See who advanced from Second Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry
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SAVANNAH, Ga. – Nothing compares to Second Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.
It’s the perfect blend of high stakes and ultimate finality. Players who advance are guaranteed 2024 Korn Ferry Tour membership at minimum, with a chance to secure guarantee starts – and chase five PGA TOUR cards (and ties) – at Final Stage in December. Players who finish outside the cut line, without any backup status, are faced with an uncertain future in professional golf.
This week featured three Second Stage sites across the southeastern United States, with 47 players advancing to Final Stage, which will be contested Dec. 14-17 across TPC Sawgrass’ Dye’s Valley Course and Sawgrass Country Club (two rounds at each course).
The medalist and ties at each Second Stage site – Bryson Nimmer (pictured above), Connor Burgess, Mark Goetz, KK Limbhasut and Danny Walker – secured eight guaranteed starts on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour. Click here for a breakdown of all status and eligibility implications at Final Stage of Q-School.
Here's a capsule look at the players to advance from Second Stage of Q-School this week. (Two more sites will be contested Nov. 28-Dec. 1. Click here for a full schedule of Q-School sites).
Savannah, Georgia – The Landings Golf & Athletic Club (Deer Creek)
The top 15 and ties advanced to Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry. Seventeen players advanced at 8-under 280 or better.
Players to advance: Bryson Nimmer, Luke Long, Brandon Crick, Noah Goodwin, Daniel Summerhays, Spencer Ralston, Julian Suri, Reid Davenport, Andre Metzger, Grant Hirschman, Alistair Docherty, Tain Lee, Connor Howe, Noah Hofman, Ryan Blaum, Zach Bauchou, Joshua Creel
Bryson Nimmer earned medalist honors at 15-under 273, punctuated by a sizzling 10-under 62 in Friday’s final round, matching the week’s low score. Nimmer played collegiately at Clemson, turned pro in 2019 and has made 38 career starts between the PGA TOUR and Korn Ferry Tour, highlighted by a T10 at this year’s Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club – contested at the same Deer Creek track he mastered this week. Nimmer made just six cuts in 22 Korn Ferry Tour starts this season, finishing No. 141 on the season-long standings and bringing an uncertain future. Now though, the newly engaged 27-year-old has cemented guaranteed Korn Ferry Tour starts for 2024 – and he’ll chase his first TOUR card at Final Stage.
Notables to advance: Luke Long matched the week’s low score with a final-round 62 to finish tied for second at 14 under. The University of Houston alum played the 2021-22 season at the University of Arkansas as a graduate transfer, earning second-team All-SEC honors, before turning pro … Two natives of McCook, Nebraska, advanced at the Savannah site. Brandon Crick finished T2 at 14 under, perhaps the beginning of a redemption story after ending the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour season at No. 76 on the Points List, missing full status by a single position. Crick’s fellow McCook native Noah Hofman finished T12 at 8 under, draining a 4-footer for par at the 72nd hole to advance on the number … Perhaps the wildest bubble story went to Oklahoma State alum Zach Bauchou, the college roommate of Viktor Hovland, who finished with a triple bogey at No. 17 and a double bogey at No. 18, advancing squarely on the number at 8 under … Dakotas Tour legend Andre Metzger, 41, carded a final-round 65 to post 9-under 279 and advance with one shot to spare.
Notables to miss: Dan McCarthy (7 under) and T.J. Vogel (6 under), past winners of the Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club, narrowly missed advancing to Final Stage … Mitchell Meissner, who finished No. 1 on PGA TOUR Latinoamerica’s season-long Totalplay Cup in 2022, finished 6 under, two off the number to advance … Former PGA TOUR member Jim Knous finished 3 under, five back of the cut line.
Dothan, Alabama – Robert Trent Jones (Highland/Marshwood)
The top 15 and ties advanced to Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry. Fifteen players advanced at 7-under 281 or better.
Players to advance: Connor Burgess, Mark Goetz, Steven Fisk, Bryce Hendrix, Chad Hambright, Ryan Davis, Garett Reband, Alex Schaake, Blake McShea, Michael Arnaud, Keenan Huskey, James Swash, Nyasha Mauchaza, Mickey DeMorat, Marcus Byrd
Connor Burgess and Mark Goetz earned co-medalist honors at 19-under 269. Goetz shot a 5-under 67 to close, while Burgess shot a 4-under 68. Burgess, a Virginia Tech alum, played one Korn Ferry Tour event this season (The Ascendant presented by Blue) where he missed the cut. Goetz, who went to West Virginia University, played this season on PGA TOUR Canada where he made seven of nine cuts.
Notables to advance: Steven Fisk ended up one shot back at 18 under. Fisk spent 2023 on the Korn Ferry Tour where he notched one top-10 finish at the Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank … Alex Schaake fired rounds of 66-66 to close things out and staged quite the comeback after opening with a 5-over 77. He climbed nine spots on the leaderboard in the final round to earn a spot at Final Stage … Marcus Byrd earned one of the last spots at Final Stage. Byrd won four times this season on the APGA Tour, a record. He played four events on the PGA TOUR this season including The Genesis Invitational where he was the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption winner.
Notables to miss: Blayne Barber finished T34 and was six shots back of the qualifying number. But how about this? Barber – who fired an opening 10-over 82 and put an emotional video on social media sharing his perspective on professional golf, and his life’s future – shot an 8-under 64 in his final round. It was the round of the day.
Port St. Lucie, Florida – The Tesoro Club (Palmer)
The top 15 and ties advanced to Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry. Fifteen players advanced at 4-under 284 or better.
Players to advance: KK Limbhasut, Danny Walker, Davis Shore, Kristoffer Ventura, Van Holmgren, Brendon Jelley, Wes Homan, Alvaro Ortiz, Erik Compton, Cooper Dossey, Caleb Hicks, Dillon Board, John Pak, Dylan Meyer, Shunyat Hak
KK Limbhasut and Danny Walker earned co-medalist honors at 11-under 277, each carding 4-under 68 in the final round. Limbhasut went to the University of California-Berkeley and became fast friends with Collin Morikawa, who also majored in business. Walker played 15 events on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2023, notching one top-10 finish but missing seven cuts. He’s a two-time winner on PGA TOUR Canada.
Notables to advance: Kristoffer Ventura continues his road back to the PGA TOUR. Ventura finished at 9 under, two shots back of the medalist honor. He won twice in just 11 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019 to earn a PGA TOUR card. He was back on the Korn Ferry Tour this season and notched two top-10s … Alvaro Ortiz advanced to Final Stage despite starting the week with a 1-over 73. Ortiz played a full season on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022 … There were plenty of solid comebacks after some high opening-round scores in difficult conditions. Caleb Hicks, who just turned pro this year after graduating from the University of Texas-Arlington, made it through after a first-round 76; he rallied to a 5-under 283 total. Dillon Board, who turned pro in 2016 but has yet to make a Korn Ferry Tour start, opened with a 74; he also finished at 5-under 283. And Dylan Meyer, who made his pro debut at the 2018 U.S. Open where he finished T20, opened with a 78 but kept clawing back; he closed in 6-under 66 to advance on the number at 4 under … Also making it to Final Stage was John Pak, who swept college golf’s Player of the Year awards in 2021, winning the Fred Haskins, Ben Hogan, and Jack Nicklaus awards.
Notables to miss: Bo Hoag, last year’s medalist at Final Stage, shot 3-over 291 and was seven shots back of the qualifying number … Matt Hill, who won seven times in 2009 at North Carolina State including the individual NCAA Championship en route to winning the Haskins Award, finished at 5 over … Ryan Ruffels finished well back of the qualifying number and couldn’t match the success of his sister, Gabriela, who won three times this year on the Epson Tour.