q school – first stage 2012
By Mike Blum
The first stage of PGA Tour qualifying did not go especially well for most of Georgia’s
contingent of more than 70 players, with fewer than 20 with ties to the state advancing to
second stage qualifiers.
Among the more familiar names making it past the first stage were tour veterans David
Robinson and Josh Broadaway, along with recent college standouts James White,
Patrick Reed, Henrik Norlander, Bryden Macpherson and Adam Mitchell.
The long list of those who did not advance included David Denham, Samuel Del Val,
Jonathan Fricke, Matt Nagy, Tim O’Neal, Brent Witcher and Georgia PGA members
Tim Weinhart and Travis Nance.
A total of 16 first stage qualifiers were held around the country, with Callaway Gardens’
Mountain View course among the sites.
Here’s a look at how the state’s entrants fared in first stage qualifiers:
At Lantana, Tex.: Dalton’s Matt Hughes, Dawsonville’s Jamie Bowen and St, Simons
resident Michael Sims all advanced. Hughes easily advanced at 7-under 281 despite a
final round 75, placing 8th.
Bowen was three shots outside the number after 54 holes, but shot 4-under 68 the final
round with a pair of late bogeys to advance with one shot to spare at 283. Sims, who has
played on the Nationwide (now Web.com) Tour, made it on the number at 284 after a
final round 74.
At Kannapolis, N.C.: None of the state’s competitors advanced, with several missing
by narrow margins, most notably Gordon Strother of St. Simons Island. Strother shot
a final round 69 for a 4-under 280 total, but missed advancing by one stroke, tying for
21st (the top 19 and ties moved on). Strother was 4-under on his round the final day, but
bogeyed his last two holes.
Alpharetta’s Ryan Zabroske closed with a 68, but missed by two at 281. Savannah’s
William Smith was in the top 10 after back-to-back scores of 69, but shot 72-72 the final
two days and missed by three at 282.
Also failing to advance were: Alpharetta’s John Griffin, Brunswick’s Chris Johnson,
Savannah’s Adam Cohan, former Augusta State golfer Major Manning from
Clarkesville, and St. Simons Island residents Drew Weaver and Gator Todd.
At Lakeland, Fla.: Tucker’s Richard Swift shot 10-under 278, but came up two strokes
short of qualifying. Evans’ Brett Munson was 7-under after 36 holes and tied for 13th
(the top 19 and ties qualified), but was 1-over the final two days and missed by six shots
at 282. Douglasville’s Kurt Valley shot 7-under but also came up short.
At Madison, Miss.: None of the Georgians advanced. David Denham, a Tifton native
and former UGA golfer, missed by one shot, tying for 19th at 2-under 278. (The top 18
and ties advanced.) Denham shot 68-69-68 the first three rounds and was tied for 15th, but
slipped to a 73 the final day.
Duluth native Brent Witcher, who made 11 Web.com starts this year, also missed by
one, shooting 75 the final day to fall from a tie for 7th to 19th. Three straight bogeys the
final day beginning at the 15th hole knocked Witcher out of the top 18.
Former Georgia Tech golfer Chan Song of Cartersville missed by three at 280, closing
with a 73 after three straight scores of 69. Brad Smith of Atlanta, Todd Murphy of
Augusta and Hawkinsville’s Jon Kennedy also failed to advance.
At Pensacola, Fla.: Former Clayton State golfer Will Wilcox, who has played well on
the Web.com Tour the last two years, shot a final round 67 to tie for 14th at 10-under 270
(the top 18 and ties advanced).
Three Georgians narrowly missed advancing. Jonesboro’s Hank Kim was tied for 4th
after scores of 63-68-68 the first three rounds, and was inside the cut line after playing his
first 13 holes the final day in 1-under. But the veteran mini-tour player bogeyed four of
his last five holes and missed by two at 272, tying for 19th.
Also tying for 19th was Savannah’s Tim O’Neal, who spent several years on the
Nationwide Tour and is a former Georgia Amateur champion and Georgia Open runner-
up. O’Neal closed with scores of 65-67, but also missed by two at 272.
Atlanta’s Jordan Mitchell missed by three at 273. Mitchell, who had a hole-in-one in the
first round, shot 63 in the third round to vault 26 spots into a tie for 15th, but fell to 24th
after a final round 70. Mitchell carded six birdies the fourth round and needed a seventh
on the 18th hole to advance, but finished with a double bogey.
Also failing to advance were: recent Georgia Tech golfer Kyle Scott of Decatur, Blake
Palmer of Dawsonville, Jeff Bors and Brad Arrington of St. Simons, and Nathaniel
Rau of Cumming.
At Deerwood, Tex.: Patrick Reed, who helped lead Augusta State to back-to-back
NCAA Championships, earned medalist honors at 17-under 271. Reed, who made 11
PGA Tour starts this year, most of them from Monday qualifiers, and earned $303,000,
shot 69-63-65 to lead after 54 holes. He held on to the top spot with a closing 74 to win
by one. Former UGA golfer David Miller failed to advance.
At Lewisville, Tex.: Henrik Norlander, Reed’s teammate on the two Augusta State
championship teams, tied for 2nd at 3-under 285, making a jump from 26th to 5th after a
third round 66. Norlander closed with a 74 in difficult conditions to finish three behind
the medalist. Duluth’s Billy Shida, a recent Georgia College golfer, failed to advance, as
did Rome’s Seth Brandon in Hollister, Cal.
At Callaway Gardens: With more than 25 Georgians competing, six advanced to second
stage. Leading the way was NGA (formerly Hooters) Tour standout David Skinns of
Suwanee, who earned medalist honors at 19-under 269 with three rounds of 67 and a
closing 68.
Former Columbus State golfer Andrew Georgiou was 3rd at 273, and Atlanta resident
and former Georgia Bulldog Adam Mitchell tied for 4th at 274. James White of
Acworth, who recently completed an outstanding career at Georgia Tech, tied for 7th at
276, with mini-tour player Wade Binfield of Fayetteville T9 at 277.
Savannah’s Mark Silvers, who has enjoyed successful seasons the last two years on
the Peach State and NGA Tours, tied for 11th at 278, with former Auburn golfer Jimmy
Brandt, the top player on the Peach State Tour this year, advancing on the number at 279
after a final round 67.
Missing by one shot at 280 were Jamie Arnold of Decatur and recent Georgia Tech
golfer Chesson Hadley, both of whom suffered costly bogeys late in the final round. Jeff
Cammon and Patton Kizzire, both St. Simons residents, missed by two at 281 despite
shooting 135 and 136 respectively over the final 36 holes.
Samuel Del Val, the 2010 Georgia Open champion, missed by three at 282 along with
fellow mini-tour players Eddie Lee of Duluth and Denny Lucas of Williamson. Mark
Harrell of Hazlehurst and former Columbus State golfer Christian Ries missed by four
at 283.
Also failing to advance were: Casey Johnson, Martinez; Chris Wolfe, Warner Robins;
recent Kennesaw State standout Matt Nagy of Buena Vista; recent Augusta State golfer
Mitch Krywulycz; Brent Schwarzrock, St. Simons; Jin Chung, Duluth; Atlanta native
Ned Michaels; Blake Stark, Canton; seven-time Georgia PGA Player of the Year Tim
Weinhart, Alpharetta; Ricky Casko, Cartersville; Wade Holland, Fayetteville; Walter
Harris, Atlanta; and Jonathan Fricke, Covington.
At Florence, S.C.: Nationwide Tour veteran Brent Delahoussaye, who grew up in
Alpharetta, tied for 3rd at 6-under 274, with Sandersville’s David Robinson advancing on
the number after an adventurous final round.
Robinson, a former Georgia Amateur champion who has enjoyed success on the eGolf
Tour and was a Nationwide Tour member in 2010 and ’11, was T59 after an opening 74,
but rebounded with scores of 63-68 to move up to a tie for 7th. Robinson was 4-over after
three holes the final round and 5-over after 13, but birdied three of the final five holes for
a 72 and a 3-under 277 total, tying for 11th to narrowly qualify.
Atlanta’s Tim Schaetzel was tied for 1st after an opening 64, and was T14 (the top 17
and ties advanced) after 54 holes, but got off to a poor start in the final round and shot 75
to miss by four at 281. Also failing to advance were: Travis Nance of Cartersville, an
assistant at Coosa CC; Joe Young of Cochran; and Derek Oakey of LaGrange.
At Port St. Lucie, Fla.: Nationwide Tour veteran Josh Broadaway of Albany won
medalist honors by a whopping 11 strokes at PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker Course,
finishing at 19-under 269 with scores of 66-67-67-69. Broadaway was 75th on the money
list this season.
Recent UGA golfer and 2011 British Amateur champion Bryden Macpherson was 6th
at 283, with ex-Georgia Tech golfer David Dragoo T7 at 284. Former Nationwide Tour
player Kevin Durkin of Alpharetta failed to advance.