The bad news is, if the Q-school First Stage tournament in Nebraska City had ended on Thursday, Colorado residents Chris Korte and Derek Tolan would have seen their hopes for earning a 2019 Web.com Tour card end.
The good news is, the tournament didn’t conclude on Thursday, and Korte and Tolan are well within striking distance of advancing to the Second Stage.
The top 21 finishers and ties after four rounds will move on, and after Thursday’s third round, Korte is in 30th place and Tolan in 33rd. Korte, a former University of Denver player who lives in Littleton, is two strokes out of 21st place, while Tolan, a former University of Colorado golfer who resides in Highlands Ranch, is three out of 21st.
Korte double bogeyed the 18th hole on Thursday to shoot a 2-over-par 73, leaving him at 6-over 219 overall. Tolan carded a third-round 72, putting him at 220.
Last week, four players with strong Colorado connections advanced from a First Stage Q-school tournament to Second Stage — Zahkai Brown of Golden, fellow former Colorado State University golfer Blake Cannon, and former CU players Yannik and Jeremy Paul.
Seven other First Stage tournaments are scheduled for next week. Then there will be five Second Stage tourneys from Oct. 30-Nov. 9. The Final Stage is Dec. 6-9 in Chandler, Ariz., where 2018 Web.com Tour cards will be distributed.
Here are this week’s First-Stage scores for all the players with strong Colorado ties:
Oct. 2-5, 2018 in Nebraska City
(Top 21 finishers and ties after 72 holes advance to Second Stage)
30. Chris Korte, Littleton 71-75-73–219
33. Derek Tolan, Highlands Ranch 70-78-72–220
63. Former CU golfer Kevin Kring 74-81-73–228
