Fifth-round notes: Q-school by the numbers

Seven pre-qualifiers, along with 13 first- and six second-stage regionals were held to reduce the field. A total of 173 players advanced to the final qualifying stage, which will consist of six rounds with no cut.

The top 25 players and ties will receive PGA TOUR cards for 2012. The next nearest-number-to-50 will earn fully exempt Nationwide Tour cards for the first 10 events in 2012, and the remainder of the field will receive conditional Nationwide Tour status.

Seven players qualified by making it through all three stages -- Gator "Richard" Todd, Glenn Northcutt, Wes Roach, Erik Flores, Jess Schutte, Travis Wadkins and Paul Haley.

• A total of 513 players teed off in the seven pre-qualifiers and competed for 258 spots (and ties).
• A total of 969 players teed off in the 13 first-stage qualifiers and competed for 284 spots (and ties).
• A total of 450 players teed off in the six second-stage qualifiers and competed for 122 spots (and ties).
• A total of 39 players were exempt into the final stage of the tournament.

FIFTH-ROUND NOTES

Weather: Partly cloudy with a high temperature of 63 degrees. Winds NW 15-20 mph, gusting to 28 mph.

Fifth-round leaderboard: 1. Marco Dawson 343 17-under 2. Stephen Gangluff 346 14-under 3. Harris English 347 13-under Brendon Todd 347 13-under 5. Jarrod Lyle 349 11-under Brian Harman 349 11-under Vaughn Taylor 349 11-under Will Claxton 349 11-under

• The top-25 players (and ties) will earn their PGA TOUR cards for next year's PGA TOUR schedule. Currently, there 28 players at 7-under-par or better.

• Scores needed to secure PGA TOUR status at PGA West in previous years:

• Players will be repaired after today's round but within their own wave. The leaders will play the Nicklaus Tournament course in Monday's final round.

• Current leader Marco Dawson is making his 11th appearance in the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament. He last earned his card through this tournament in 2006. He has advanced through the Qualifying Tournament five times in his career. Dawson opened with a 1-over 73 and was T126 after the first round.

• Marco Dawson has made 388 career starts on the PGA TOUR and his career-best finish is a runner-up at the 1995 Greater Milwaukee Open.

• Stephen Gangluff (67/SC) is at 14-under and in second place, three shots back of leader Marco Dawson. Gangluff has played only one full season on the PGA TOUR -- he made 10 of 27 cuts in 2002 and finished No. 176 on the money list. Gangluff's career-best finish is a T19 at the 2002 FedEx St. Jude Classic.

• Veteran Jeff Maggert moved into contention with a 6-under 66 on the Stadium Course. Maggert is 9-under par and T13 after five days. He has made 546 career starts on the PGA TOUR and has won three times. This past year Maggert made only six of 18 cuts and finished No. 216 on the money list. His best finish was a T36 at the Valero Texas Open.

• Brendon Todd stands at 13-under and T3 with one day to go. Todd made 10 of 24 cuts on the Nationwide Tour in 2011 and wound up No. 84 on the money list. Todd's only season on the PGA TOUR came in 2009 when he made five of 21 cuts and finished No. 186 on the money list. His career-best finish is a T12 at the 2009 St. Jude Classic.

• Will Claxton, who shared the first-round lead and was the outright leader after the second, third and fourth rounds, fired a 4-over-par 76 to fall in the standings. Despite his score Claxton is still T5 heading into Monday's final round.

• Vaughn Taylor, two-time PGA TOUR winner, is in position to regain his card for the 2012 season after a 2-under 70 on the Stadium Course. Taylor finished No. 148 on the money list this year, his eighth on Tour. Taylor, T5, will be heading to the Bahamas this week where he will get married on Saturday.

• Jarrod Lyle (T5) is also in position to return to the Tour following a 68 today on the Stadium Course. Lyle is also scheduled to get married next Saturday. He will marry fiance' Briony Harper in his hometown of Shepparton, Australia.

• Aussie Matt Jones moved back up the leaderboard with a 67 today. Jones was T2 after the second and third rounds but carded a 78 in yesterday's fourth round and fell to T21. He is T13 with one round to go.

• Scott Parel (67/SC) moved up to T13 today and is in position to earn a PGA TOUR card for the first time. The 46-year old from Augusta, GA, has never been a member on Tour and has made only one cut in five career Tour starts over the years.

• Currently there are 13 potential rookies in the top 28 players -- Harris English, Brian Haman, Will Claxton, Edward Loar, Charlie Beljan, Tommy Biershenk, Seung-yul Noh, Scott Parel, Roberto Castro, Shawn Stefani, Hudson Swafford, Reid Edstrom and Billy Hurley III.

• The University of Georgia is also well represented in the top-28 with six former Bulldogs: Harris English, Brendon Todd, Brian Harman, Scott Parel, Kevin Kisner and Hudson Swafford.

• Will Claxton has made only one career start on the PGA TOUR. He finished T67 at this year's Transition Championship. Claxton earned conditional status on the 2011 Nationwide Tour after finishing T139 at the 2010 Qualifying Tournament. Claxton made four cuts in nine starts on the Nationwide Tour this year. His only top-25 finish was a T17 at the Mexico Open. Claxton is a 2005 graduate of Auburn University, where he was a member of the Tigers' 2002 Southeastern Conference Championship team.

• Scott Verplank (1997), Frank Lickliter (2007) and Troy Merritt (2009) are the only players since 1992 to hold/share the lead after each round of the tournament. Verplank is the only player to hold the lead outright for all six rounds.

• Seung-yul Noh (T9) is a 20-year old from Seoul, South Korea. He was named the Asian Tour's 2008 Rookie of the Year. He won once on the Asian Tour in 2008 and again in 2010 at the Maybank Malaysian Open, a co-sponsored event with the European Tour. Noh played in six PGA TOUR events in 2011.

• Bobby Gates (T13), who finished No. 126 on the PGA TOUR money list during his rookie season in 2011, is looking to improve his status this week. Gates finished $1,431 behind D.J. Trahan for the 125th spot on the money list.

• Harris English (T3) won the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational as an amateur in July on the Nationwide Tour. After turning professional he lost in a playoff in October at the WNB Golf Classic and T3 at the Miccosukee Championship. English has never played on the PGA TOUR.

Leaders at previous Qualifying Tournament held at PGA West -- Nicklaus Tournament (NT), Stadium Course (SC):

• Best rounds of the day:
63 -- Reid Edstrom
64 -- Matt Harmon, Anthony Rodriguez

Scoring averages (both courses are par-72):

The toughest holes on each course after five rounds:

There are five 2011 Nationwide Tour graduates in the field hoping to improve their eligibility standings for the 2012 season. All five have earned PGA TOUR cards for next year. These players will not count toward the top 25 and ties who will earn their PGA TOUR card through Q-School, or against the next number nearest 50 to determine fully-exempt Nationwide Tour membership.

The Coachella Valley has hosted the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament several times over the years. This is the fifth time that the current two-course rotation of the Nicklaus Tournament Course and TPC Stadium Course has been used.