Freddy Schott eagled the final hole to secure a two stroke victory at the Final Stage of DP World Tour Qualifying School to become one of 33 players to earn their DP World Tour cards at INFINITUM.

The post Schott tops leading 33 players at DP World Tour Qualifying School appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The Fire Pit Collective’s Ryan French, AKA Monday Q Info on Twitter, shared the painful tale of Blake Abercrombie. A former PGA Tour Canada and PGA Tour Latinoamerica player, Abercrombie entered the first stage of Q-School for the DP World Tour.

The 27-year-old plunked his $2,000 entry fee down, spent even more on travel to Denmark from the US, and, well . . .

Disqualified for using a rangefinder? Once? Ouch, indeed.

Rangefinders are being allowed at more and more golf tournaments. In fact, that above photo of South African tour pro Daniel van Tonder is from the 2021 PGA Championship, where this helpful piece of technology was legal.

But unfortunately for Abercrombie, they still aren’t allowed at DP World Tour Q-School. And even more unfortunate is that using one even once results in a disqualification.

Yeah, yeah, Blake should have known to ask before teeing off. Still, that’s a pretty harsh rule — and one all golfers can learn from.

Anyway, hopefully Blake at least got to do some sightseeing in Denmark. We hear it’s lovely this time of year.

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The post This DP World Tour Q-School disqualification might be the most painful DQ story we’ve ever heard appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Keely Levins

For nearly two decades, the USGA and R&A have allowed amateurs to compete in professional qualifying schools without jeopardising their amateur status. But now the LPGA Tour has decided that for its qualifying series, only professionals will be allowed to play in the final stage.

The LPGA Tour announced the change to its criteria on Thursday, noting that golfers can play as amateurs in stages I and II of Q-Series. But any player who advances to or is exemption into the final stage — an eight-round tournament that spans over two weeks — must turn pro to be eligible.

The change goes into effect this year. Tour officials cited the desire to create an equal playing field for those committed to playing full time on tour.

“LPGA Q-Series is the final stage to competing on the LPGA Tour, which is a fully professional tour that requires that its Membership competes as professional athletes,” said Ricki Lasky, Chief Tour Business and Operations Officer for the LPGA, in a press release. “Ensuring all competitors have made the same choice to be a professional player elevates the Q-Series competition and creates the most appropriate options for athletes at different stages of their careers.”

The decision eliminates the option for college golfers to play in the final stage as amateurs, earn an LPGA card and defer using the card until after their college season finishes in the spring. The deferral programme began in 2018 and attempted to give collegiate players the best of both worlds: If you made it through Q-Series, you could maintain your amateur status with the guarantee of being able to join the tour after having the opportunity to play out your collegiate career with your teammates — and you’d still have the chance to play in the Augusta Women’s Amateur, too.

But it was rarely utilised.

Of the 16 amateurs who made it through Q-Series since the deferral was announced, only two of them made use of it: Jennifer Kupcho and Maria Fassi. The other 14 players turned pro immediately, missing out on the spring semester and NCAAs. While Kupcho and Fassi were able to play out their amateur careers with their teams and shine at the ANWA, starting their pro careers in July instead of January made it harder to keep their cards: With fewer tournaments to play, they had fewer opportunities to move up the money list. Both players kept their cards after the 2019 season.

One aspect of Q-Series that hasn’t changed is that all players who make it through stage II, regardless of if they’re pros or amateurs, will get Epson Tour status. Amateurs will be allowed to compete on the Epson Tour, with the option to turn pro after their collegiate seasons end. Noted Lasky: “Providing Epson Tour status to those athletes who advance through Q School but choose to retain their college eligibility provides an appropriate pathway for those players to complete their college season or career and then immediately compete on the Epson Tour.”

The LPGA said it will continue to work with the Women’s Golf Coaches Association on creating ways for college players who aspire to play pro golf to work their way on to the LPGA Tour.

This year’s LPGA Q-Series will run from December 1-4 at Magnolia Grove (Crossings and Falls Courses) in Mobile, Alabama, then continue on December 8-11 at Highland Oaks (Highlands and Marshwood Courses) in Dothan, Alabama.

Players finishing inside the top 45 and ties following the conclusion of the cumulative eight rounds of Q-Series will receive LPGA Tour status for the following season. All players finishing outside the top 20 and ties will also receive Epson Tour status.

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The post LPGA changes Q-Series rules, requires entrants be pros and revokes deferral option for college golfers appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
Earning a PGA Tour card is a golfer’s dream come true. Unfortunately, that dream is often short-lived.

Since Q school’s overhaul in 2012, the PGA Tour has welcomed 50 new members every season from the Korn Ferry Tour: the top 25 point earners from the regular season and the top 25 from the circuit’s playoff series. (Until this year, it was money, not points, that determined the 50.) That gauntlet is not quite as cannibalistic as the old Q-school framework; if the past was the equivalent of climbing Kilimanjaro solo, the present is like scaling Everest with a team of sherpas with a luxury tent. Nevertheless, it’s still a challenging feat.

But coming down the mountain is an endeavour in itself. And as you will see, one that leads to its share of stumbles.

The 2019 Korn Ferry graduates are the seventh class under the tour’s “new” promotion system. If the past six classes are any indication, many will be back on the developmental tour come fall.

We ran the numbers for the 300 players who have earned their PGA Tour cards through the then-Web.com Tour regular season and its Finals. Here are the odds facing the tour’s 50 newest members, along with several other facts and figures.

For starters, you’re more likely to lose your card than keep it

As a refresher, the top 125 players in the FedEx Cup point standings at the end of the regular season don’t just make the playoffs, they keep their cards for next season. Out of those 300 players, only 42 per cent reached the tour’s postseason, and more important, avoided demotion. That means, on average, 21 players from the 50 get full status. (To clarify, the 50 Korn Ferry graduates don’t technically enjoy full status, as they are subject to a priority rank, which comes in play when trying to enter a tournament. Only one player—this year, Scottie Scheffler—is exempt for finishing atop the full-season and the Finals points list.)

This past season, 19 players were able to make the playoffs, although 20 kept their cards thanks to Martin Trainer’s win at the Puerto Rico Open. Of this 19, only two—Lucas Glover and Sungjae Im—reached East Lake, which comes with its own rewards. Speaking of which …

Reaching the Tour Championship is a difficult ask … but it can be done

Advancing to the season finale earns you an invitation to the Masters and U.S. Open, along with a guaranteed minimum $400,000 bonus … which is more than all but two players made for the entirety of the 2019 Korn Ferry season.

The odds of accomplishing this, however, aren’t great. Just nine players out of the 300—3 per cent—have made it to Atlanta. Though clearly, it can be done. The highest finisher for a first-year graduate is Xander Schauffele, who won the 2017 Tour Championship to finish third in the FedEx Cup standings.

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

There are more wins among Korn Ferry grads than you think

On average, the number of PGA Tour events won in a given year by c grads from the previous season is nearly six (5.83, to be exact). This number is slightly inflated thanks to the class of 2016, which submitted 10 trophies from nine players (Schauffele as the two-time winner). Subtract that group the total, however, and the average remains a respectable five wins per year. Which matches the production of the 2018 class, with Trainer, Max Homa, Cameron Champ, Dylan Frittelli and Adam Long winning this past season.

This is a bigger deal than you think given that a PGA Tour win comes with a two-year exemption, regardless of your finish on the FedEx Cup points list.

It is especially rough for true rookies

The term “graduates” might be a tad misleading. A majority of players—60 per cent—who are moving on to the PGA Tour from the Korn Ferry Tour actually have had PGA Tour cards before. According to the numbers, these vets have a better shot at hanging on to their cards in their second (or third) go-around than during their first.

Here are the numbers to back that up: The tour welcomes, on average, 20 true rookies each season. However, an average of seven stays for a sophomore season. Just six made it to the FedEx Cup Playoffs this year, with seven (Trainer) keeping their card.

Of course, those who fail to make the FedEx Cup Playoffs do get a chance at the Korn Ferry Finals. How does that go?

A second, but slim, chance awaits

Out of the 150 players that grabbed their cards through the Korn Ferry Finals, 56 per cent of them were PGA Tour players who finished outside the FedEx Cup 125. That 56 per cent is all tour players, not just recent Korn Ferry graduates. For recent grads, the number is shockingly low: on average, two per year.

The 2019 Korn Ferry graduates begin their tour pushes this week at The Greenbrier. For many of them, it’s the fruition of a life-long dream. Here’s hoping that dream continues a little longer.

The post Most of the 50 new PGA Tour players this season won’t keep their cards. Our statistical analysis appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
The nightmares suffered at Q-School are too frightful for even the most sadistic of “American Horror Story” episodes. While some players are able to escape from such hell—including Cody Blick, who bounced back from having his clubs stolen to shoot a final-round 63—for others, they are victims of inexorable fates.

Case in point: the plight of Patrick Sullivan.

Sullivan, a 35-year-old journeyman who missed 20 of 23 cuts on the Web.com Tour last season, looked to be in fine standing to retain Web status for 2019, in 23rd place heading into the final round of Q-School at Whirlwind G.C. in Chandler, Ariz. Unfortunately for Sullivan, on a day when the field went low, he hovered around par for 13 holes, and then had the bad fortune of finding the water on the 14th hole.

From the green:

We’ve heard all the QSchool horror stories over the years. I was wondering if anyone had ever putted it into the water on the back nine to miss by one? If not…..dibs. ?‍

— Patrick Sullivan (@sullivangolf) December 9, 2018

Sullivan ultimately made a double, and followed with a bogey on the 15th. And while he did mount a commendable charge, answering with a birdie on the 16th and eagle on the 17th, Sullivan missed a four-footer on the final hole:

The fine line can be cruel.

Patrick Sullivan (@sullivangolf) went birdie-eagle on holes 16 and 17 Sunday to move within a shot of the current projected top-40.

This was his birdie try at the last. pic.twitter.com/jSlnrf55ni

— Web.com Tour (@WebDotComTour) December 9, 2018

As Sullivan’s Tweet alluded to, he finished with a final-round 70, 17 under for the tournament…and one shot out of the top 40, which would have bestowed guaranteed starts on the Web.com circuit.

It’s not a total lost cause for Sullivan; he does have conditional status for next season. But there will be a lot of Monday qualifiers in his future. Let’s hope it’s a future that doesn’t serve as another Q-School cautionary tale.

The post Pro putts ball into water at Q-School, misses four-footer on the 18th hole to lose status by one shot appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
Even though it no longer grants PGA Tour access, Q-School remains a notoriously brutal endeavor. But the cards Cody Blick was just handed makes that endeavour damn near unplayable.

At the end of the third round of the Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament, the 25-year-old Blick was 10 under for the event, tied for 74th. While catching the leaders (23 under) was a pipe dream, Blick had a reasonable shot at a top-40 finish (after Saturday, that standing hovered around 14 under). An important figure, as those who finish 11th to 40th earn eight guaranteed starts on next year’s Web.com circuit.

Unfortunately for Blick, he’ll have to surmount that charge with clubs that aren’t his own, as his own bats were apparently swiped. On Sunday morning, Blick took to Instagram, pleading for whoever took his bag to return it, offering $5,000 for his sticks, no questions asked.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

?STOLEN GOLF CLUBS?TO WHOEVER HAS OR HAS SEEN MY GOLF CLUBS- I will give you $5,000 cash no questions asked. Please call (925)766-6034

A post shared by Cody Blick (@blick_golf) on Dec 9, 2018 at 8:02am PST

Alas, it appears Blick was forced to use a borrowed set, teeing off at Whirlwind G.C. in Chandler, Ariz. at 10:39 a.m. local time.

Through his first three holes Blick, who finished 12th last year on the Mackenize Tour’s Order of Merit, is one under, which has dropped him to T-75. No cheering in the press box, but here’s hoping Blick can pull off a miracle.

UPDATE: Whatever set of clubs Cody Blick used on Sunday, he might want to hang on to them. Following a one under through three holes start to his round, Blick played his final 15 holes in eight under, including three straight birdies to finish off a final-round 63. It was his low round of the week, and it vaulted him into a tie for 25th, a significant finishing position:

Wild: Cody Blick got his clubs stolen last night at @WebDotComTour Q-School. Today he shot 9-under in the final round to finish T25 and earn a spot in the first eight Web Tour events of 2019.

— Adam Stanley (@adam_stanley) December 9, 2018

Blick’s 63, which featured a back-nine 31, jumped him 49 spots up the leader board, earning him eight Web.com Tour starts in the process. When he tees it up at The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic in January, he’ll be making just the second Web.com Tour start of his career, the last coming at the 2016 Ellie Mae Classic, where he tied for 53rd. Blick has spent the bulk of his pro career on the Mackenzie Tour, playing in 33 events since 2016 and collecting seven top 10 finishes and two runner ups.

Even more impressive was that, according to Adam Stanley, this wasn’t a ready-made set of clubs. Blick pieced together a bag with some help from everybody:

Update: I’ve been told Blick used wedges from the pro shop, borrowed a driver from the superintendent, and picked up some “random” irons for his round today. More to come.

— Adam Stanley (@adam_stanley) December 9, 2018

All things considered, this was one of the more impressive 63s you’ll see in professional golf this season.

The post Pro has clubs stolen before final day of Q-School, offers $5,000 to anyone who finds them (UPDATE: Cody Blick shoots 63, earns Web.com Tour status) appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
Earlier this week word leaked that the PGA Tour is laying the groundwork for a developmental venture, one that would give top amateur golfers access to several professional circuits around the globe.

“The PGA Tour has been working to develop a new program that will identify, prepare and transition top collegiate golfers to professional golf,” the tour told Golf Digest.

“This program will be designed to reward season-long collegiate play with varying levels of playing access to tours operated under the PGA Tour umbrella, while upholding the principles and virtues of collegiate athletics. The PGA Tour is working in collaboration with its players, Policy Board and various other stakeholders to design a mutually beneficial platform.”

Although the parameters are coming into focus, the program is not expected to debut anytime soon. That hasn’t stopped a handful of PGA Tour veterans from airing their grievances with the plan.

The PGA Tour used to have a pipeline from college to the Tour—it was called Q-School,” said Olin Browne, a three-time tour winner, on Twitter. “Kids used to be able qualify directly to the PGA Tour but someone changed it so college kids could only qualify for the Web.com Tour. Now they’re trying to reverse that? Brilliant? Hardly.”

Historically, Q-School would reward the top 25 players in the six-round tournament a tour card, with an additional 25 exemptions to the top finishers on the Hogan/Nike/Buy.com/Nationwide Tour. But in 2014 Q-School underwent a major revision, with college players forced to fight for a Web.com Tour card instead (the top 25 money winners on the circuit still get a PGA Tour card). Browne’s son Olin Jr. is currently playing at the final stage of the Q-School Tournament in Arizona, tied for 101st after a first-round 71.

Other past winners echoed Browne’s sentiments.

“Well said Olin Browne,” replied John Cook, who owns 11 tour victories. “The college system is strong now, both men’s and women’s programs. They travel the world to play. An avenue to the PGA Tour should be revisited.”

Also checking in was Bob Estes, who has made over 650 starts on tour, including eight appearances last season.

“In 1988, myself, Billy Mayfair and Larry Silviera all went straight from college to the PGA Tour,” wrote Estes. “No mini-tours or secondary tour necessary to prepare us. For others, it was a GREAT thing.”

While far from new—officials with the tour initially approached the Golf Coaches Association of America about a partnership roughly a decade ago—the tour believes the endeavor would not only serve as a feeder system for the sport, but also encourage amateurs to stay in school.

The post PGA Tour veterans sound off on new draft system for amateur players: “Brilliant? Hardly” appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Todd Clements has waltzed through the final stage of Sunshine Tour Q-School in South Africa but won’t be relinquishing his amateur status immediately.

The MENA Tour’s runaway 2017 amateur order of merit champion finished second of the 108 starters at Randpark G.C. in Johannesburg, a second round eight-under 64 highlighting the brilliant performance in the 90-hole marathon.

However, the 21-year-old still has amateur ambitions, chief among them being selected to represent England at the Eisenhower Trophy in Ireland this September. The world amateur teams championship will be played at Carton House near Dublin from Sept. 5-8 and would be a fitting sign-off to a stellar amateur career which included victory in the 87th English Amateur Championship at The Berkshire last August.

Photo courtesy Sunshine Tour

There is a chance he could cut the amateur umbilical cord in August if he were to miss Eisenhower selection although that appears unlikely barring a massive loss of form. At 18th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR, a spot behind Dubai prodigy Rayhan Thomas), Clements is the highest ranked Englishman and is set to be named in a four-man team for next month’s European Nations Cup in Spain in what is a precursor to Eisenhower selection.

Whenever he turns professional, the Londoner will have options as he eyes the ultimate goal of a 2019 European Tour card. He can take up the Sunshine Tour card at any stage this season and is also likely to play the remodelled MENA Tour which has been shortened to an August-November season with expanded 72 hole (from 54) events offering more prize money and Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points.

Clements opted to play in Joburg for the experience of cut-throat Q-School pressure looking ahead to the European Tour qualifiers, the first stage of which he will automatically skip if he can get his WAGR inside the top 15. He handled the Randpark test with aplomb too, rounds of 67-64-68 and “bad day at the office, it happens” 74 taking him into the final round with a share of the lead. He had led by as many as seven strokes at one stage during the week only for a self diagnosed intercostal muscle strain (rib area) picked up on the range ahead of Friday’s final round seeing him blow out to a closing 75 and second place at -12. He finish four shots behind South African professional Thriston Lawrence (closing 65) and a shot ahead of fellow amateur Louis Albertse (RSA).

“I actually picked up a slight injury in the morning so to go through the pain barrier and get finished and finish second overall was quite a delight actually,” Clements told GolfDigestme.com

“The whole experience exceeded my expectations in all honesty. I went to further my experience in the golfing world so to be able to compete straight away was a delight really. That was the goal, to give myself options when I do turn professional and now I’ve got those options.”

Clements finished leading amateur in seven of the nine events he entered during last season’s MENA Tour including the last six events of the year on the trot. There were runner-up finishes at the Dubai Creek Open (T-2 with Thomas) and Golf Citizen Abu Dhabi Open as he finished 110 points ahead of compatriot Sam Hobday despite playing six fewer events.

The developmental Middle East and North Africa circuit is meant as a finishing school for aspiring pros and is certainly proving its worth in Clements’ case. The Colchester lad seems at ease with his game after one of the most mentally challenging examinations.

Photo courtesy Sunshine Tour

“It’s a longer tournament so your concentration levels have to be a bit higher but I actually found it very similar to any other events which is great,” Clements said of Sunshine Tour Q-School.

“When it comes down to it, you are just playing golf every day whether you’re playing for a living, the Eisenhower, the Nations Cup or European Tour Q-School, you just try and play golf. That was actually quite reassuring that there isn’t much of a difference and if you get that kind of mind set, you can definitely compete.”

Clements intends having the rib injury checked upon his return to London on Monday. He puts it down to overuse after a hectic schedule which included representing Europe in the Bonallack Trophy in Doha a fortnight ago. “Hopefully it’s not too serious,” he said.

Related: Thomas adds Bonallack Trophy to amateur CV

.@ThristonL claims a four-stroke victory over England’s @ClementsTodd at the final stage of qualifying school @RandparkGolf

Read more: https://t.co/z2KnN4zNhR pic.twitter.com/MKvh2wCZcg

— Sunshine Tour (@Sunshine_Tour) March 24, 2018

The post Clements cruises through Sunshine Tour Q-School but will retain his amateur status…for now appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 29-year-old Abu Dhabi-based Englishman’s forgettable 2017 suffered another “crushing” blow Friday when he failed to advance from the first stage of European Tour Q-School in Austria – by a single stroke.

Joy carded rounds of 68-72-68-66 at GolfClub Schloss Ebriechsdorf for a -3 aggregate of 274. Spaniard Tommy Cocha, who fired a stunning final round of eight under 61 to finish -15 and win by five strokes, headed a total of 22 qualifiers from the first stage, section B qualifier.

Unfortunately Joy, whose year has been derailed by a savage bout of malaria contracted during the MENA Tour’s South African swing, was so close and yet so far again. He’s now played Q-School five times but has never made it beyond the second stage.

The Yas Links-attached pro recovered from a “random” four-putt in the delayed third round with a pair of birdies to dip under par and get back to level for the tournament. He knew he needed to go low in the final round and although he managed a three under 66, Joy was left to rue  “lots of [missed] opportunities”.

“It’s caps off a dismal display of golf over the summer,“ Joy said in his refreshingly honest warts and all blog.

“Since having malaria I have not been able to come close to any sort of form that resembles the game I am used too. All the goals set forth for the year have come to a crashing halt and left me feeling absolutely deflated.

“You always want to try and stay as positive as you can but when you bring nothing to the table it gets increasingly difficult to remain upbeat and brimming with confidence which every golfer at this level requires to perform to the highest level.”

Joy said he could accept failure if he’d brought his “A/B game to the party” but had disappointingly been running at C/D level for months and that “takes it out of you more mentally than physically.”

He hopes to rebound quickly at the MENA Tour’s Golf Citizen Abu Dhabi Open at his home Yas Links from Monday. Fourth on the developmental circuit’s order of merit, Joy still has much to play for with the MENA Tour champion earning European Tour starts in Dubai, Malaysia and Morocco and for the first time a PGA Tour invite to the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational. A full Sunshine Tour card for 2018 and exemption to the final stage of qualifying for the Asian Tour also await although Joy faces stiff competition from in-form Swede Fredrik From and countryman Jamie Elon who is through to the second stage of European Tour Q-School via a qualifier in Scotland a fortnight ago.

“I know I have the game and what it takes to get and stay at the highest level of golf,” said Joy. “It’s just so disappointing at this stage of the season that I’m going to have to wait another year to get the opportunity to play and perform at the level that I want to be.

“Many thanks for all your support this year,” Joy continued in his blog post to his loyal followers. “Sorry it’s been depressing reading but hopefully the form will turn for the good and [I can] start posting some numbers that I can be proud of again.”

The post Luke Joy “absolutely deflated” after his European Tour dream is put back on ice appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.