7 Canadians started the six day, 108 hole challenge for 25 PGA Tour cards
Wed, 01 Dec 2010 17:08:31
by Golf Canada
Matt McQuillan and Ted Brown have gotten off to promising starts in their quest for a PGA Tour card on the opening day of the final stage of Q-School.
McQuillan of Kingston, Ont., and Brown of Peterborough, Ont., both opened with a 1-under 71 which leaves them tied for 25th. McQuillan was playing the Panther Lake course at the Orange County National Golf Centre while Brown was over on the Crooked Cat course.
McQuillan opened with a birdie and three bogeys on his opening nine holes before turning in three birdies on his second nine. Brown was 2-under through his first nine holes before a bumpy back nine saw him record three bogeys and two birdies over a six hole stretch.
If they can maintain their standing through the remaining five rounds, both will earn their PGA Tour card for 2011.
Vancouver's Richard T. Lee opened with an even par 71 on the Panther Lake course leaving him tied for 51st.
Chris Baryla of Vernon, B.C., also playing Panther Lake, was 1-over for the day, leaving him tied for 65th. Baryla already has his PGA Tour card for 2011 thanks to a medical exemption but he's playing this week to try and better his standing. Because of the medical exemption, he will need to earn over US$700,000 on a limited schedule to keep his card - unless, of course, he secures it again this week.
Matthew Richardson of Woodbridge, Ont., opened with a 74 on the Crooked Cat course which leaves him tied for 96.
Victoria's David McKenzie shot 3-over 75 on the Crooked Cat course. Three straight bogeys on his final four holes leaves him tied for 117th.
Jon Mills of Oshawa, Ont., struggled with four bogeys for an opening round 75 which left him tied for 135th.
The leader through the first round is Kyle Stanley, the 2009 Ben Hogan Award winner as the top collegiate golfer in the United States. He opened with a 7-under 65, two strokes better than a trio of golfers including Joseph Bramlett, a former Stanford player who is aiming to become the first black player to advance out of Q-School since Adrian Stills in 1986.
Outside of the top 25 and ties, anyone finishing 26 through 50 will receive a spot on the Nationwide Tour while everyone else will have some sort of conditional status on the development circuit.
