The field for the Final Stage of the PGA Tour/Korn Ferry Q-School is set, after four Second Stage tournaments were completed this week, and three players with Minnesota connections advanced.
A pair of former State Amateur champions had to rally in their final rounds on Friday to make it, and a former Gopher also made it to the Final Stage despite having his engine slip into reverse on his last nine.
The Final Stage will be played next week, Dec. 12-15, at TPC Sawgrass Country Club and Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra, Fla. When it's over, the top five finishers and ties will receive status on the PGA Tour for the 2025 season. Anyone outside of the top five will have some status on the Korn Ferry Tour, and anyone who gets to Ponte Vedra will have status on the PGA Americas Tour, which was created earlier this year by combining the old PGA Latino America and PGA Canada tours.
Going into his last seven holes, Caleb VanArragon's chances for advanciing didn't look all that promising. He was 2 under for the first 65 holes on a 7,659-yard course, Hammock Beach Conservatory (par 72) in Palm Coast, Fla. That sounds pretty respectable, but it wasn't going to be good enough. Only the top 15 and ties were going to advance, and he was outside the top 20. So the 2023 Minnesota State Open and State Amateur champion (he was 36 under for those two tournaments and won them by a combined 21 strokes) proceeded to birdie the 243-yard, par-3 12th hole, the 491-yard, par-4 13th and the 414-yard, par-4 16th.
(To old guys who played their tournaments in the previous century, that 3 on the nearly 500-yard 13th hole was an eagle, not a birdie.)
VanArragon's closing burst gave him a valedictory 69 (3 under) and a 72-hole total of 283 (-5), which turned out to be exactly what he needed. He made it on the number, as part of a five-way tie for 14th place.
Derek Hitchner, the 2021 State Am champ, was in a similar position Friday in Valdosta, Ga., on an even longer course, the monstrous Kinderlou Forest, 7,780 yards, par 72. His bogey at the par-3 fifth hole put him at 2 over for his overall score through 59 holes, and he was going to need to be under par by the time he finished. The former Minnesota state high school champion played the next nine holes in 4 under, beginning with a birdie at the 435-yard, par-4 sixth. He followed that with another birdie at the par-4 seventh and made consecutive birdies on the back nine, as well, at the 466-yard, par-4 13th and 580-yard, par-5 14th.
As a result, he could afford the bogey he made at the 240-yard, par-3 15th. He ended up with his third consecutive 70, following a first-round 77, and at a site where the top 16 and ties were going to advance, his aggregate of 287 (-1) put him in a six-way tie for 12th place. So he will move on to Ponte Vedra.
Unlike VanArragon and Hitchner, Thomas Longbella had some margin for error, which turned out to be a good thing. He shot 69 in each of his first two rounds at Valencia CC (7,300 yards, par 72), in Valencia, Calif., and then got close to the top of the leaderboard with a 66 on Thursday. He was sort cruising on the front nine, and through the first four holes on the back. Then he bogeyed the par-3 14th (208 yards), and committed the Cardinal Sin of tournament golf by making a double bogey at the 527-yard, par-5 15th.
The 2020 Wisconsin State Amateur champion (he won by 10 shots) stopped the bleeding with a birdie at the 223-yard, par-3 16th, but cost himself another stroke with a bogey on the back nine's other par 5, the 596-yard 18th. It was an untidy 39 on the back nine and a 76 for the round, but he had given himself a cushion, and his 72-hole total of 280 put him in sole possession of 13th place. The top 15 and ties were going to advance; so he was able to make it out of Valencia and into the Final Stage with one shot to spare, just ahead of a three-way tie for 14th at 281.
PGA TOUR/KORN FERRY Q-SCHOOL
SECOND STAGE (72-hole tournaments)
Palm Coast, Fla.
At Hammock Beach Conservatory
Par 72, 7,659 yards
Dec. 3-6
The top 15 finishers and ties advance to the Final Stage
(There are four stages to Q-School -- Preliminary, First Stage, Second Stage and Final Stage. The Final Stage will be Dec. 12-15 at TPC Sawgrass Country Club and Sawgrass CC in Ponte Vedra, Fla., and from there the top five fiinishers -- and ties -- will receive PGA Tour Cards for 2025. Those finishing outside of the top five will have varying degrees of status for the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour.)
Final results
T14. Caleb VanArragon, Blaine 74-68-72-69--283 (-5)
What it took: 283 (5-way tie for 14th)
Failed to advance
T43. Angus Flanagan, Surrey, UK 74-69-71-78--292
69. Muzzy Donohue, North Oaks 81-77-79-75--312
Valdosta, Ga.
At Kinderlou Forest GC
Par 72, 7,780 yards
Dec. 3-6
The top 16 and ties advance
T12. Derek Hitchner, Minneapolis 77-70-70-70--287 (-1)
What it took: 287 (6-way tie for 12th)
Failed to advance
62. Gunnar Broin (a), Chanhassen 76-77-77-73--303
Valencia, Calif.
At Valencia CC
Par 72, 7,300 yards
Dec. 3-6
The top 15 and ties advance
13. Thomas Longbella, Chippewa Falls 69-69-66-76--280 (-8)
What it took: 281 (3-way tie for 14th)
Failed to advance
T46. Ben Warian (a), Stillwater 71-73-73-76--293
Dothan, Ala.
At RTJ Golf Trail @ Highland Oaks -- Highlands/Marshwood
Par 72, 7,632 yards
Dec. 3-6
The top 17 and ties advance
What it took: 280 (5-way tie for 16th)
Failed to advance
T50. Ben Sigel, Minnetonka 71-74-71-73--289
T73. Chris Gilman, Sioux Falls 72-79-75-75--301
Savannah, Ga.
At The Landings - Deer Creek
Par 72, 7,185 yards
Nov. 19-22
The top 20 and ties advance
Final results
What it took: 276 (3-way tie for 18th)
Failed to advance
T65. Derek Chang, Alpharetta, Ga. 68-72-77-71--288
FIRST STAGE (72 holes)
Ocala, Fla.
At Country Club of Ocala
Par 72, 6,920
Oct. 29-Nov. 1
The top 21 finishers and ties advanced to the Second Stage of Q-School
T18. Muzzy Donohue, North Oaks 71-73-69-69--282
What it took: 282 (6-way tie for 18th)
Failed to advance
T47. Evan Long, New Castle, Pa. 75-74-74-68--291
Henryville, Ind.
At Champions Pointe GC
Par 72, 7,174 yards
Oct. 22-25
The top 21 finishers and ties advance
T7. Derek Hitchner, Minneapolis 67-67-69-71--274
What it took -- 277 (3-way tie for 20th)
Failed to advance
T39. Brady Madsen, Raymond, Minn. 69-74-66-74--283
Madison, Miss.
At Lake Caroline GC
Par 70, 6,835 yards
Oct. 15-18
The top 21 finishers and ties advance
What it took -- 273 (5-way tie for 21st)
Failed to advance
T37. Van Holmgren, Wayzata 68-68-73-68--277 (-3)
Albequerque, New Mexico
At The University of New Mexico Championship Course
Par 71, 7, 555 yards
Oct. 15-18
The top 21 and ties advance
What it took -- 286 (3-way tie for 21st)
Failed to advance
T52. Andrew McCain, Mpls./Nashville 74-72-73-76--295
WD -- Austin Vukovits, Fishers, Ind. 79-WD
Maricopa, Ariz.
At Ak-Chin Southern Dunes
Par 72, 7,546 yards
Oct. 8-11
The top 21 and ties advance
Final results
T4. Ben Warian (a), Stillwater 66-73-69-70--278
What it took -- 281 (7-way tie for 19th)
Failed to advance
T55. Andrew Israelson, Staples 74-69-72-76--291
Lincoln, Neb.
At Wilderness Ridge CC
Par 71, 7,107 yards
Oct. 8-11
The top 25 and ties advance
Final results
T19. Ben Sigel, Minnetonka 72-64-69-72--277
What it took -- 277 (7-way tie for 19th)
Failed to advance
T41. Nate Deziel, East Grand Forks 75-67-69-72--283
T49. Nate Adams, Maple Grove 71-71-71-73--286
T56. Thomas Lehman, Scottsdale, Ariz. 72-74-74-68--288
WD -- Jack Ebner, Edina
Broken Arrow, Okla.
At Indian Springs - River Course
Par 71, 6,917 yards
Oct. 8-11
The top 20 and ties will advance
Final results
T9. Caleb VanArragon, Blaine 71-69-67-70--277
T16. Angus Flanagan, Surey, England 64-75-70-70--279
What it took -- 280 (2-way tie for 19th)
Failed to advance
T51. Will Grevlos, Sioux Falls 77-71-68-74--290
PRELIMINARY STAGE (54-hole tournaments)
Brunswick, Ga.
At Brunswidk GC
Par 70, 6,802 yards
Sept. 18-20
The top 33 and ties advanced
T3. Muzzy Donohue, St. Paul 66-67-66--199
What it took -- 212 (3-way tie for 33rd)
Newton, Kansas
At Sand Creek Station TC
Par 72, 7337 yards
Sapt. 18-20
The top 33 and ties advanced
T4. Nate Adams, Maple Grove 72-70-71--213
T12. Nate Deziel, East Grand Forks 75-73-68--216
What it took -- 222 (3-way tie for 33rd)
Chardon, Ohio
At Mayfield SRC - Sand Ridge
Par 72, 7277 yards
Sept. 18-20
The top 35 and tties advanced
What it took -- 219 (4-way tie for 33rd)
Failed to advance
T66. Zach Sklebar, Fargo 77-80-73--230
Woodstock, Ill.
At Bull Valley GC
Par 72, 7,190 yards
Sept. 11-13
The top 33 and ties advanced
T28. Jack Hiemenz, Blaine 75-77-76--228
What it took -- 228 (6-way tie for 28th)
Failed to advance
T43. Aaron Wilson,k Chaska 80-72-81--233
Kannapolis, N.C.
At Thr Club @ Irish Creek
Par 71, 7,144 yards
Sept. 11-13
The top 34 and ties advanced
What it took -- 213 (6-way tie for 31st
Failed to advance
T40. Hentry May, Edina 72-70-73--215
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