PGA Tour Qualifying School News
This week the PGA Tour is hosting the final stage of Tour Qualifying School in Palm Desert, California at PGA West. The 163 players looking at gaining the prestigious status of a card-holding PGA Tour Member are competing in a six round tournament (in six days) over two different golf courses at the PGA West Complex in Palm Desert, they are the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course & The Tournament Players Stadium Course. There are 35 fully exempt PGA Tour cards up for grabs and the remaining players who are not successful in gaining PGA Tour status will fill out the remaining open spots on the Nationwide Tour for the 2009 season. Each player that does not earn status on the PGA Tour will be ranked in accordance to his finish as to the level of exemption he shall receive on the Nationwide Tour for the 2009 season.
Qualifying School is a true test of a players ability and mental toughness on a golf course, both of which the PGA Tour looks for in it's players year after year, and achieves it. All of the players that are competing this week in Palm Desert, California are very well established professional players and if it happens to be your week you gain a Tour card, failing that these players can earn status through the season in more ways but it is much more difficult to do so than playing well in Q-school. Players can achieve the 'Battle Field Promotion', which allows a player to move up to PGA Tour if he should win 3 Nationwide events in one season. Another way these players can gain status on the PGA Tour is to 'Monday Qualify' and either win the event (which gives them a 2 year exemption on tour) or play through the year on the Nationwide Tour and finish in the top 25 on the order of merit at the end of the year and that promotes them to the PGA Tour for the following season.
So if your not up to scratch on your Q-School stats, check back here on a daily basis and we will keep you up to date with how the tournament is playing out.
At this moment, December 5th, 2008 @ 11:36am PSD, James Nitties is the current leader through 8 holes of the third round. He is minus 13 to par for the tournament and minus one to par for the current day. Players of note that are close behind him that have been competitive on the PG Tour over the past years are as follows: Harrison Frazer, Bryce Molder, Mark Brooks, Ted Purdy, Glen Day, Jay Williamson, Joe Durant and Roger Tambellini. Carlos Franco is also trying to grind his way back to fully exempt status on the tour for the 2009 season.
The next update on Q-School will be on December 6th @ 9:00am PSD.
So in the mean time shop around the store and find a putter that you like and see if you can learn to putt like the pros.