Recent Georgia Tech standouts Ollie Schniederjans and Anders Albertson and three unrelated former Georgia Bulldogs with the same last name were among 16 players with Georgia ties to advance to the finals of qualifying for the 2016 Web.com Tour.
The 16 qualifiers will join five other golfers who either live in the state or played at Georgia or Georgia Tech in the finals. Those five earned their spots in the finals by their play on the 2015 Web.com Tour or on one of the other PGA Tour affiliates.
Five second stage qualifiers for the 2016 Web.com Tour were played recently at sites in Florida, Texas and California, with golfers from the Peach State advancing from each of the five. Approximately the top 20 finishers advanced from each qualifier.
Five Georgians advanced from Brooksville, Fla., including two of the three former Bulldogs with the same last name. Former teammates T.J. Mitchell and Keith Mitchell advanced, along with Savannah’s Mark Silvers, Atlanta resident Clayton Rask and recent Kennesaw State golfer Jeff Karlsson.
Rask, who has Web.com Tour experience and was a top-25 finisher on the 2015 Canadian Tour money list, tied for fourth in Brooksville with a 14-under 274 total. Rask was among the top five after each of the four rounds. Tying for 10th at 278 was Albany native T.J. Mitchell and Karlsson, a Canton resident. Mitchell shot 69 each of the first two rounds and closed with a pair of 70s.
Silvers and Keith Mitchell both advanced on the number at 280, tying for 18th. Silvers, a former Big Break winner on the Golf Channel who played his college golf at South Carolina, shot 70-67-73-70. He played a full season on the Web.com Tour this year and finished 105th in earnings. Keith Mitchell shot 71 the final day to advance.
Among those failing to advance were Augusta’s Chase Parker, former Georgia Southern golfer Spence Fulford, Warner Robins native Chris Wolfe, tour veterans Casey Wittenberg of Atlanta and Heath Slocum of Alpharetta, Chip Deason of Evans, rookie pro Scott Wolfes of St. Simons, and recent Georgia Tech golfers Drew Czuchry of Alpharetta and Shun Yat Hak.
Parker missed by two shots at 282, with Wolfe falling short despite a final round 66. Slocum fell back after opening with a 68.
In Kingwood, Tex., former Georgia Tech golfer Kyle Scott carded seven birdies in a final round 68 to tie for 13th at 283 after being outside the top 30 at the end of each of the first three rounds. Advancing along with Scott, a Decatur resident, was two-time Georgia Open champion Jonathan Fricke of Covington and former Auburn golfer Reid Edstrom, who grew up in the Atlanta area.
Both Fricke and Edstrom advanced on the number at 285 after shooting 73 the final day. The two veteran tour players have Web.com experience.
Albany’s Josh Broadaway and former Georgia Southern golfer Aron Price, both of whom have extensive Web.com Tour experience and were tour members this season, both missed by two shots at 287. Also failing to advance was recent UGA golfer Joey Garber.
Suwanee resident David Skinns led the Georgia contingent in McKinney, Tex., tying for fifth at 13-under 275. Like Rask, Skinns was among the top 25 on the Canadian Tour this year and was a multiple winner on the Hooters Tour.
St. Simons resident Rick Lamb was among the leaders the entire tournament and tied for seventh at 276. Blake Palmer of Dawsonville shot a third round 65 to jump from 35th to eighth and tied for 11th at 278. Former Georgia Tech golfer Paul Haley, who won as a Web.com rookie in 2012 and played the PGA Tour the next year, tied for 14th at 279.
Failing to advance was Web.com veteran Tim O’Neal of Savannah, Augusta’s Dykes Harbin, former Georgia Tech golfer and St. Simons resident J.T. Griffin, rookie pro Franco Castro of Alpharetta, recent UGA golfer Michael Cromie and St. Simons resident Cory Whitsett.
Woodstock’s Albertson closed with three consecutive scores of 69 to tie for eighth in Plantation, Fla., at 6-under 278. Augusta’s Wesley Bryan, who played in college at South Carolina, tied for 12th at 279 after a final round 67. Atlanta’s Adam Mitchell, who preceded the other two Mitchells in Athens, needed a 69 the final day to tie for 20th at 281, advancing on the number. He was a member of the 2009 U.S. Walker Cup team and played previously on the Web.com Tour.
Failing to advance was Wade Binfield of Fayetteville, former Georgia Open champion Samuel Del Val of Atlanta, ex-Augusta state golfer Mitch Krywulycz and former Mercer golfer James Beale.
Powder Srpings’ Schniederjans was 68th after opening with a 76 in Beaumont, Calif., but followed with scores of 69-70-69 to tie for 17th at 284 and advance on the number. He moved up 15 spots the final day. Recent Clemson golfer Billy Kennerly of Alpharetta also struggled in the first round and failed to advance.
Augusta’s Scott Parel, former Georgia Tech golfer Richy Werenski and recent Auburn golfer and Powder Springs resident Michael Hebert all finished between 76 and 85 on this year’s Web.com money list and were exempt into the qualifying finals.
Parel, a long time Web.com member, was 76th in earnings, with the top 75 eligible for the Web.com Finals and exempt for the 2016 season. Werenski was 79th and Hebert 84th in their rookie seasons on the tour. Parel, a Web.com tournament winner in 2013, turned 50 earlier this year, but failed to advance to the finals of qualifying for the 2016 Champions Tour.
Atlanta resident Drew Weaver, a former British Amateur champion, earned his spot in the qualifying finals field by placing among the top 10 money winners on the Canadian Tour. Former UGA golfer and 2015 Web.com Tour member Bryden Macpherson was second on the new PGA Tour China to qualify for the finals.
The final stage of Web.com qualifying for the 2016 season will be played Dec. 10-13 at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. The top 45 finishers and ties will earn exempt status for 2016, with the rest of the 156-player field gaining non-exempt status for next season.