Monday qualifiers: Workday Charity Open

Here is a look at the two players who Monday qualified for the Workday Charity Open. There are two spots available at each Monday Qualifier after the COVID-19 break.

QUALIFIERS

Donnie Trosper (62)
Age: 23
College: Michigan State University
Turned pro: 2019
PGA TOUR starts: 1
PGA TOUR earnings: $0
Twitter: @DonnieTrosper
Notes: This is his second consecutive successful Monday Qualifier after making it through last week at the Rocket Mortgage Monday Q … He shot 78-77 and missed the cut … Played a round at Detroit Country Club (site of the Rocket Mortgage Open) the week prior to event with former Detroit Red Wing Darren McCarty and former Detroit Lion TJ Lang … His 62 Monday included eight birdies and an eagle … This will be the first PGA TOUR event he has to sleep in a hotel; he is from the Detroit area and stayed at home last week … Although he is a 2020 Korn Ferry Tour member, last week was his first start on any of the PGA TOUR sanctioned tours … Made it from Pre-Qualifying all the way to final stage at Q school … Shot every round under par in Q school … First team all-Big Ten his only year at MSU … Had a total of seven top-10 finishes his senior year at MSU, including a win … Won four American Junior Golf Association events in 2014, tying for second all-time with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson

MJ Daffue (63)
Age: 31
College: Lamar University
Turned pro: 2012
PGA TOUR starts: 1
PGA TOUR earnings: $7,110
Twitter: @mjdaffue13

Notes: Has successfully Monday qualified in six of his last 10 attempts (including five on the Korn Ferry Tour last year) … Not only Monday qualified five times last year but also didn’t finish outside of the Top 29 in any of those five starts … His best finish was a T15 at the Price Cutter Charity Classic presented by Dr. Pepper … Has played on the Sunshine Tour for parts of four different seasons … His best finish on the Sunshine Tour was a T4 in 2013 at the TELKOM Pro-Am … Played one event on the Asian Developmental Tour in 2017 and finished T6 … Said his goal this year is to play as many PGA TOUR Monday qualifiers and get into top 200 of FedEx points and into Korn Ferry Finals next year … Fell just short of accumulating enough Korn Ferry Points to get temporary membership last season … Had to go back to first stage, he missed at second stage … His 63 in the Monday qualifier included 11 birdies and two bogeys … In the winter, he played seven events on the All Pro Tour with a worst finish of T6 and had three runner-ups … Finished third at All Pro Tour event in June after opening with a 61.

KAMIE DAFFUE Q&A

A quick chat with Kamie Daffue, the wife of MJ Daffue, after her husband Monday qualifyed at the Workday Charity Open:

PGATOUR.COM: Did you have any idea about what pro golf was when you met MJ and the challenges you would face once he turned pro?

KAMIE DAFFUE: “When we met in college, he said he was going to be a pro golfer and I was thinking, ‘Yeah, right.’ Then he kept doing well in college and I really started to look at golf more intently and thought he really had what it takes. So coming out of college, we came out on a really big high and then he hit a slump for a few years. It was a letdown for sure; I was disappointed, not in him but for him. He had worked so hard for so long and he just wasn’t getting the payoff from the effort he was putting in.”

PGATOUR.COM: Is there a particular moment that you remember that made you realize pro golf wasn’t as glamourous as maybe you thought, or is it something that happens over time?

KAMIE DAFFUE: “I know the exact moment. We had gone to South Africa to play. I was still in college, MJ had just turned pro. He had gone through the Sunshine Tour Q school and he had done very well, he came in first or second. And then all of sudden he had to stay there. And I had this idea that a pro golfer’s wife was running across the green, and hugging after wins, like a lot of people think it’s like. Then all of sudden two days before we are supposed to leave South Africa, we decided it was best for him to stay there. The Sunshine Tour was just kicking off. It then hit me though, that at 20 years old, I was about to fly halfway around the world by myself. I great up in a small Texas town and I was petrified. That is when it hit me, as happy I was for him, it was going to be a learning experience.”

PGATOUR.COM: What is the longest MJ and you have been away from each other consecutively?

KAMIE DAFFUE: “He was gone several years ago from the week before Thanksgiving until the first week in March (16 weeks) And that was the hardest its ever been. We decided after that the longest we would be away from each other was five weeks. If he cannot get off the road, then I will go somewhere and meet him.”

PGATOUR.COM: Are you used to being separated for that long or does is it still hard to be alone a large portion of time?

KAMIE DAFFUE: “I have to remind myself when he is here that he is an equal partner. I get into my independent mode. When he is gone, I really am self-sufficient, but you have responsibilities and commitments you made as a couple. It is definitely a challenge. I get so used to doing everything by myself, it takes a day or two when he comes home to adjust. It takes some time to take a step back and let him be an equal partner.”

PGATOUR.COM: What are the conversations like each year about whether to keep going and chasing the PGA TOUR or do you have them at all?

KAMIE DAFFUE: “I feel like it’s been a dual partnership decision right from the beginning. My faith in MJ has never wavered. Just today he was waiting for the final scores to come in and he said, ‘ There are guys with PGA TOUR cards still to come in.’ I had to remind him that he was just as good as them; just because he doesn’t have his card doesn’t mean he isn’t as good. There has never been a conversation that he must have his TOUR card by this date, or you need to find something else. I just have an unwavering faith in his ability and hard work. I have never seen someone so driven in my entire life. He puts his entire effort into that one thing, and if he can do that, I can do that with him.”

PGATOUR.COM: What is typical week like for you when MJ qualifies, do you watch the scoreboard throughout the day or try to go about your day normally?

KAMIE DAFFUE: “I do pretty well throughout most of the day. I know it’s out of my hands and I can’t do anything. In the beginning of his career, it was such a helpless feeling, I so bad just wanted to do something to help and there isn’t anything you can do. At home its more living on a prayer, I say a little prayer for him and hope for the best. At the end of the day, though, those nerves really kick in and it’s the constant refresh of the leaderboard.”

PGATOUR.COM: If you wanted golf fans to know one thing about your life as a spouse of a pro golfer what would it be?

KAMIE DAFFUE: “Whether your husband is the No. 1 player in the world, or your husband is playing in Mon Q after Mon Q, there is huge sacrifices that go into it. There is sacrifice on the players’ part; they miss birthdays, anniversaries, and family events. There is also sacrifices on the home front too, because of things like birthdays, you miss them more on those days. The anniversary of my mother’s death is a tough one for me and MJ is always at a tournament, every year. We don’t live near my family, as they live in a rural area and its not close to any good golf courses and MJ’s family lives in South Africa. It really is just MJ and I, so days like that can be really hard alone. It’s not as glamourous as everyone thinks. People either think we are really rich or ask us rudely how we pay our bills. So just be considerate.”

NOTES

NOTABLE MISSES: Brian Davis 64, Brad Fritsch 64, Michael Gligic 66, Zack Sucher 68, Josh Teater 68, Wes Roach 69

STRENGTH OF WORKDAY CHARITY OPEN MONDAY QUALIFIER:
Combined number of PGA TOUR starts: More than 2,740
Number of players with at least one PGA TOUR win: 2
Combined number of PGA TOUR wins: 5
Combined PGA TOUR earnings: More than $74.4 million
Combined Korn Ferry Tour wins: 25
Player with most PGA TOUR wins in the field: Johnson Wagner, 3

COURSE INFO
Name of course: Country Club of Muirfield Village – 6,835 yards, 72.4 rating, 131 slope

2019-2020 SEASON MONDAY QUALIFIER STATS
Average Medalist score: 64.9
Average last qualifying spot score: 66.5
Total number of cuts made: 10 of 50 (20%)
Most recent results (Rocket Mortgage Classic): Donnie Trosper MC, Kurt Kitayama MC
Money earned: $325,518
Best Finish: Garrett Osborn, T18, Sanderson Farms

NEXT MONDAY QUALIFIER
July 20th: 3M Open, Victory Links Golf Club

NOTES FROM OTHER TOURS
None of the eight Monday Qualifiers made the cut at the TPC Colorado Championship at Heron Lakes.