Now the stakes go up considerably.
The PGA Tour already has held pre-qualifying and the first stage of Q-school in the months-long process that determines the remaining players who will be exempt on Tour in 2012.
But this is where it gets down to the nitty gritty. The second stage of Tour qualifying will be held this week, and the players who are successful in advancing to the final stage will be guaranteed at least some status on the Nationwide Tour next year.
That’s no small matter considering that 60 golfers earned at least $100,000 on the Nationwide circuit in 2011.
Of course, the big carrots out there for Q-school competitors are the PGA Tour cards that will be awarded to the top 25 finishers and ties in the final stage of qualifying Nov. 30-Dec. 5 in La Quinta, Calif.
With all that on the line, 14 golfers with strong Colorado connections will compete this week in the second stage of Tour qualifying. Six sites — all in Florida, Texas or California — will host second-stage tournaments, which each will feature 74 to 78 players competing over four rounds.
The number of golfers who will advance to the final stage from each site hasn’t been set, but last year 19 or 20 and ties qualified from each stage 2 tournament.
Among the players with Colorado ties competing this week are David Duval (pictured) of Cherry Hills Village, a former No. 1-ranked player in the world. Although Duval still has past-champions status on Tour (he’s won 13 times), he’s no longer fully exempt after finishing 152nd on this year’s money list.
Leif Olson, a former Colorado resident who owned a PGA Tour card in 2009, also is scheduled for stage 2, along with former University of Denver golfer Danny Wax, who played on the 2011 Nationwide Tour after winning a stage 2 tournament last year.
Here’s the rundown of the local players competing this week:
Humble, Texas Nov. 15-18 — Michael Baird of Castle Rock, Andrew Svoboda of Golden.
McKinney, Texas Nov. 15-18 — Pat Grady of Broomfield, former DU golfer James Love, former DU golfer Danny Wax.
Panama City Beach, Fla. Nov. 16-19 — Nick Mason of Denver, former Colorado resident Leif Olson.
Murrieta, Calif. Nov. 16-19 — Duvid Duval of Cherry Hills Village, former Coloradan Marty Jertson, Derek Tolan of Highlands Ranch, former Castle Rock resident Esteban Toledo, Steve Ziegler of Broomfield.
Plantation, Fla. Nov. 16-19 — Zen Brown of Arvada, Blake Moore of Denver.
Besides the second stage of PGA Tour qualifying, the final stage of Champions Tour qualifying will be played this week, Nov. 15-18 in Scottsdale, Ariz. The top five finishers out of the 78-man field will be fully exempt on the 2012 Champions Tour, while the next seven finishers will be conditionally exempt.
Former University of Colorado golfer Steve Jones, the 1996 U.S. Open champion, is among those playing. Jones returned to competitive golf in 2011 after missing several years while battling a severe case of tennis elbow and other medical/injury issues. A CU teammate of Jones’, Mikael Hogberg, also will compete this week, along with Gary Hallberg of Castle Rock, who already has status on the 2012 Champions Tour.
