First Quarter Grades for the 2010 Q-School Grads

OK, so as the PGA Tour goes, we are probably past the 25% point, but this seems like a good time to take stock of the performance of our 27 Grads thus far. So, here are my grades for the first marking period, with the players listed in the order they finished at Q-School last December.

• Billy Mayfair - Our seasoned veteran has gotten into 8 tournaments, and aside from a nice 13th at the Farmers Insurance Open, he has struggled, as evidenced by his 5 missed cuts.  He's currently 140th on the FedEx points list.  Grade: C-
• William McGirt - He's played just about every tournament he could get into. He struggled in January missing 3 straight cuts, but he's been steady ever since. In the 7 tournaments since, he's been in the Top 40 five times. He's 86th on the FedEx list. Grade: B
• Ben Martin - The Clemson Tiger has gotten into seven tournaments and has had his moments. But, he's been very inconsistent, having yet to make cuts in consecutive tournaments and sitting at #155 in the FedEx race. His highlight was also in the Farmers, where he finished 25th. Grade" C-
• Cameron Tringale - Our favorite Yellow Jacket has played in nine tournaments, and made 6 cuts. He was on a nice roll in late February, but missed his last cut, putting him 134th on the Fed Ex list. Grade C.
• Jarrod Lyle - The Aussie was on fire in Mexico, finishing 5th, but followed that with three consecutive missed cuts.  He's played in 10 events and just squeaks into the FedEx Top 100 at #99. Grade B-
• Brant Jobe - Has slowed considerably after making the cuts in the season's first three events. Since then he's missed the cut in 4 of 6, but Brant still sits at 90th on the Fed Ex list. Grade: B
• Zack Miller - Zack got off to an amazing start with 4 straight Top 30's early in the season. Since then, things have slowed a bit, but Zack is sitting pretty at #69 in the FedEx points race. Grade: B+
• Kyle Stanley - He's made the cut in 8 of 9 tournaments and has been rock solid all year.  He has four Top 30's in the past 5 weeks, and may be the next one of our grads to contend for a victory. Grade: B+
• Paul Stankowski - He's played in seven tournaments, and one of our more seasoned tour vets has struggled. The best finish is a Tie for 29th at the Farmers, but things have gone down hill recently. He truly seemed like the nicest guy on the course at Q-School, so this grade pains me... Grade: D
• Chris Baryla - This one confuses me. Our Canadian Q-School grad seems capable of catching lightning in a bottle, but it hasn't happened yet, as he's struggled mightily this year. No cuts in 6 tries, and not much more luck in his forays into the Nationwide Tour. Grade: D-, but I predict he has a big week soon.
• Scott Stallings - 5 missed cuts to start the season, finally a T48 in the secondary stop in Puerto Rico, and things were not looking great. But, that all changed with a 3rd place finish at last week's transition. That resulted in a whopping $374K payday and vaulted Scott to 71st place in the FedEx standings. Grade: B
• Nate Smith - 3 cuts in seven tournaments, and nothing really notable yet. Unfortunately, March was a lost month with no made cuts. Grade: D
• Gary Woodland - He had probably already secured his 2012 Tour card after nailing 3 Top 6 finishes in the first two months, at which point he had more than the rest of his graduating class combined. Then, at the Transition, he took it to the next level by winning after four rounds at 68 or below.  He is closing in on $2M in winnings, has a win, a three year exemption and an invite to the Masters. This one is a no-brainer, he could cut the rest of the year and still keep this grade. Grade: A+
• Joseph Bramlett - He finished strong to make the cut at Q-School and will need to do the same to make the 2011 season a fruitful one. He's made cuts in 3 of 7 tournaments, but his best is a mediocre 65th. IT's going to take a lot more than that to retain his card for 2012. Grade: D
• Bio Kim - 2 cuts in 9 events, but they were both Top 20's.  He's hovering around the Top 150. Grade C-
• Michael Thompson - He's only gotten into 5 tournaments, but has made 3 cuts and secured enough points to reach 172nd on the FedEx list. Grade C.
• Kent Jones - 111th on the FedEx list after seven tournaments, and he seems to be getting better. His season was highlighted by an 11th place finish South of the Border. Grade: C+
• Matt McQuillan - This 2010 grad who jumped right past the Nationwide has struggled this year. He made the cut in his first tournament at the Bob Hope - then 5 straight missed cuts - and every tournament has ended over par. Grade: D
• Sunghoon Kang - he's had his moments in his five 2011 starts, highlighted by a Top 20 in Cancun. The young Korean is off to a decent startin his first venture in the States. Grade: C 
• James Driscoll - Back again in 2011, he's trying to improve on his 157th place finish in 2010. Thus far, it must look familiar for Mr. Driscoll as he sits at 151st in the FedEx race. He's made 2 of 5 cuts, highlighted by a T13 at Pebble Beach. Grade: C
• Andres Gonzales - Has only found his way into 4 tournaments, and actually found himself on the leaderboard after an opening round 66 in Cancun. Unfortunately he closed with a 7 over 78 on Sunday. Grade: C-
• Alexandre Rocha - He's amde the cut in 3 of 5 appearances, but nothing better than a T50. He's just outside the Top 200 currently. Grade: C-
• Jim Renner - See Alexandre Roca just above. Same story here, but Renner's best is a 59th.  Grade: C-
• Richard S. Johnson - Our Sweedish grad got off to a great start. The former Tour winner had Top 40s in his first four tournaments, but has hit a slump with two cuts and a WD the last three times out. He's still in 103rd place in the FedEx standings. Grade: B
• Scott Gordon - He's only gotten into 4 tournaments, with one made cut, which was a T67 at Cancun. Things are not looking great, but we'll give him the benefit of the doubt and an Incomplete for now.
• Billy Horschel - Misssed cuts in 6 of 7, but had a nice 13th place finish in Cancun. Grade: C-
• Will Strickler - Four appearances, four missed cuts. Incomplete.

So, there it is. Some highlights, and predictably a few rough starts, as well.  Keep an eye on these guys in Houston this week, where 21 of our grads are currenlty in the filed and 5 others are currently alternates. Next week it will be a different story, as absent a surprise win this week, only Gary Woodland will be visiting Augusta.

Congrats to 2010 Q-School Grad Gary Woodland on his first win!

Just a few minutes for a quick post, but Woodland finished in a tie for 11th at Q-School last December, and he's already broke through with his first PGA Tour victory. After the awesome start Gary has had over the first few months, this one really isn't that big a surprise.  This is not a fluke - I think we'll be seeing the young Mr. Woodland at the top of the Fedex standings for quite some time.

Congrats again to out first 2010 Grad to lock up his privileges for next season, and the next two years courtesy of the win, and a spot in the Masters, and...  

The Florida Swing Starts

Our 27 Q-School grads had a decent week South of the Border last week, and a few of the guys look to build on their momentum this week.  As mentioned in my last post, the trip to Mexico was a great opportunity for our Q-School 27. As an aside, the course looked fantastic, and seems like a must-play for anyone visiting Cancun.

As it turned out, the winner of the Mayakoba Classic was one of the few golfers even lower on the Exempt priority list than our grads.  Johnson Wagner finished an agonizing 126th on the money list in 2010 and came into the season with a priority below all 27 of the Q-School grads, and the Top 20 on last year's Nationwide list. This was only his third tournament of the year, and he hadn't made a cut yet this year. Andres Gonzalez, Billy Horschel and Scott Gordon also made their first cuts of the year, but to a bit less fanfare.

Just to point out how quickly fortunes can change, Wagner, instead of sitting at home this weekend watching Modern Family re-runs will be in one of the featured pairings this week, and he's now fully exempt through the end of 2013! And, although he wasn't one of our 27, we should be happy for him, because he's a nice guy and a Hokie - and that's a cool thing.

I predicted three Top 10's for our crew last week.  I was close, with 3 in the Top 13.  Jarrod Lyle finished 5th, his best result of the year, to the lead the way. Kent Jones and Kyle Stanley had their best finishes at 11th and 13th respectively.

This week in Palm Beach, there are 15 graduates in the field.  Aside from the aforementioned golfers, Sunghoon Kang seems to be showing the most improvement over the first few months of the season.  Let's see if he can keep it up this week. My prediction for the top finisher is Kyle Stanley who seems poised for his first Top 10, after cracking into the Top 100 on the year.

Q-School Grads take center stage in Mexico

This is a huge opportunity for our 2010 Q-school grads.  With the World's Top 64 playing in the Accenture Match Play Championship, we'll see a prime opportunity for a few of these guys to break through at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Cancun. Every player who entered the field for this one got in, as well as quite a few players who didn't make the cut at Q-school and are hanging on to their PGA status by a thread. For our grads - this is a big week.

Mayacoba? No, it's not Spanish for "my fault." It's a resort area in Playa del Carmen, about 35 miles south of Cancún in the heart of the Riviera Maya on the Caribbean. Lots of beautiful all-inclusive resorts on pristine beaches, with beautiful people drinking colorful margaritas and crappy Mexican beer.  But, these guys are all hoping they miss that action and that they're on the links all 4 days.

23 of the 27 2010 graduates are playing.  The Top 64 in the world are not. Neither are Gary Woodland or Brandt Jobe, the two 2010 graduates off to the best starts this season. La puerta is open. So far in 2011, our grads have accounted for 3 Top Tens among them, with two of those coming from Woodland.  I'm predicting (hoping) we see at least 3 more Top 10s this week.

A few names to keep an eye on: Jarrod Lyle ,who has made 5 of 6 cuts this year and finished 35th last week. Zack Miller who has been in the Top 30 his last three tournaments including a 9th his last time out; Kyle Stanley who has made cuts in all 4 tournaments this year and Richard S. Johnson coming off of two straight Top 40 finishes.

So, turn off the match play, where all the big name Americans will likely be out by Friday, and focus on the battle below the border.

2010 Q-School

Imagine standing over a 3 foot putt, with hundreds of thousands of dollars, fame, fortune and quite possibly your entire career on the line. You picture the moment in front of a huge international TV audience and tens of thousands watching in person, right? Not quite. Not this week. This is Q-school, where you’re lucky to have 8 people in your gallery, with four of them relatives.

I’ve been intrigued by Q-School for years. It’s hard to imagine a more gruelling stressful environment in all sports. Unlike most 72 hole PGA tournaments, this one grinds on for 6 stress-filled days and 108 painful holes. First place? By PGA Tour standards, a paltry $50K. But this one isn’t about winning, it’s about securing your Tour card for the following season and playing for $1M every week.

In 2010, nearly 1,400 hopeful players ponied up the $5K entry fee for a chance to gain entry into the tour. It’s all about the Top 25 and ties. The drama on this day is focused on who finishes 25th and 26th. That one spot in the results is the difference between a year of luxury, great golf courses, huge galleries, and gobs of cash, vs. toiling for a year on a smaller stage. The prize money for 25th place is $10K, barely break-even, but the doors that are opened... oh, my...

This year’s Q-school took place at Orange County National, and I decided to spend the weekend there. What a great experience. The final stage features 166 golfers over 2 courses. Adding to the formidable challenge, the Orlando weather was brisk and windy. I drove up and basically parked at the clubhouse and walked onto the course. No admission fees, no security, just a bunch of men fighting for their professional lives with a handful of friends and relatives in the crowd.

It was an amazing experience; you are close to the players - real close. There’s no “inside-the-ropes” access here, because there are no ropes. You could literally walk down the fairways if you desired. We followed a few groups over the two days, and saw lots of great golf. These guys are good. The swings all look effortless, the ball flies off the clubs with a sound I don’t often hear when out on the links of Central Florida. These guys are all really good.

So, what separates the successful from those on the outside looking in? From what I could tell, it’s controlling emotions, handling adversity, making some putts and an occasional break or two along the journey. We saw some great shots and some poor ones, too; watched some monster putts drop and some knee-knockers slip by.

A quick rundown of some of the players we spent time with:

• Billy Mayfair - this five time former PGA winner was back at Q-School for the first time in 23 years. He seemed cool and relaxed the entire time. I was surprised by how positive and affirming his caddy was before every shot, “this is your shot Billy, hit when you are ready...” Truthfully, it seemed a little bit over the top. Billy won the whole thing.
• Kent Jones - a journeyman who had a few other stints on the big tour. Watched him both days, and he was money tee to green while I watched. Seemed like he was just a hot putter away from making a huge run. He also collected his card.
• Luke Hickmott - this youngster from Australia was one of the few guys playing without sponsors logos all over his clothing and equipment. His sole support was a pretty woman in the gallery. His swing looked amazingly fluid, but he struggled getting any momentum going. In it to the end, he missed the Top 25. I’m hoping this pleasant young man found a sponsor or two and makes it on the Nationwide Tour.
• Chris Baryla - he shot an insane 61 earlier in the week, yet still found himself hovering outside the Top 25 on Sunday. He really seemed to be feeling the stress on Sunday, but closed very impressively on Monday, featuring 5 straight birdies out of the gate to secure his card. This guy can really catch a hot streak, it will be interesting to see if he can do that on the big tour.
• Jarrod Lyle - watched him struggle down the fairway on a Par 5, then catch a nice lie and hole a wedge from the rough for an eagle. From that point on, he was on cruise control and is back on tour in 2011.
• Gary Woodland - looked solid all around, but my gosh, he played slow. Apprently the right speed as he comfortably made it.
• Paul Stankowski - seemed to always be smiling, and like a super-nice guy. The two time PGA Tour winner stayed near the top throughout, and kept his relatively large gallery happy.
• Ty Tryon - former wonder kid probably had the largest gallery and lots of folks rooting for him. He just never seemed to get it rolling and finished well back in the pack.
• Bio Kim - young kid who really seemed to have a solid game and secured his card.He hada ton of birdies, and I can picture him putting it all together some time soon.
• Scott Stallings - another streaky guy who made the cut, when I was watching him, he was struggling and bogeyed 4 of the last 5 holes on Sunday, but definitely had his moments including birdies on the final two holes to sneak in.
• Charles Warren - former Tour player out of Clemson started strong, but couldn’t get it together over the last two days.
• Sunghoon Kang - I think this kid has potential, seemed to have a great game and creamed the ball. His “gallery” was comprised of a few members of his family could not have been nicer.
• Andres Gonzalez - Big strapping guy, fu manchu mustache, long crazy hair, and a nice swing. He locked up his card, too.

Unfortunately, I missed the drama of the final round on Monday. As usual, all of the eyes were around the cut line. Will Strickler, who has never played a tour event just needed a 75 to secure his card. He sat in 25th place, needing to make a short par putt on the 18th to remain safe. A few feet from a lifetime dream. He missed he putt. then made a 3 footer for bogey - not knowing whether or not it was enough. When the results were tallied, it was good for 27th place, but fortunately, two of the finishers in front of him already had secured their cards. He was in! And in an ironic twist, his missed putt on the 18th also opened the door for his University of Florida teammate Billy Horschel to sneak in.

All told - an amazing experience - the most exciting tournament I’ve ever attended in person, and definitely a return trip for me sometime in the near future. I’ve been to a bunch of USGA, PGA and Nationwide Your events, played great courses and had some great experiences on the golf course, but nothing that compares to Q-School. Next time it’s in my neck of the woods, the only thing I’ll do differently is make sure I take vacation on Monday.

Check back periodically for a look at how these 27 successful men fare as they battle on the big stages of the PGA Tour in 2011.

December 2010