It isn’t even an every-year occurrence.

It’s fair to say it happens rarely, especially since Q-school is no longer is a direct route to the PGA Tour.

Prior to this year, the last Colorado golfer to land a PGA Tour card for the first time was Denver native Mark Hubbard, who made the grade in 2014 and played on the world’s top tour for three seasons before losing his card.

But on Sunday, another Denver native formally joined the elite group. Wyndham Clark, who grew up south of the Denver metro area and graduated from Valor Christian High School, landed his PGA Tour card by finishing in the top 25 on the Web.com Tour’s regular-season money list in 2018.

Clark — winner of the 2010 CGA Amateur and the 2017 Pac-12 individual title, both at Boulder Country Club — certainly didn’t finish the Web.com Tour season the way he wanted as he missed cuts in four of his last five events, including this weekend’s WinCo Foods Portland Open.

But the 24-year-old did the necessary work in the first six months (and one day) of the year. In his first 15 Web events of the season, Clark recorded four top-five finishes with a second, a third, a fourth and a fifth. With $187,817 for the year, he finished 16th on the Web’s regular-season money list.

“It was a tough week but an awesome year and I’m so happy to be getting my card,” Clark said to ColoradoGolf.org via text this weekend.

Clark, the 2017 Pac-12 Player of the Year at Oregon and the 2014 Big 12 Player of the Year at Oklahoma State before transferring, turned pro just 14 months ago. In addition to his Web.com Tour starts, he’s played in eight PGA Tour events in 2017 and early ’18, making two cuts and finishing as high as 17th.

“I knew and believed I could do it (earn a PGA Tour card) in one short season,” Clark texted. “I just had to stay focused and play my game and let the results take care of themselves — and they did. It’s an awesome feeling and I can’t wait to be on the Tour.”

But Clark’s Web.com Tour season isn’t quite over — just his regular season. The Web.com Tour Finals begin on Thursday in Columbus, Ohio, and Clark is in the field there. He’ll try to improve his 2018-19 PGA Tour status with his performances throughout the four-event Finals, which culminate with the Web.com Tour Championship Sept. 20-23 in Atlantic Beach, Fla.

The 2018-19 wraparound season for the PGA Tour begins with the Safeway Open in Napa, Calif., Oct. 4-7.

Joining Clark in the Web.com Tour Finals — thanks to finishing in the top 75 on the regular-season money list — will be Jim Knous of Littleton and Hubbard. That will also guarantee Knous and Hubbard full Web.com Tour status in 2019 if they don’t get PGA Tour cards through the Web Finals.

Knous, a former Colorado School of Mines golfer, finished a Web-career-best-tying fourth on Sunday at the Portland Open and 52nd on the Web regular-season money list. He shot rounds of 70-67-68-67 for a 12-under-par 272 total, which left him six strokes behind winner Sunjae Im.

It was Knous second top-four finish on the Web.com Tour since July 1.

Meanwhile, Hubbard placed 40th on Sunday in Portland, leaving him in the 72nd position on the final Web regular-season money list. Hubbard went 66-70-70-73 for a 5-under 279 total.

A local player who like Clark missed the cut at the Portland Open was at the center of an unfortunate incident during Friday’s round. ESPN reported that part-time Denver resident Kevin Stadler accidentally injured a fan when he slammed an iron on the ground and against his foot and the head came loose and hit a spectator in the head. ESPN indicated that Web.com Tour rules official Orlando Pope said the fan required six stitches, being treated on site then at a hospital before being released.

“It was a very freakish accident,” Pope told ESPN. “Kevin is devastated. He had trouble trying to finish the round. He was quite worried and felt so bad.”

Saunders, Laird Advance to PGA Tour Playoffs: A year after narrowly missing qualifying for the PGA Tour’s FedExCup Playoffs, former Fort Collins resident Sam Saunders made the “postseason” for the first time on Sunday.

Saunders, a grandson of Arnold Palmer. finished 45th at the regular-season-ending Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C., which left him at 120th in the FedExCup standings. The top 125 are fully exempt on the PGA Tour next season and advance to the playoffs.

Also tying for 45th place at the Wyndham and making the playoffs was former Colorado State University golfer Martin Laird. He’s 113th in the FedExCup standings.

The opening playoff event is The Northern Trust in Paramus, N.J., starting Thursday. The top 100 in the FedExCup standings after that will advance to the Dell Technologies Championship.

Notable on Tour This Week: Three players with strong Colorado connections finished in the top 11 Sunday in the PGA Tour Canada’s Players Cup in Winnipeg. James Love of Denver tied for fifth, while fellow Coloradan Michael Schoolcraft and former Louisville resident George Cunningham shared 11th place. For Love, it was his best PGA Tour Canada showing in more than two years. He went 66-67-70-69 for a 16-under-par 272 total, which left him six behind champion Tyler McCumber. Schoolcraft, with his second top-11 showing of the month, and Cunningham checked in at 274. … Former University of Colorado golfer Steve Jones, who has been sidelined by knee surgery, according to the USGA, played in his first PGA Tour Champions event since mid-April, finishing 70th at the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open (68-80-76). Jones is best known for winning the 1996 U.S. Open.
 

Michael Schoolcraft (left) of Denver placed seventh in the event, while former University of Colorado golfer Jeremy Paul ended up 10th the week after twin brother Yannik finished fifth in another PGA Tour Canada tournament.

Schoolcraft carded rounds of 68-66-62-72 for a 16-under-par 268 total, which left him 10 strokes behind champion Corey Pereira. Schoolcraft made 10 birdies in Saturday’s 9-under-par third round. It was his third-best finish ever on PGA Tour Canada as he placed second and fourth in 2016.

Meanwhile, Jeremy Paul recorded his best showing ever on the Canadian circuit by going 64-69-69-67 for a 269 total. Paul’s previous best PGA Tour Canada showing was 23rd.

Schoolcraft moved up to 36th on the 2018 Canadian money list with $14,644, while Paul jumped up to 48th at $10,739.
 

The showing will make Schoolcraft exempt through at least the first four tournaments of the 2018 season.

Schoolcraft (pictured) was a regular on PGA Tour Canada in 2016 and posted three top-10 finishes, including a runner-up, and ended up ninth on the money list. Last year, he competed in one PGA Tour event and three on the Web.com Tour.

The medalist on Friday — Sam Fidone — will be exempt through the entire 2018 PGA Tour Canada season, while the second through fifth finishers will be exempt for at least the first eight events.

Schoolcraft carded rounds of 69-73-72-70 for a 4-under-par 284 total. That left him eight strokes behind Fidone. The Coloradan made five birdies, a bogey and a double bogey on Friday.

Meanwhile, Schoolcraft’s brother, Beau, and former Colorado State University golfer Blake Cannon earned conditional status for 2018 by finishing in the 17-40 range. In their case, they tied for 27th place at 2-over-par 290.

This week marked the first of five PGA Tour Canada Q-school tournaments that will be held leading up to the 2018 season.

Here are the scores for all the players with strong Colorado ties who competed this week in Santee:

7. Coloradan Michael Schoolcraft 69-73-72-70–284
27. Coloradan Beau Schoolcraft 74-72-72-72–290
27. Former CSU golfer Blake Cannon 70-75-72-73–290
FAILED TO QUALIFY
84. Coloradan Jimmy Makloski 78-72-75-76–301
91. Former CU golfer Kevin Kring 72-76-79-79–306

Edens Runner-Up Twice on Dreamchasers Tour: Parker Edens of Greeley recorded his second top-five finish this month on the Dreamchasers Tour with a runner-up showing on Friday in the Moon Valley Championship in Phoenix.
   
The former Colorado State University golfer posted scores of 65-68-70 for a 13-under-par 203 total at Moon Valley Country Club. That left him three strokes behind champion Joel Dahmen of Scottsdale, with whom Edens was tied for the lead going into the final round of the 52-man tournament.

Edens, a two-time CGA Match Play runner-up, placed fifth in the Dreamchasers East Valley Championship on March 1.

(March 22 Update: Edens also finished second at a Dreamchasers tournament that ended on March 22. At the Southeast Valley Championship in Chandler, Ariz., the Coloradan was runner-up out of 17 players, earning $1,900. He went 67-71-67 for an 8-under-par 205 total, which put him two strokes behind winner Zach Wright of Queen Creek, Ariz.) 

Riley Arp of Fort Collins, who has been on a tear on mini-tours this year, carried that over to Monday’s Shell Houston Open qualifier at Cypresswood Golf Club’s Tradition Course in Spring, Texas.

The 2010 CGA Public Links champion, who played his college golf at Colorado State University, will be making his PGA Tour debut by virtue of earning medalist honors out of 152 players on Monday.

Arp racked up 11 birdies and made one bogey en route to winning the qualifier by one stroke. Three other players — Wesley McClain of Bastrop, Texas (63), Andres Gonzales of Lakewood, Wash. (63) and Jason Gore of Stevenson Ranch, Calif. (who won a playoff at 64) — also earned berths in the Houston Open, which begins on Thursday (March 30) at the Golf Club of Houston in Humble, Texas.

Arp has played in three Web.com Tour events in his career, making one cut. In the first three months of this year in mini-tour action, he’s recorded seven straight top-10 finishes on the Dreamchasers and Adams Tours, including one win.

Arp will tee off for round 1 at 1 p.m. (MT) on Thursday with Peter Uihlein and Mark Anderson.

(March 31 Update: Arp ended up missing the cut by two shots, posting rounds of 72-74 for a 2-over-par 146 total. Over 36 holes, he made four birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey 7 on his 35th hole.)

Earlier this year, two other Coloradans earned spots in PGA Tour events through Monday qualifiers. Michael Schoolcraft of Denver shot a 62 to land medalist honors in qualifying for the Waste Management Phoenix Open, and Jim Knous of Littleton also advanced through that qualifier. The Phoenix Open marked Knous first PGA Tour event and Schoolcraft’s second.
 

Instead, Laird (pictured) had to settle for his best finish on Tour since being runner-up at the RBC Canadian Open in July. The 2004 Denver Open champion, who started the final round of the Phoenix Open just a shot out of the lead, couldn’t get anything going Sunday at TPC Scottsdale and tied for seventh.

The good news is that Laird has posted three top-10s in six PGA Tour starts this season. The not-so-good news is that he didn’t make a birdie on Sunday (16 pars, two bogeys), which doesn’t translate into winning at an event such as the Phoenix Open.

As it was, Laird’s final-round 73 gave him a 13-under-par 271 total, which left him four strokes out of a playoff that was won by Hideki Matsuyama. It was the Scottsdale resident’s third top-10 showing at the Phoenix Open since 2011.

Also posting his best PGA Tour finish of the season on Sunday was Denver native Mark Hubbard, who placed 42nd at 6-under-par 278.

Both Coloradans who Monday qualified for the Phoenix Open, Jim Knous of Littleton and Michael Schoolcraft of Denver, missed the 36-hole cut. For more on them, CLICK HERE.

Here are the scores for all the competitors with strong Colorado connections:

7. Former CSU golfer Martin Laird 67-66-65-73–271
42. Denver native Mark Hubbard 69-69-71-69–278
Missed 36-Hole Cut
91. Jim Knous of Littleton 70-73–143
131. Michael Schoolcraft of Denver 80-73–153

For the entire Phoenix Open leaderboard, CLICK HERE.

Former Colorado State University golfer Martin Laird (pictured), looking for his third top-10 finish in his first six starts of the 2016-17 wraparound season, shot a bogey-free 5-under-par 66 Friday at TPC Scottsdale and shares third place in his hometown event. With a 9-under-par 133 total, he trails co-leaders Byeong Hun An and Brendan Steele by one.

Laird is no stranger to performing well in the Phoenix Open, having finished third and fifth in the event just since 2011.

Denver native Mark Hubbard, who hasn’t posted a PGA Tour finish better than 72nd since July, has put himself in position to make some noise this weekend. Despite a final-hole double bogey as the sun set Friday — his only score worse than bogey for the day — the former CGA Junior Player of the Year fired a second straight 2-under-par 69 and shares 28th place.

Meanwhile, Monday qualifiers Jim Knous of Littleton and Michael Schoolcraft of Denver won’t be competing on the weekend after missing the 36-hole cut.

Knous, playng in his first PGA Tour event, was 3 under par for the tournament three holes into his second round, but a double bogey on the fourth hole combined with two bogeys in the middle of his round and water balls on 15 and 17 doomed his chances to make the cut. With three birdies, three bogeys and a double, he carded a second-round 73, putting him at 1-over 143 and in 91st place. He fell two shots shy of advancing to the final two days.

Schoolcraft, the medalist in Monday qualifying, finished 131st, missing the cut by a dozen on Friday. The Coloradan, competing in just his second PGA Tour event, played his final four holes in 3 under par by making birdie putts of 16, 16 and 12 feet. But he posted an 11-over-par 153 total (80-73).

Here are the scores for all the competitors with strong Colorado connections:

3. Former CSU golfer Martin Laird 67-66–133
28. Denver native Mark Hubbard 69-69–138
Missed 36-Hole Cut
91. Jim Knous of Littleton 70-73–143
131. Michael Schoolcraft of Denver 80-73–153

For the entire Phoenix Open leaderboard, CLICK HERE.

They’re both Colorado natives, both 27 years old (they were born exactly eight months apart), and, of course, they both excel at golf.

A decade ago, they competed against one another in CGA and CJGA tournaments, with Hubbard winning both the CGA Junior Match Play and Junior Amateur in 2007.

And, fast forwarding to Thursday, Hubbard and Knous both had 9 a.m. tee times at TPC Scottsdale for round 1 of the PGA Tour’s Waste Management Phoenix Open, with Hubbard going off No. 1 and Knous No. 10.

And, at the end of the day, the two shared one other thing: They finished under par and were in position to make the 36-hole cut in Scottsdale.

Hubbard, in his third season on the PGA Tour, shot a 2-under-par 69 and shares 28th place. Knous (pictured), who Monday qualified and is competing in a PGA Tour event for the first time, posted a 70, good for 38th place.

Another golfer with strong Colorado ties, former Colorado State University golfer and current Scottsdale resident Martin Laird, was even better Thursday as the three-time PGA Tour winner played his final seven holes in 4 under per en route to a 67, which left him tied for ninth place with three rounds left in the tournament. Laird carded seven birdies on the day.

Knous, a former Colorado School of Mines golfer, was 3 under par through 12 holes, after going birdie-eagle-par-par-birdie in the middle of his round. The eagle came on the 442-yard, par-4 18th (his ninth hole), where Knous drained his approach from 160 yards away, in the right rough. He finished the day with an eagle, three birdies and four bogeys — all on par-4s.

Knous, who has status on the Web.com Tour this year, made it into the field for the Phoenix Open by shooting 65 at McCormick Ranch Golf Club on Monday to land the third and final qualifying spot.

Hubbard has struggled in the early part of the 2016-17 PGA Tour wraparound season, making just two cuts in seven events so far. But a four-birdie, two-bogey round on Thursday put him in position to make some noise in Scottsdale.

As for the fourth player with strong Colorado ties competing this week, Michael Schoolcraft of Denver was 9 over par through 17 holes before play was suspended due to darkness. (Friday morning update: he finished with a 9-over-par 80.) Schoolcraft, medalist in the same Monday qualifier in which Knous competed, bogeyed his first five holes Thursday before settling in in his second PGA Tour start ever. He finished the day with one birdie and 10 bogeys.

Here are the scores for all the competitors with strong Colorado connections:

9. Former CSU golfer Martin Laird 67
28. Denver native Mark Hubbard 69
38. Jim Knous of Littleton 70
130. Michael Schoolcraft of Denver 80

For the entire Phoenix Open leaderboard, CLICK HERE.

There’s something about the PGA Tour’s Waste Management Phoenix Open that seems to bring out the best in golfers from Colorado.

Over the last 50 years, an amazing four different golfers who grew up in the Centennial State have won the tournament. Kevin Stadler pulled off the trick most recently, three years ago, preceded by Jonathan Kaye (2004), Steve Jones (1997) and Dale Douglass (1970).

And on Monday, those good vibes seemed to be in full effect again.

In a Monday qualifier in which just the top three players earned spots in the Phoenix Open, two of qualifiers were Colorado residents. Michael Schoolcraft (pictured above) of Denver landed medalist honors with a bogey-free 10-under-par 62 at McCormick Ranch Golf Club in Scottsdale, while Jim Knous of Littleton finished third (after Californian Alex Kim) with a 65.

The result is that Knous will be competing in his first PGA Tour event ever, while Schoolcraft will be making PGA Tour start No. 2. The Phoenix Open will run Thursday through Sunday amid the raucous atmosphere at TPC Scottsdale, which annually draws the largest galleries of the year on the PGA Tour. More than 600,000 people attended in 2016.

Schoolcraft, who finished ninth on the 2016 PGA Tour Canada money list, missed the cut in his PGA Tour debut, in the Shriners Hospital for Children Open in October 2015. The former University of Oklahoma golfer has conditional status on the Web.com Tour in 2017 after posting six top-20 finishes on PGA Tour Canada last year.

The 24-year-old Schoolcraft made an eagle and eight birdies in Monday’s qualifier.

As for Knous (left), it’s been a very eventful last couple of months.

In December, the former Colorado School of Mines golfer earned solid status on the Web.com Tour for the first time by finishing 23rd in the final stage of Q-school. Then this month, he played his first two events as a card-carrying member of the Web circuit, although he missed the cut in each case by an agonizing one stroke.

Then on Monday, less than a week after turning 27 years old, Knous took another big step, earning his first PGA Tour start. Knous made nine birdies at McCormick Ranch Golf Club in shooting 65 to land the final berth into the Phoenix Open. Cory Bacon, a friend from Mines, caddied for him on Monday and will do so in the tournament itself.

Knous is relishing the accomplishment all the more because for the last several years Knous and a bunch of college friends have made it a point to rent houses around Scottsdale and attend the Phoenix Open. This time around, all of them will be back for the 2017 edition, only Knous will be competing.

“It’s going to be incredible,” Knous told PGATour.com. “My college buddies and I … we all come down here and pile on 16 (the famously raucous par-3 at TPC Scottsdale), and get there super early and go watch and get rowdy …

“To be on the other side, actually hitting shots, is going to be wild. I’ve yelled at my fair share of golfers on No. 16, and now I’m going to be the guy getting yelled at.”

Knous, the 2012 NCAA Division II individual runner-up while at Mines, has long been known for his ability to shoot remarkably low scores in competition. Most notably, that includes the 2010 CGA Amateur, where he closed with a course-record 10-under-par 60 at Boulder Country Club to force a playoff, which was won by Wyndham Clark.

Schoolcraft and Knous will be joined in this year’s Phoenix Open field by Denver native Mark Hubbard, with whom Knous played junior golf in Colorado. Last year, Knous and his friends, wearing Broncos jerseys the day before the team won the Super Bowl, watched Hubbard play the 16th hole during the Phoenix Open. There, Hubbard also sported a Broncos jersey and tossed footballs into the stands. Knous turned out to be one of his “receivers” that day.

Perhaps this year Knous will be the one on the throwing end.

Also joining Schoolcraft and Knous in the field this week will be former Colorado State University golfer Martin Laird, a Scottsdale resident who has posted third- and fifth-place finishes at the Phoenix Open since 2011.
 

The former Colorado School of Mines golfer shot four consecutive rounds of 70 for a 6-under-par 280 total, good for a 23rd-place finish out of 155 players on Sunday.

Golfers who ended up 11th through 45th and ties are guaranteed entry into the first eight tournaments of the 2017 Web.com Tour season. Further starts for Knous will depend how he fares in the early portion of the schedule.

Knous, the 2012 NCAA Division II individual runner-up, made four birdies and two bogeys in Sunday’s final round. He came on strong down the stretch, playing his last five holes in 3 under par. His 23rd-place finish was worth $10,000.

Knous, runner-up in the 2010 CGA Amateur, has won the last two San Juan Opens.

Knous was the only player with strong Colorado ties to finish in the top 45 on Sunday.

University of Colorado senior Jeremy Paul was in 26th place entering the final day. But after opening with a birdie, he played his final 12 holes in 4 over par and shot a 3-over 75. That left him at even-par 286 and in 72nd place. A total of 283 or better was necessary to place in the top 45.

CU head coach Roy Edwards confirmed on Sunday it’s likely Paul will return to the Buffs for his final semester after finishing outside the top 45.

“It was nice getting here, but I’m obviously pretty disappointed right now,” Paul told Golfweek.com. “It was not for nothing, but in the end it was for nothing. Not a whole lot to say right now, just pretty disappointed.”

Paul, Parker Edens of Greeley (288, 89th place), Tom Whitney of Fort Collins (290, 113th place), former CU golfer Josh Creel of Cheyenne (294, 131st place) and Michael Schoolcraft of Denver (297, 141st place) all will have conditional status on the Web.com Tour in 2017, but sometimes that translates into just one or two Web tournament starts.

Floridian Jim Renner won the qualifying tournament on Sunday with a 269 total, giving him fully-exempt status for the entire 2017 season.

Sunday concluded a three-stage Web.com Q-school process — four stages, if you include pre-qualifying.

The 2017 Web.com Tour season will begin Jan. 8-11 in the Bahamas.

Here are the scores of all the players with significant Colorado connections who competed this week in the final stage of Web.com Q-school:

23. Jim Knous of Englewood 70-70-70-70–280
72. CU golfer Jeremy Paul 71-68-72-75–286
89. Parker Edens of Greeley 70-72-74-72–288
113. Tom Whitney of Fort Collins 72-73-71-74–290
131. Former CU golfer Josh Creel of Cheyenne 73-75-74-72–294
141. Michael Schoolcraft of Denver 74-77-75-71–297

For all the scores, CLICK HERE.

Paul (pictured), a senior who would likely turn pro and skip his final semester at CU if he finishes highly enough this weekend, shot a 4-under-par 68 on Friday. He made an eagle, four birdies and two bogeys in round 2, giving him a 4-under 139 total, which puts him in 13th place, six strokes out of the lead shared by Dan Woltman and Puma Dominguez.

The top 45 finishers and ties after four rounds will earn status that guarantees them spots in Web tournaments at least at the beginning of the 2017 season. The medalist will be fully exempt for the entire season. All competitors in the final stage this week will receive at least conditional status on the Web circuit, but in some cases that could mean just one or two starts for next year.

Also in the top 45 at the halfway point in Florida is Jim Knous of Englewood, who has shot back-to-back 70s and stands at 3-under 140, good for 24th place. The former Colorado School of Mines golfer played his final nine holes Friday in 4 under par.

Here are the scores of all the players with significant Colorado connections competing this week in the final stage of Web.com Q-school:

13. CU golfer Jeremy Paul 71-68–139
24. Jim Knous of Englewood 70-70–140
55. Parker Edens of Greeley 70-72–142
102. Tom Whitney of Fort Collins 72-73–145
134. Former CU golfer Josh Creel of Cheyenne 73-75–148
148. Michael Schoolcraft of Denver 74-77–151

For all the scores, CLICK HERE.