Wednesday, March 30, 2011

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.

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