Monday qualifiers: 3M Open

The 3M Open Championship Monday qualifier ended without drama at Victory Links Golf Club in Blaine, MN. Norman Xiong, who was the last man in and qualified for his first PGA TOUR event, was relieved his clear cut finish came without the standard, grueling PGA TOUR qualifier playoff.

“It felt really good when the last group came in; no playoff, no guy that kicked me out, that was definitely a relief,” Xiong said to GolfChannel.com.

Stephen Stallings Jr. was medalist after shooting a bogey-free 61 (-10). His round included eight birdies and an eagle. Tom Lovelady, 2018 and 2019 PGA TOUR member, finished second after firing a 62 (-9). He will make his second PGA TOUR start of 2021, his first coming at the AT&T Byron Nelson where he missed the cut.

Justin Quiban was the third qualifier after shooting -8 (63). He will make his PGA TOUR debut this week.

“My heart was going so fast. The last few holes, I just did my breathing,” Quiban told Philstar Global.

QUALIFIERS

Stephen Stallings Jr. (61)
Age: 26
College: University of Kentucky
Turned pro: 2018
PGA TOUR starts: 6
Cuts made: 4
PGA TOUR earnings: $51,854
Twitter: @stallzjr
Notes: Will play his fifth event of the 2020-21 season. Has made three cuts this season. Finished T75 last week at the Barbasol Championship after rounds of 67-73-71-76.

Post-round quotes from Stallings Jr.:

PGATOUR.COM: As you have qualified for more and more TOUR events, do you feel you’ve become more comfortable keeping the birdies going once you get to that -6 mark?

Stephen Stallings Jr.: “Since the Travelers Monday qualifier, I definitely feel more comfortable at the -6/-7 under mark because I broke through the ceiling, so to speak. I wasn’t worried today that I was going to run out of birdies. I knew if I just kept hitting good shots, I would get there. Today was just crazy because I couldn’t do anything wrong for that six-hole stretch on the back nine.”

Tom Lovelady (62)
Age: 27
College: University of Alabama
Turned pro: 2016
PGA TOUR starts: 43
Cuts made: 21
PGA TOUR earnings: $846,430
Twitter: @TomLovelady25
Notes: Will make his second PGA TOUR start of the 2020-21 season. Maintained full status on the PGA TOUR from 2017-19. Finished T2 at the 2018 Barbasol Championship and T5 at the 2018 Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship. Two-time Rolex Junior All-American and was ranked No. 13 nationally in the Golfweek Junior Boys Rankings.

Justin Quiban (63)
Age: 27
Turned pro: 2012
PGA TOUR starts: 0
Twitter: @Jusquiban
Notes: Recorded two victories on the Philippine Golf Tour. Placed T16 at the California State Open Championship at the beginning of July. Finished T6 in the 2019 Sarawak Championship. Recorded a Top 20 finish at the 2019 Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament presented by Panasonic. Best professional finish came at the Resorts World Manila Masters in 2017 on the Asian Tour. Represented the Philippines in the Asian Games as an amateur. Ranked 1665 on WAGR.

Norman Xiong (64)
Age: 22
College: University of Oregon
Turned pro: 2018
PGA TOUR starts: 9
Made cuts: 2
PGA TOUR earnings: $48,326
Twitter: @NormanXiong
Notes: Xiong will make his first PGA TOUR start since 2019. Missed six cuts in six starts on the PGA TOUR in 2018. Made two cuts in three starts in 2019. He played an entire season on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019 and finished T18 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Championship. Played collegiately at the University of Oregon. Was 2018 Fred Haskins Award and Jack Nicklaus Award winner. Was also first-team PING All-American in 2018. He was ranked the top junior golfer in California’s high school class of 2016 and represented the United States in the Junior Ryder Cup. Came up as a junior through the First Tee – San Diego.

NOTES

Notables who missed qualifying: Daniel Wetterich, Robert Garrigus, Broc Everett, John Augenstein, Justin Suh, Michael Visacki and Chase Koepka.

2020-21 Monday Qualifier statistics

Last event’s qualifier result (Barbasol Championship): Bobby Bai (T42), Scott Gutschewski (MC), David Gazzalo (T42), and Trey Shirley (T67)
Total money earned by Monday qualifiers on TOUR this season: $1,051,827
Best finish: M.J. Daffue (T12, Sanderson Farms Championship)
Next Monday qualifier: Barracuda Championship at Hidden Valley Country Club in Sandy, Utah (August 2, 2021)