On Tuesday in Tarragona, Spain, Heisele’s hopes to regain his tour card went by the wayside — again, by a very narrow margin.

To keep those hopes alive, the German needed to make the 72-hole cut in the six-round Q-school finals. That required being in the top 70 and ties after Tuesday. Heisele was in good shape to meet that standard until he made his only bogey of the day, which happened to come on his final hole of the day.

With that 18th-hole bogey, Heisele missed the cut by one, meaning he won’t be a card-carrying member of the European Tour for a third consecutive year.

The players at 6-under-par 280 or better made the cut, while Heisele finished at 5-under 281. He shot a 2-under 70 on Tuesday, making three birdies and the 18th-hole bogey, tying for 78th place in the 156-person field.

The top 25 finishers and ties after six rounds will earn 2018-19 European Tour cards.

Heisele, who played for CU from 2008 through ’11, placed 19th at the Q-school finals in 2016 and 18th in 2017, both times earning his tour card. He lost his playing privileges as he placed 188th on the European Tour money list in 2017-18.

Here are Heisele’s round-by-round scores in Spain this week:

Missed 72-Hole Cut
78. Former CU golfer Sebastian Heisele 70-70-71-70–281

For all the scores from the final stage of European Tour Q-school, CLICK HERE.
 

First up, the German will need to make Tuesday’s 72-hole cut in the final stage of Q-school in Tarragona, Spain. Then, if he can overcome that hurdle, he’ll have two more rounds to move into the top 25 finishers and ties that will earn 2018-19 European Tour cards on Thursday.

Heisele (left) reached the halfway point of the Q-school finals and stands in 86th place out of the 156-man field. He shot an even-par 71 on Monday at the Lakes Course at Lumine Golf Club — making two birdies and two bogeys — which leaves him at 3-under-par 211 for 54 holes.

As of Monday evening, players at 10 under par and better were in the top 25 and ties. And those at 5 under and better were in the top 70 and ties.

Heisele, who played at CU from 2008 through ’11, is no stranger to success in the final stage of European Q-school. He earned cards in both 2016 and ’17, finishing 19th and 18th, respectively, but he lost his card this past season.

Here are Heisele’s round-by-round scores in Spain this week:

Former CU golfer Sebastian Heisele 70-70-71–211

For all the scores from the final stage of European Tour Q-school, CLICK HERE.
 

The German, who played for CU from 2008 to ’11, fired a 2-under-par 70 on Sunday at the Hills Course at Lumine Golf Club in Tarragona, Spain to stand at 3-under 140 with four rounds remaining. Heisele sits in 87th place out of 156 players, 13 strokes behind leader David Borda.

The top 25 finishers and ties after six rounds will earn European Tour cards for the 2018-19 wraparound season. The players in the top 25 after two rounds were at 135 and better. The field will be cut to the low 70 players and ties after four rounds.

Heisele made three birdies and one bogey on Sunday.

The former Buff has successfully negotiated the final stage of Q-school each of the last two years, placing 19th in 2016 and 18th in 2017. In 2018, his best showing on the European Tour was an eighth place in the Qatar Masters in February, but he didn’t play well enough overall to keep his card.

For all the scores from the final stage of European Tour Q-school, CLICK HERE.
 

In an tournament in which the top 25 finishers and ties after six rounds earn European Tour cards, the German placed 19th in 2016 and 18th in 2017.

This year, after losing his tour card, Heisele (left) finished third at a second stage Q-school tournament earlier this month to advance to the final stage. And on Saturday in Tarragona, Spain, the former Buff (2008-11) opened with a 1-under-par 70 in the final stage, which leaves him tied for 98th place out of 156 players with five rounds left. Heisele, whose best showing on the European Tour this year was an eighth place in the Qatar Masters in February, made five birdies and four bogeys on Saturday and trails co-leaders Max Schmitt and Daniel Gavins by eight.

The field will be cut to the low 70 players and ties after four rounds.

For all the scores from the final stage of European Tour Q-school, CLICK HERE.
 

Heisele (pictured), a German who played at CU from 2008 through ’11, shot four consecutive sub-par rounds at Doha Golf Club, going 67-68-71-68 for a 14-under-par 274 total. That left him four strokes behind champion Eddie Pepperell of England.

In Sunday’s final round, Heisele carded six birdies and two bogeys to move up eight spots on the leaderboard. The eighth-place showing was worth 33,605 euros to him.

All three of Heisele’s top-10 finishes on the European Tour have come since May. He was a career-best third in September at the KLM Open, and placed fourth in May at the Open de Portugal.

But Sunday marked the former Buff’s first made cut on the European circuit since early December.

For scores from the Qatar Masters, CLICK HERE.
 

— Sam Saunders, grandson of Arnold Palmer, moved from Fort Collins to Atlantic Beach, Fla., in 2016. Saunders grew up in Florida.

— David Duval moved last year from Cherry Hills Village, also to Atlantic Beach. Duval has lived most of his life in northeast Florida.

— And Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Mark Wiebe departed Aurora in 2017 to become the director of instruction at San Jose Country Club. Wiebe played college golf at San Jose State.

— Meanwhile, 1997 British Open champion Justin Leonard moved in, to Aspen from Dallas, in 2015. Leonard, winner of a dozen PGA Tour titles, played in just one PGA Tour event in 2017. He serves on the broadcast team for the Golf Channel.

As the first full-field events of 2018 are held this week on the world’s top golf tours, we’ll continue with that theme and explore what’s new and different with the major tour players who have significant Colorado ties.

On the Mend: Two Colorado golfers who have had plenty of starts on the PGA Tour are on major medical extensions from the Tour.

Kevin Stadler, a part-time Denver resident, hasn’t competed on the world’s top golf circuit since the summer of 2015 due to a stress fracture in his left hand that he suffered late in 2014. Stadler, who withdrew after one round of a Web.com Tour event in July, has 26 starts remaining on his PGA Tour medical extension to earn $717,890, the amount he’ll need to keep his PGA Tour card.

In November, Stadler was among 18 new inductees into the University of Southern California Hall of Fame. Stadler, who counts a Colorado Open and two CGA Match Plays among his victories, won the 2014 Waste Management Phoenix Open on the PGA Tour.

Shane Bertsch of Parker, meanwhile, has two events left to earn $597,069 on his PGA Tour medical extension, which was due to a now-healed shoulder injury. The Denver native made two cuts in nine PGA Tour starts in 2017, and four cuts in 10 Web.com tournaments last year. He’s entered in the Web.com Tour’s Bahamas Great Exuma Classic, which begins on Saturday.

New on the Web.com Tour: Wyndham Clark, who lived in Colorado for all of his pre-college years, played in one Web.com Tour event in his first year as a pro in 2017 (along with seven tournaments on the PGA Tour). But in 2018 — starting Saturday in the Bahamas — Clark will be an official Web.com Tour member after finishing 23rd in the final stage of Q-school. After wrapping up his amateur career with three individual college wins in 2017 — including the Pac-12 Conference Championship in Boulder — the former University of Oregon golfer turned pro last June. Since then, he finished as high as 17th on the PGA Tour and 23rd on the Web.com Tour.

Meanwhile, Denver native Mark Hubbard is no stranger to the Web.com Tour, though he’s spent most of the last three seasons on the PGA Tour. But the former Colorado junior player of the year lost his PGA Tour card last year and failed to regain it through Q-school, so he’s back to the Web circuit in 2017, starting this weekend in the Bahamas. Hubbard has played in 34 Web events, posting seven top-10 finishes.

Also in the Bahamas field this week is Jim Knous of Englewood, who is back for his second year on the Web circuit, along with Bertsch and former Golden resident Andrew Svoboda.

U.S. Senior Open in Colorado Awaits: The 2018 PGA Tour Champions season begins Jan. 18 with the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hawaii. That’s the first official event of a 2018 schedule that is highlighted by the U.S. Senior Open that The Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs will host June 28-July 1.

World Golf Hall of Famer Hale Irwin, the Boulder High School and University of Colorado graduate who has won a record 45 times on PGA Tour Champions, is among a half-dozen PGA Tour Champions players with major Colorado ties. But the one who figures to make the most noise at The Broadmoor, based on recent seasons, is Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe. Jobe (pictured) won on PGA Tour Champions for the first time in 2017 and finished third in the U.S. Senior Open after a third-round 62. He ended up seventh on the 2017 PGA Tour Champions money list with almost $1.4 million.

Players with significant Colorado ties entered in the Mitsubishi Electric Championship include Irwin, Jobe, Craig Stadler, Esteban Toledo and Wiebe.

LPGA Tour Absence: No Colorado locals will compete regularly on the LPGA Tour this season as former CU golfer Jenny Coleman lost her card in 2017 after making just one cut in 10 events. Coleman and her twin sister, Kristin, will likely play mainly on the Symetra Tour in 2018.

In Europe: On the European Tour, former CU golfer Sebastian Heisele has returned for his second straight season after improving his status by finishing 18th in the final stage of Q-school. He posted third- and fourth-place finishes last season on the top European circuit. And former University of Denver golfer Espen Kofstad has returned to action after missing 10 months following wrist surgery. He’s missed his first two cuts this wraparound season.

On the Ladies European Tour, returning are former DU golfers Eleanor Givens and Tonje Daffinrud, who finished 70th and 73rd, respectively, on the 2017 LET money list.
  

Knous, a regular on the Web.com Tour in 2017, was competing in his second PGA Tour event ever, but made the cut for the first time. The 41st-place showing was worth $24,480.

The former Colorado School of Mines golfer (pictured) shot rounds of 71-71-73-68 at TPC Summerlin, which left him 1-under-par 283 overall. Knous finished eight strokes behind champion Patrick Cantlay.

Tom Whitney, the other Coloradan who Monday qualified for the Shriners Hospitals tournament, missed the 36-hole cut after rounds of 71-76.

Heisele European Update: Meanwhile, former University of Colorado golfer Sebastian Heisele on Saturday narrowly missed gaining fully-exempt status on the European Tour. Heisele needed to finish in the top 15 on the 2017 European Challenge Tour money list (aka the Road to Oman), but he placed 16th.

Heisele, who primarily played the European Tour in 2017, was in the 15th stop going into the NBO Golf Classic Grand Final in Oman, but a 16th-place finish there (70-68-73-72–283) dropped him down one spot.

“Tried my best, not enough!” Heisele said on Twitter.

The final stage of European Tour qualifying will be held Nov. 11-16 in Spain.
 

Heisele (pictured in a Twitter photo), who played golf for the Buffs from 2008 through ’11, shot rounds of 67-70-69-69 for a 13-under-par 275, good for second place in the Foshan Open in Foshan City, China. He finished five strokes behind champion Oliver Farr.

The 46,294 euros Heisele earned vaulted him into 13th place on the 2017 Challenge Tour’s money list, also known as The Road to Oman. (Oct. 29 Update: After a 33rd-place showing in the Ras Al Khaimah 2017 Golf Challenge that ended on Oct. 29, Heisele dropped into the 15th spot on the money list.)

After the upcoming final two tournaments on the Challenge Tour season, the top 15 on The Road to Oman list will earn 2017-18 European Tour cards.

“Decision to forgo @EuropeanTour #AVM2017 and play @Challenge_Tour #FoshanOpen might have just saved my card,” Heisele said on Twitter on Sunday.

Heisele has played in 20 European Tour events this season and ranks 142nd on the money list, with 210,332 euros. He’s earned another 80,612 euros on the Challenge Tour. He’s recorded two top-four finishes on the European Tour this year.
 

We’re well into the Q-school process for the LPGA, Web.com and European Tours, with the initial stages behind us. That being the case, the stakes go up from here on out and the competition is considerably tougher.

Elsewhere, PGA Tour Champions qualifying starts the week before Thanksgiving at two Regional Sites, with the Finals set for the week after the holiday. And pre-qualifying for the Ladies European Tour will be held at three sites (two in Morocco and one in Cambodia) between Oct. 18-Dec. 9, with the final final stage scheduled for Dec. 16-20 in Morocco.

Here’s a rundown of where players with strong Colorado connections stand in the Q-school process for various major tours:

— LPGA Tour: Stage II of the three-stage qualifying will be held Thursday through Sunday (Oct. 19-22) in Venice, Fla. The top 80 finishers and ties after 72 holes — out of an original field of 190 — will advance to the third and final stage of Q-school, Nov. 27-Dec. 3 in Daytona Beach, Fla., where LPGA Tour cards will be awarded. Last year, the top 45 finishers and ties at the Q-school finals earned at least conditional status on the LPGA circuit.

Among the competitors this week at Stage II will be four who played the majority of their college golf in Colorado — former University of Colorado golfers Esther Lee, Kristin Coleman and Natalie Vivaldi, along with former University of Northern Colorado player Carleigh Silvers. Also set to compete is Liz Breed, who won the CoBank Colorado Women’s Open in early September.

Players who don’t advance to Stage III will receive Symetra Tour cards for 2018. Coleman, whose twin sister Jennifer played part-time on the LPGA Tour this year, has been a regular on the Symetra Tour, along with Silvers and Breed.

— Web.com Tour: Seven players with strong Colorado ties successfully negotiated the First Stage of the three-stage Q-school process: Wyndham Clark and Derek Tolan of Highlands Ranch, Parker Edens of Greeley, Riley Arp of Fort Collins, Jimmy Makloski of Pueblo, A.J. Morris of Aspen and former University of Colorado golfer Justin Bardgett.

Several other local players figure to join the aforementioned in the Second Stage, but fields for the five tournaments that will be held between Oct. 31-Nov. 10 haven’t yet be announced. The top finishers there will move to to the Final Stage, set for Dec. 7-10 in Chandler, Ariz.

— European Tour: The First Stage of Q-school is complete, and among those who have advanced to Stage II is former University of Denver golfer Oskar Arvidsson, who placed fourth in a First-Stage tournament in Germany last month. Arvidsson qualified for the 2016 British Open.

The Second Stage is set for Nov. 3-6 at four sites in Spain, and the Final Stage Nov. 11-16, also in Spain. The top 25 finishers and ties at the Final Stage will earn European Tour cards.
 

The first stage of LPGA (and Symetra) Tour Q-school begins Thursday and continues through Sunday (Aug. 6-9) as the process of determining the most worthy golfers gets underway.

Qualifying for the LPGA is the first on the docket for the world’s major tours. With there no longer being a direct route to the PGA Tour through Q-school, the Web.com Tour is now the immediate goal of men’s Q-school participants in the U.S.

The four-stage Web.com qualifying process begins on Sept. 2. There are six “pre-qualifying” tournaments in September, 11 first-stage events in October, five second-stage tourneys in November, and the qualifying finals set for Dec. 10-15 in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Making it to that final stage guarantees some Web.com Tour status for 2016, but considerable priority is given to players who finish in the top 45.

The Champions Tour holds regional qualifying in November and the finals Dec. 1-4 in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The European Tour conducts three stages of qualifying, beginning Sept. 15 and concluding with the finals Nov. 14-19 in Girona, Span.

While the competitors with strong Colorado ties who are entered in Web.com, Champions and European qualifying won’t be finalized until later dates, many of the locals who will be competing in LPGA/Symetra Tour Q-school are coming into focus.

The first of three stages of LPGA qualifying will be held in Rancho Mirago, Calif., this week. A total of 288 players are entered for stage 1, and the top 60 and ties will advance to stage 2.

Among the players with major Colorado connections in the field in Rancho Mirage are former University of Denver golfer and former Pueblo resident Kimberly Kim, who won the 2006 U.S. Women’s Amateur at age 14; two-time CWGA Player of the Year Somin Lee, of Denver; former state high school champion Lindsay McGetrick; Colorado Springs resident Paige Crawford; and former University of Colorado golfer Kristin Coleman.

Kim (pictured) is trying to revive a career which also included playing on the LPGA Tour in 2011, and being runner-up in three USGA championships: the 2006 and 2009 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links and the 2009 U.S. Girls’ Junior.

The second stage of LPGA qualifying will take place Oct. 22-25 in Venice, Fla. Assuming they don’t earn 2016 LPGA cards by finishing in the top 10 on the 2015 Symetra Tour money list, here are the players with strong Colorado ties currently exempt into stage 2: former CU golfers Jenny Coleman (who competed in the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open) and Emily Childs; former CWGA Player of the Year Becca Huffer; former DU golfer Katie Kempter, who held an LPGA Tour card in 2010 and who won a Symetra Tour event this year; and Carleigh Silvers of Greeley.

The top 80 finishers and ties from stage 2 will advance to the Q-school finals, set for Dec. 2-6 in Daytota Beach, Fla. The number of LPGA Tour cards awarded there hasn’t been finalized, but last year 45 players earned some LPGA status.

In 2014, five local players made it to the LPGA Q-school finals — former CU golfer Emily Talley, former DU golfer Sue Kim, Huffer, Childs and Silvers — with Talley just missing earning her LPGA card by finishing 58th.