Summer isn’t even over, but many top-level golfers will find out in the next two weeks whether they have any shot to play on either the PGA Tour or Nationwide Tour in 2010.
The first of four stages of PGA Tour qualifying will take place between now and the end of September, and plenty of aspiring Tour players from Colorado will be taking part in the initial tournaments, known as “pre-qualifying.”
To use a variant of a well-known saying in golf, you can’t win a coveted spot on the PGA Tour in the first stage, but you certainly can lose it. Even those who survive pre-qualifying will need to do likewise at the first stage and the second stage, then finish in the top 25 and ties in the 108-hole final stage in December to earn their 2010 PGA Tour card. The other competitors in the final stage will have at least some status on the Nationwide Tour next year.
Five 72-hole pre-qualifying tournaments are on tap, each with 85-90 competitors. The players pay at least $2,500 each to enter, with an additional $2,500 due from those who then advance to the first stage.
In all, 13 Coloradans who don’t have exemptions into the first, second or final stage will play in the pre-qualifying. Ten of the 13 will be competing Wednesday through Saturday in Lincoln, Neb.
Topping the list of locals in Lincoln is Derek Tolan of Highlands Ranch (pictured), who won the 2009 HealthOne Colorado Open with a record score of 22 under par. The former University of Colorado golfer also captured the San Juan Open title in the three-plus months since he turned pro.
Also scheduled to play in Lincoln is Pat Grady of Broomfield, who like Tolan was an honorable mention All-American at CU last season. Grady recently placed second in the Enstrom’s Rocky Mountain Open. Former Colorado State standout Zen Brown of Arvada, who likewise was a senior last season, also is in the field.
Joining Tolan, Grady and Brown in Lincoln will be Michael Baird of Castle Rock, Tommy Carpenter of Centennial, Darrin Hall of Denver, Scott Huelskamp of Englewood, Jeremy Lederer of Ridgway, Tyler Symons of Aurora and Timothy Treacy of Telluride.
Jason Allen of Pueblo West, winner of both the Rocky Mountain Open and the Colorado PGA Assistant Professional Championship, has entered the pre-qualifying in Seaside, Calif., Sept. 22-25, as has Cody Eberl of Lakewood.
Also Sept. 22-25, Derek Eley of Westminster will compete in Dallas, along with Jack Nicklaus’ 40-year-old son Gary.
After the pre-qualifying is sorted out, the first stage will be held between Oct. 21 and 30 at 11 sites. The second stage is set for Nov. 18-21 at six sites, and the final stage is scheduled for Dec. 2-7 in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Although the odds are stacked heavily against a given player surviving all the stages of qualifying to earn a PGA Tour card, local golfers can look to Golden native Leif Olson as a point of hope. Olson went through three stages last year to qualify for the 2009 Tour.
The LPGA Tour also will soon start its qualifying process for the 2010 circuit. Sectional qualifying tournaments will be held Thursday through Sunday in Rancho Mirage, Calif., and Sept. 29-Oct. 2 in Venice, Fla. Former University of Denver golfer Dawn Shockley is among the competitors in California this week. The top 30 players and ties from each sectional site will advance to the Q-school finals Dec. 2-6 in Daytona Beach, Fla. There, the top 40 finishers will have some status on the 2010 LPGA Tour.
As for the Champions Tour, it will hold regional qualifying tournaments at four sites Nov. 3-6. The final stage will be contested Nov. 17-20 in Scottsdale, Ariz., where the top five finishers will be fully exempt for the 2010 Champions Tour, and the next seven will have some status.
