on 10; Brady Madsen (Raymond, MN), 9:10am on 10.

Edward the Scop

Q-School Primer 2023: Preface/Explanation

 It's official: The first real PGA Tour Q-School since 2012 kicks off tomorrow!

Okay, maybe I provoked some hate comments with those thirteen words. There was a Q-school run by the PGA Tour from 2013 to 2022 (except in 2020 due to Covid-19). As with this year's edition, it consisted of four stages: a prequalifying stage followed by three "proper" stages, with a modicum of Korn Ferry Tour status guaranteed just for making it to Final Stage. But here's the thing: KFT status was all you could get from that edition. The only reliable way to get a PGA Tour card was through the Korn Ferry Tour itself--as one of the top 25 regular-season performers, one of the top 25 performers in the three- or four-event KFT Finals, which also included underachieving PGA Tour players or winning three KFT events in the same season. The most recent to accomplish the last of these methods remains Chile's Mito Pereira, who took his talents to LIV Golf earlier this year after winning thrice in the combined 2020-21 season. (He followed countryman Joaquin Niemann in that regard.) Otherwise, one must win a PGA Tour event or secure a sufficiency of nonmember points in the FedEx Cup to gain his card. That's what makes this year's Q-school different from the last nine editions.

Not just for the Korn Ferry Tour any more!

Granted, there are as few as five cards available on next year's PGA Tour. And it's not like the Signature Events are likely to offer access to Q-school grads. The same goes for the now-thirty season-long KFT grads, as well as the top ten not-otherwise-exempt players in the DP World Tour Race to Dubai. In fact, there could be as few as 45 cards awarded by these means by year's end--the lowest total since the 1970s. If it were up to me, there should be at least fifty cards granted by the PGA Tour, as there had been prior to this year, with the remainder after Q-school ties for fifth being distributed among (1) KFT players; (2) DPWT members; and (3) Q-school finishers in rotating order. But it's a start. Maybe my idea or some other good plan will be adopted down the road. Though I'm not holding my breath.

Now that that's off my chest, I decided to cobble together a quick reference over several posts that will be regularly updated. Look for the tag "Q-school primer" whenever you stop by the blog. This post outlines how Q-school works starting this year.

As mentioned at the top, prequalifying kicks things off with eight 54-hole tournaments. As with all stages of Q-school, these are no-cut affairs. (Sound familiar, Greg Norman?) The next stage is the first "proper" stage. From this stage on, the length of the tourneys increases to 72 holes each. This stage, held in October, also is three weeks in length, and it consists of thirteen sites. This is where low-level exempt players from various golf tours of the world can enter.

November brings the second stage, held at five warm-weather sites (obviously) across the month's closing fortnight. At this point, you start to see somewhat more prominent players from developmental tours come in. It all crescendos to the finals in December at TPC Sawgrass, nerve centre of the PGA Tour (fitting). This stage is held across two of the property's courses--Valley and East-West. The players who enter here are relatively elite up-and-comers.

In addition to the top five and ties who get PGA Tour cards, the next 25 and ties get a reprieve from the first two KFT reshuffles of 2024. This means they can't be demoted in terms of priority of getting playing opportunities on the Korn Ferry Tour. The remainder of the top 45 and ties will get a reprieve from the first reshuffle. The other Q-school finalists receive conditional KFT status, as well as exempt membership on the PGA Tour Americas, one step below the Korn Ferry Tour.

Again, the next post will detail the first few sites of prequalifying.

Edward the Scop

Upper Midwest Connection of the Week Ending 3 September 2023

 For the first time since the week of Scottish Open, there were multiple Upper Midwest connections in tour golf playing in Europe, and both made the cut at their respective events. But before we get into Umcees abroad, I'd like to recap what happened at the CRMC Championship in Pequot Lakes, Minnesota with special attention given Upper Midwest connections in action there.

With the PGA Tour on its fortnightly hiatus following the Tour Championship and the Korn Ferry Tour taking another week off beyond that stretch until its Finals resume with the Simmons Bank Open, I was able to shine my stateside spotlight on the CRMC pretty brightly, especially since it is the final regular-season event in the history of the PGA Tour Canada. Chinese prospect Yi Cao ran away with the title by eight strokes (-22), soaring from #55 to #9 in the Fortinet Cup and having a legitimate chance at a double bye in Q-school proper (that is, excluding prequalifying, which begins next week at three sites with five more over the following two weeks).

For the Umcees in the field, it wasn't nearly so rosy. Among players who didn't withdraw, Matt Boldy of the NHL's Minnesota Wild finished dead last on +19 at the cut; but he was just doing it for fun, I guess, since he was on a sponsor's exemption. Tom Lehman Jr fared better, but his +4 didn't cut it either. Blaine, Minnesota's Caleb VanArragon, who plays collegiately for the Valparaiso Crusaders (unless they changed their nickname), fared even better but missed the cut by a single stroke on +1. The most heartbreaking finish for any Umcee was reigning Upper Midwest Connection of the Week Thomas Longbella, whose streak of seven straight cuts made ended when he failed to break par on the closing par 5, also finishing +1, and he fell just outside the top 25 to #26 on the points list.

That left four for the weekend. Harrison Ott had a chance to secure his status for 2024 on the new PGA Tour Americas, but mediocre +1 rounds on Thursday and Saturday meant even a final-round -3 couldn't save him from having to go back to Q-school this fall. A double bogey on 15 Sunday also didn't help. George Kneiser may have seen his hopes of direct entry into Final Stage die with a poor final-round +2. He should have enough points to make Second Stage, though. Derek Hitchner had impressive middle rounds of -4 on Friday and Saturday, but a moribund 70 on the par-70 course actually dropped him to #45 on the list (from #38). Still, he has PGA Tour U privileges to fall back upon, assuring him of playing Second Stage, too. The tragic irony of the best performance from an Umcee at the CRMC, though, was that it wasn't enough to secure a spot in Calgary this week. Jordan Hahn of Janesville, Wisconsin, who in fact is a former Wisconsin Badger, tied for 15th and jumped from #86...to #63. Only four points shy of making the final Fortinet Cup Championship! What one shot can do.

The only other Umcees in tour golf last week played in Europe. Angus Flanagan, who played collegiately at Minnesota, made the cut at the Indoor Golf Group Challenge in Sweden. Unfortunately, the break from playing that proved his ally at first--a long break due to a waterlogged course--ultimately proved his enemy, as he suffered six bogeys against only one birdie on Sunday, as he played 25 holes each of the last two days of the tournament. At least he can say he's four for four on the Challenge Tour. But there was one Umcee who not only made the cut, but truly showed up at the weekend, to post his second-best European Tour result of the 2023 season. As one of the current "big three" Umcees along with Tom Hoge and Troy Merritt, this week's Upper Midwest Connection of the Week needs no introduction...

Erik van Rooyen.

The former Minnesota Gophers golf captain from South Africa captures his second such honour after a T8 at the Omega European Masters in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. (Yes, that's the crazy outfit he wore for his final round Sunday.) Even his worst round, which went down Friday, broke par with a -1 on 69 strokes, and he made the cut with two strokes to spare. Again, though, the weekend saw him truly kick butt with eight birdies Saturday to move from 33rd to 16th on the leaderboard. Then, on Sunday, he had his best round of the week with a -5, suffering only one bogey at No 2. He even got an eagle at 14 and closed with a difficult sand shot to find the green in regulation within a few feet of the hole. I saw the latter shot on the NBC Sports website since the linear Golf Channel was covering the Walker Cup (whose previous edition had involved Flanagan during his time with the Gophers, as he played for the British Isles). It was a much-needed top-ten showing for van Rooyen, who had slipped to #235 in the world rankings and is now #211, and he climbed to #149 in the Race to Dubai. He joins Longbella as the only two-time recipients of the Upper Midwest Connection of the Week plaudit.

This week is the final week before the PGA Tour commences its first true fall series since 2012, the year before it adopted the short-lived wraparound schedule that expired with this year's Tour Championship. In the meantime, though, we have the PGA Tour Canada's swan song in Calgary at the Fortinet Cup Championship to follow. Three Umcees made it in Kneiser, Longbella and Hitchner. Meanwhile, on the European Tour, the Irish Open takes over the K Club in County Kildare, Ireland, with van Rooyen and Tom Hoge as the Umcees at that event. Finally, as of this writing, Flanagan has an outside chance at making the Challenge de Espana. He was a high alternate, but he is also playing a Clutch Pro Tour event in his native England, which might create a scheduling conflict for him. Stay tuned.

Edward the Scop