PGA TOUR Americas Q-School notebook: Preview notables looking to extend their season
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At 14-under for the week, Drew Shepherd shared medalist honors at the Q-School staged at the Wigwam Resort in Litchfield Park, Arizona, May 28-31. (Gregory Villalobos/PGA TOUR)
Written by Staff
With the conclusion of the Latin America Swing after the Inter Rapidisimo Golf Championship that saw Harry Hillier capture his first win in a wire-to-wire victory that included the first 59 in PGA TOUR Americas history, 60 players from 12 countries have secured exempt membership for the North America Swing.
While those 60 players can start booking their travel to Canada for the North America Swing, beginning with The Beachlands Victoria Open presented by Times Colonist contested from June 20-23, other players in search of membership will try to earn status at PGA TOUR Americas Q-School.
Q-School will be contested across six sites – Ocala, Florida (May 21-24), Dothan, Alabama (May 21-24), Garland, Texas (May 28-31), Litchfield Park, Arizona (May 28-31), San Jacinto, California (June 4-7) and Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada (June 11-14). The first nine finishers from each site will earn exempt membership for the North America Swing, while finishers 10-25 and ties will earn conditional membership. If there are ties for the ninth spot after the final round of play, a playoff will determine which players earn exempt membership. In total, 54 players will earn exempt status for the North America Swing.
The first two PGA TOUR Americas Q-Schools will begin on Tuesday, May 21 in Ocala, Florida, and Dothan, Alabama. Here’s a capsule look at notables who are set to compete at each of the six Q-School sites.
Note: This page will be updated prior to the start of each Q-School
June 11-14
Site: Courtenay, BC, Canada
Course: Crown Isle Golf Course
Notables:Cole Bradley finished the Latin America Swing 67th in the Fortinet Cup standings and will try to re-earn status for the North America Swing. Bradley made three cuts, with his best result coming at the Inter Rapídisimo Golf Championship where he finished T23… Ryan Burnett will also be playing to secure status for the summer. The No. 7 player in the PGA TOUR University class of 2023 made the cut in four of his five starts in Latin America…University of Minnesota product Angus Flanagan will attempt to regain status in Canada. The No. 11 player in the PGA TOUR University class of 2021 last PGA TOUR-sanctioned start came at the 2023 Club Car Championship at the Landings Golf & Athletic Club, where he finished T40… Robbie Higgins is in the field in Canada. Higgins was a three-time All-Atlantic Sun Conference first team selection at the University of North Florida.
June 4-7
Site: San Jacinto, CA
Course: Soboba Springs Golf Course
Notables: Barend Botha will attempt to qualify for the North America Swing after winning the 2024 Mid-American Conference (MAC) individual conference championship. Botha was also named the 2024 MAC Golfer of the Year for the second consecutive season… Florida State product Brett Roberts is in the field after missing the majority of the Seminoles' spring season due to injury. Prior to being sidelined, Roberts finished in the top 10 in three consecutive events during the fall season, and led the Seminoles in scoring average in 2022-23 (70.59)… Cameron Sisk started all six events in the Latin America Swing, with his best finish coming at the Diners Club Peru Open where the Arizona State alum finished T22… Ohio State product Neal Shipley will attempt to jumpstart his professional career in San Jacinto after earning Low Amateur honors at the 2024 Masters Tournament.
Results: Barend Botha and Charlie Crockett, recent graduates of the University of Toledo and the University of Missouri, respectively, earned co-medalist honors at the San Jacinto, California Q-School site for PGA TOUR Americas. Botha fired a final-round 7-under 65 to reach 16-under for the tournament, and shared the top of the leaderboard with Crockett who shot a 6-under 66 in Friday’s final round.
The duo led four amateurs in the top five, as Brett Roberts and John Marshall Butler finished tied for third to earn exempt membership into the North America Swing. Roberts graduated in the spring from Florida State University where he garnered one victory and 17 top-10s. Butler was also a spring graduate from Auburn University and helped lead the team to their first national championship title this season. Rounding out the top five was Indiana University graduate Noah Gillard, who notoriously won the Indiana State Amateur Championship two years in a row (2020, 2021).
Daniel Ochoa finished tied for sixth and will return as an exempt member for the North America Swing after making six starts in Segment I of PGA TOUR Americas. Additionally, Caleb Ramirez, Ki Taek Lee and Neal Shipley earned exempt membership for Segment II. Shipley, the 2023 U.S. Amateur runner-up and the 2024 Masters Tournament low amateur, was the last player to earn exempt status as he advanced via a nine-for-one playoff.
Player to Earn Conditional Status: David Gazzolo, Jordan Costello, Philip Barbaree Jr., Rayham John Thomas, Caden Mcmackin, Matthew Sutherland, Charles Reiter, John DuBois, Michael Slesinski, Bastien Amat, Connor Creasy, Austin Duncan, Riley Lewis, Vicente Marzilio, Caleb Manuel, Nate Stember, David Longmire, Palmer Jackson, Nicolas Quintero and Brian Stark
May 28-31
Site: Garland, TX
Course: Firewheel at Garland Bridges
Notables: Tommy Kuhl made the cut in four of his six starts during the Latin America Swing, highlighted by a T24 finish at the 69th ECP Brazil Open… Naucalpan, Mexico-native Luis Carrera will look to earn status for the North America Swing after making two appearances in Segment I. The 24-year-old’s best showing came at the Totalplay Championship at Atlas Country Club, where he finished T26... Joel Thelen will look to regain status for the remainder of the season, as the No. 1 finisher in the 2023 Dev Series made two cuts in five starts during the Latin America Swing… James Hart du Preez will look to gain status on PGA TOUR Americas after previously playing on the Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour. The 6’9” South African leads the Sunshine Tour in driving distance with a 373-yard average, and made his PGA TOUR debut at the American Express in 2022… Quinn Riley will compete in Texas, as the top finisher in the 2023 APGA Lexus Cup standings looks to regain status after two made cuts during the Latin America Swing.
Results: Finishers one through nine earned exempt membership to the North America Swing on PGA TOUR Americas; finishers 10-25 plus ties earned conditional status. Due to incelement weather in Texas, the qualifying event at Firewheel in Gartland was shortened to 36 holes and concluded on Sunday, June 2.
Nate Vontz, a 25-year-old from Lincoln, Nebraska, and an alum of Creighton University earned medalist honors at 15-under through two rounds of competition. He opened with an 11-under 61 on his way to a five-stroke victory.
Ball State alum Joey Ranieri, Arkansas alum Wil Gibson and 31-year-old Brett White tied for second in Garland. White has played in two Korn Ferry Tour events this season at The Panama Championship and the AdventHealth Championship, missing the cut in both.
Thomas Lilly was part of the five-way tie for fifth at Firewheel. The 29-year-old played the in all six of the events on the Latin America Swing, making three cuts featuring a best finish of T26 at the Totalplay Championship at Atlas Country Club. He will start the North America Swing 87th in the Fortinet Cup.
In addition, Chad Sewell, Matt Echelmeier, Gavin Hall and Tyler Copp earned exempt membership to play a full North America Swing schedule.
Players to Earn Conditional Status: Diego Prone, Alex Goff, Luis Carrera, Tommy Kuhl, Motin Yeung, David Erdy, Kane Ybarra, Ryan Ruffels, Hunter Bott, Michael Sweeney, Justin Burrowes, Pryce Beshoory, Denzel Ieremia, Garrett Barber, Quinn Riley, Derek Chang, Carson Griggs and Agustin Segundo Olivia Pinto
Site: Litchfield Park, Arizona
Course: The Wigwam Golf Resort and Spa – Gold Course
Notables: Reid Davenport made the cut in three of his six starts, highlighted by a T8 finish at the 69th ECP Brazil Open to finish 61st in the Fortinet Cup for the Latin America Swing… The Vanderbilt University alum finished 13th in the 2023 PGA TOUR University Ranking and will attempt to secure exempt status to the North America Swing this week in Arizona… Jason Hong finished the Latin America Swing with three consecutive made cuts. Hong claimed his first professional victory in Colombia one week prior to the Inter Rapídisimo Golf Championship at the Fourth Stop of the KIA Colombian Professional Tour presented by Monteazul Golf Club… Luke Schniederjans closed the Latin America Swing with two top 25s in his last three events. The Georgia Tech alum had his best showing of the season at the Inter Rapídisimo Golf Championship, where he finished T23… Genki Okada will also try to secure membership for the North America Swing, as he claimed his best finish of Segment I at the Inter Rapídisimo Golf Championship, where he finished T16… Brendan MacDougall started all six events in the Latin America Swing and closed with three made cuts in a row. The Calgary, Canada, native had his best showing at the KIA Open with a T32 finish.
Results: Concluding with a 4-under 67 in Arizona, Southeastern Oklaholma State alum Zach James jumped into a tie for first in Litchfield Park, tying Drew Shepherd for medalist honors. A Scottsdale, Arizona, resident and native of the Chicago suburbs, 26-year-old Shepard played in the Visa Argentina Open presented by Macro on the Korn Ferry Tour this season in March and finished in a tie for 65th.
Australian Grant Booth finished at 13-under through four rounds to earn fully exempt status. The 27-year-old turned pro in 2018 and made his PGA TOUR debut in 2023 at the Barracuda Championship where he missed the cut. He finished tied with Zachary Stocker, a 2023 graduate from Gonzaga.
The lone amateur to earn exempt status is Yuki Moriyama, a 2024 graduate from UNLV who carded rounds of 69-66-71-73 to earn exempt status by a stroke.
Aaron Beverly, who played in The Genesis Invitational 2022 as the Charlie Sifford Exemption recipient, will make his debut on PGA TOUR Americas and begin the North America Swing with fully exempt status.
In addition, Thomas Hutchison, George Markham and John Sand earned exempt membership to play a full North America Swing schedule.
Players to Earn Conditional Status: Hunter Wolcott, Carson Lundell, Andy Spencer, Berk Harvey, Genki Okada, Jared Kinoshita, Davis Bryant, Brendan MacDougall, Max Sekulic, Erik Matthewson, Matthew Liringis, Zack Missigman (a), Zach Smith, Lucas Carper, Casey Leebrick, Jose Islas, Danny List, Joey Mayo and Jonathan Yoshihiro.
May 21-24
Site: Ocala, Florida
Course: Country Club of Ocala
Notables: Jimmy Jones made the cut in four of his six starts during the Latin America Swing. The University of South Florida alum had his best showing of the season at the Bupa Championship at Tulum, where he finished T12 … Abel Gallegos will also try to secure membership for the summer. Gallegos finished T16 at the Inter Rapídisimo Golf Championship, his lone start of the Latin America Swing. Gallegos won the 2020 Latin America Amateur Championship, becoming the first Argentinian to claim the title … Flint Bekkers is in the field in Ocala looking to extend his season. Bekkers started all six events in the Latin Swing, with his best result coming at the KIA Open, where he finished T19 … Isidro Benitez is also in the hunt to earn more starts after finishing outside of the top 60. Benitez has made eight starts in 2024 across the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA TOUR Americas. The Puebla, Mexico native finished T11 at the Panama Championship in February … Vince India, who has made 176 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour, will attempt a comeback to professional golf at Q-School.
Results: Finishers one through nine earned exempt membership to the North America Swing on PGA TOUR Americas; finishers 10-25 plus ties earned conditional status.
Alabama graduate Thomas Ponder shot a final-round 67 to earn medalist honors at the Ocala, Florida Q-School site for PGA TOUR Americas, and led three amateurs to earning exempt membership for the North America Swing. Paul Conroy and Coalter Smith were the two additional amateurs to receive status and joined Ponder in graduating from college this spring. Conroy played four collegiate seasons at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Smith competed for five seasons at the University of Wisconsin.
Jonathan Yaun and Drew Nesbitt will continue their PGA TOUR-sanctioned careers, as both players were part of last year’s season on PGA TOUR Canada. Nesbitt competed in two PGA TOUR Americas events during the Latin America Swing after Monday Qualifying.
Additionally, Ian Peng, Willy Pumarol, Kameron Williams and Carey Bina earned exempt membership to play a full North America Swing schedule.
Players to Earn Conditional Status: Xavier Marcoux, Conor McGrath, Abel Gallegos, Morgan Deneen, SM Lee, Blair Bursey, Raj Ghosh, Colin Bowles, Andrew O’Leary, Alex Shead, Elliott Grayson, Flint Bekkers, Matthew Clearly, William Wann, Evan Long, Egor Eroshenko, James Beam and Andrew Farraye
Site: Dothan, Alabama
Course: Robert Trent Jones Golf Trails at Highland Oaks – Highlands/Marshwood
Notables: Edmonton native and Lipscomb University alum Will Holan is in the field in Alabama. Holan became the first individual conference champion from Lipscomb since 2018 and helped lead the Bison to the first Atlantic Sun Conference Championship in program history … Alejandro Madariaga is teeing it up after making four starts during the Latin America Swing … Austen Christensen finished T27 at the 69th ECP Brazil Open after Monday Qualifying … Travis Vick was the low-amateur at the 2022 U.S. Open. Vick finished No. 12 in the 2023 PGA TOUR University ranking after playing collegiately at the University of Texas.
Results: Finishers one through nine earned exempt membership to the North America Swing on PGA TOUR Americas; finishers 10-25 plus ties earned conditional status.
Jay Card III carded four consecutive rounds in the 60s to total 24-under and take medalist honors by eight strokes at the Dothan, Alabama Q-School site for PGA TOUR Americas. The New York native was one of nine players to earn exempt membership to the North America Swing. Card played 39 events on the Korn Ferry Tour over the past two seasons, with his best finish being tied for sixth at the 2022 LECOM Suncoast Classic.
Georgia alum Beck Burnette (a) was the only amateur to earn exempt membership, as the spring graduate joined Card in shooting the lowest second-round score at Alabama (64/-8). Graduates of the 2023 class, Mason Williams (Georgia Southern) and Ford Clegg (Mississippi State), are set to play a full North America Swing schedule. Williams had success on the Korn Ferry Tour earlier this year after marking his first appearance on the Tour with a tied for ninth finish at the Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club. Clegg made the cut in his PGA TOUR debut last year at the Sanderson Farms Championship.
Will Cannon, Trey Shirley, Tripp Kinney and Graysen Huff will extend their PGA TOUR-sanctioned careers, as each player has previously held membership on either the Korn Ferry Tour, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica or PGA TOUR Canada. David Perkins recorded the lowest round of the tournament (63/-9) and finished inside the top nine to gain exempt status.
Players to Earn Conditional Status: Patrick Moriarty, Zach Burry, Joseph Juszczyk, Mason Lenhart, Jacob Bergeron, Chris Nido, Ty Gingerich (a), Chris Minton, Austen Christiansen, Logan Perkins, Ben Shipp, Alejandro Madariaga Couttolenc, Ben VanScoyk, Blake Dyer, Trevor Hulbert, Connor Schmidt and Reece Coleman (a)
