The economy may still be sputtering, but the lure of the PGA Tour remains strong.
That explains why, though it costs most players an entry fee of between $4,500 and $5,000 to go through the Tour qualifying process, there’s certainly no shortage of local participants.
Indeed, at least 30 players with strong Colorado ties will compete in the first-stage tournaments that will be held in the next two weeks, some starting on Tuesday. That’s a handful more local competitors than last year.
After six “pre-qualifying” tournaments were contested last month to start winnowing the field , three stages of Q-school are scheduled for between now and Dec. 6. The ultimate goal of everyone involved is to be one of the top 25 finishers and ties in the final stage, which assures a PGA Tour card for 2011. But just to get to the final stage, players will have to finish in roughly the top quarter of the field in both the first and second stages.
Thirteen sites across the U.S., including Hawaii, will host 72-hole first-stage tournaments between now and Oct. 30. Second-stage events are set at six sites in the stretch from Nov. 16 to Nov. 20.
Among the 30 local golfers competing in first-stage tournaments are former PGA Tour member Leif Olson (pictured); one-time Nationwide Tour winner Scott Petersen; Kane Webber, a champion on the 2006 Asian Tour; 2009 HealthOne Colorado Open winner Derek Tolan; and Bret Guetz, a regular on the Nationwide circuit in recent years.
Two of the local first-stage contestants went to the final stage last year (Guetz and former University of Denver golfer Barrett Jarosch) and another half-dozen bowed out after the second stage in 2009 (Olson, Grady, former Coloradans Tom Kalinowski and Kenny Coakley, and ex-DU golfers James Love and Danny Wax).
Here’s the rundown on first-stage tournaments that have local golfers in the field:
Dayton, Nev. Oct. 19-22: Riley Arp of Fort Collins; former University of Colorado golfer Justin Bardgett; Zen Brown of Arvada; Darrin Hall of Evergreen; Nick Mason of Denver; Dustin Mills of Arvada; Enstrom’s Rocky Mountain Open champion Ben Portie of Westminster; and Kane Webber of Aurora.
Santee, Calif. Oct. 19-22: Michael Baird of Castle Rock; former Littleton resident Bret Guetz; former Fort Collins resident Drew Stoltz; and former DU golfer Danny Wax.
McKinney, Texas Oct. 19-22: former Durango residents Bob and Tom Kalinowski.
Pinehurst, N.C. Oct. 26-29: Mullen High School graduate Leif Olson.
Lantana, Texas Oct. 26-29: former CU golfer Kenny Coakley; Pat Grady of Broomfield; and former DU golfer James Love.
Kingwood, Texas Oct. 26-29: Jeff Franks of Littleton; Tom Gempel of Parker; and Charlie Soule of Longmont.
Oahu, Hawaii Oct. 26-29: Andy Connell of Denver and former CU golfer Blake Moore.
Pine Mountain, Ga. Oct. 27-30: Derek Tolan of Centennial.
Beaumont, Calif. Oct. 27-30: Cody Eberl of Lakewood; Tom Glissmeyer of Colorado Springs; former CSU golfer Bryce Hanstad; former DU golfer Barrett Jarosch; and Scott Petersen of Parker.
Auburn, Ala. Oct. 27-30: Tony Aguilar of Arvada.
Typically, about 20 players from each site advance to the second stage.
In qualifying for other major U.S.-based tours, the Champions qualifying finale is Nov. 16-19 in Coral Springs, Fla., while the LPGA Tour Q-school finals are Dec. 8-12 in Daytona Beach, Calif. Three local players — part-time Denver resident Alison Whitaker and former DU golfers Stephanie Sherlock and Kimberly Kim — have advanced to the final stage of the LPGA event.
