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

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!

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