Look through the list of entrants for this week’s final stage of Web.com Q-school, and all the usual locales are well-represented.
Out of the 155 competitors set to vie for 2017 playing privileges on the Web.com Tour, many hail from Florida, California, Texas, Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina — just as you’d expect given the climate and populations of those states.
(By the way, the field by no means is limited to Americans. In fact, players from six continents are set to tee it up in Winter Garden, Fla., just outside of Orlando.)
But one state that has more entrants than someone might expect — again, due to weather and population — is none other than Colorado.
Five entrants list the Centennial State as home, though one of them — University of Colorado senior Jeremy Paul — is a German who resides in Boulder just during the academic year.
The other Coloradans scheduled to play in the 72-hole event from Thursday through Sunday are Parker Edens of Greeley, Jim Knous of Englewood, Michael Schoolcraft of Denver and Tom Whitney of Fort Collins. Also from nearby is Josh Creel of Cheyenne, Wyo., who started his college golf career at CU before tranferring to Central Oklahoma.
All the golfers in the field have their eyes set on finishing in the top 45 and ties, which will guarantee players spots in Web tournaments at least at the beginning of the 2017 season. The medalist will be fully exempt for the entire season.
All the players in the final stage of Q-school — which is a three-stage process, not counting pre-qualifying — will have at least conditional status on the Web.com circuit, but that often doesn’t mean much. Some conditional players only get one or two Web starts in the course of a season, so playing well this week can make a world of difference.
Here’s a look at each of the players with strong local connections:
— Parker Edens of Greeley: The former Colorado State University golfer was the runner-up two straight years in the CGA Match Play (2012 and ’13). Edens finished a shot out of a playoff for the final U.S. Open spot at a Sectional Qualifying site in Springfield, Ohio in early June. In this year’s Q-school, he placed 16th in the first stage of Q-school to advance from Nebraska City, and rebounded from a first-round 77 to place 17th in stage 2 in Beaumont, Calif.
— Jim Knous of Englewood: The former Colorado School of Mines golfer is well known for his ability to post low numbers. For instance, he shot a course-record 10-under-par 60 in the final round at Boulder Country Club to force a playoff in the 2010 CGA Amateur. Knous, who finished second to Creel in the NCAA Division II national championship in 2012, this year won his second straight San Juan Open and placed second in the Rocky Mountain Open and fourth in the CoBank Colorado Open. In Q-school, he finished eighth in the first stage in Lantana, Texas, and 17th in the second stage in Beaumont, Texas.
— CU golfer Jeremy Paul: Paul, who sits at No. 105 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, figures to go pro and skip his final semester of college golf at CU if he earns good enough status on the Web.com Tour this weekend. In April, Paul shared the individual title at the Wyoming Cowboy Classic, earning his second individual win collegiately. In September, Paul finished 48th individually in the World Amateur Team Championship. At Q-school, Paul placed fourth in a first-stage tournament in Nebraska City and 12th in a second-stage event in Beaumont, Calif.
— Michael Schoolcraft of Denver: The former University of Oklahoma golfer shined on PGA Tour Canada in 2016, posting three top-10 finishes, including a career-best second in the Cape Breton Open in September. He ended up ninth on the tour’s money list with $41,485, which earned him a spot in the Web.com Q-school finals.
— Tom Whitney of Fort Collins: The long hitter who played his college golf at the Air Force Academy shined on PGA Tour Latinoamerica this year. But he also won his second straight Waterloo (Iowa) Open, this one thanks to a 12-under-par 60 in the final round. On the Latinoamerica circuit, Whitney is No. 11 on the money list with $56,483, earning a spot in the Web.com Q-school finals. He’s posted four top-10 finishes, including being runner-up in the Roberto De Vicenzo Punta del Este Open in October.
— Former CU golfer Josh Creel of Cheyenne: The 2012 NCAA Division II individual champion while at Central Oklahoma, Creel missed qualifying for the 2016 U.S. Open by just three strokes. In Q-school, Creel placed 16th in stage 1 in Nebraska City and 12th in stage 2 in Beaumont, Calif.
For Thursday’s tee times from the Q-school finals, CLICK HERE.
