A Case For Mondays

Golf Channel analyst Frank Nobilo was calling the action on Sunday at the Waste Management Phoenix Open when Will Chandler made an early birdie. “He’s the reason the PGA Tour should keep doing Monday Qs," Nobilo said. “We used to get these stories every month. I don’t want these stories to go away.”  

Last week's Monday qualifier ended a 77-year run of Phoenix Open qualifiers. As part of its strategy to keep the more recognizable players at the top of the leaderboard, the PGA Tour is cutting cards, reducing field sizes and axing some Monday Qs. Will Chandler made a strong case this week for why that is a mistake.

Chandler walked on to his college team at Georgia and rarely made it into the starting lineup. His Senior year scoring average was 75.92 and he only played in one fall tournament in his fifth year as a Bulldog. Many would have advised Chandler against chasing his professional golf dream, but Chandler wasn't discouraged. 

Last year, Chandler was three years into his pro career and didn't have any tour status; then he Monday qualified for five Korn Ferry Tour events and gathered enough points to gain conditional KFT status for 2025. Few would have bet on him to finish in the top-5 at Q school in December at TPC Sawgrass, but it didn’t matter – Chandler was used to betting on himself. He played a heroic back nine on the final day at TPC Sawgrass’s Dye Valley Course, shooting 30 and earning a PGA Tour card. 

Chandler's PGA Tour career got off to a slow start. He missed the cut in his first two starts, and his limited status meant he wasn't in the field at the Phoenix Open. So he showed up to last week’s Monday Q in Scottsdale. 

Chandler started his day on the 10th hole at Pinnacle Peak C.C., and sparked his round with back-to-back eagles on 18 and 1. He closed solidly, posting a 7-under 65, but wasn't sure if it was good enough. When the final Phoenix Open Monday Q concluded, he had earned his way into the field. 

Chandler played the first two rounds at TPC Scottsdale like a man on a cut-making mission, shooting 67-68 and advancing to the weekend for the first time on the PGA Tour. He added a crafty 68 in the third round and entered Sunday T-10; his stellar play earned him a final round pairing alongside world number one, Scottie Scheffler. While Scheffler birdied four out his first six, the pairing and moment didn’t intimidate Chandler; he paced himself with one birdie and eight pars on the front, waiting patiently for the pieces of his game to fully align.

The first blemish on Chandler’s scorecard was a bogey at the difficult 11th, but he bounced back with birdies at 12, 13. As Chandler heated up, Scheffler faltered with two straight bogeys. Chandler played the par-5 15th like a tactician, laying up to 100 yards, hitting a wedge to 15 feet, and rolling it in for another birdie. Meanwhile, Scheffler hit his second shot in the water and had to scramble to save par. A conservative approach left Chandler with just over 22 feet for birdie on the driveable 17th. The smooth-stroking lefty gutted the right-to-left putt, moving into the top-5. 

A pulled drive at the 18th left Chandler in a dangerous spot in the right fairway bunker. He splashed it out safely to 126 yards from the flag. With a top-10 in jeopardy, Chandler dialed in a wedge and stuck it to two feet. He tapped in for 32 on the back nine, 66 on the day and had beaten the best player in the world by six. Golf Channel and CBS coverage gave Chandler an admirable amount of air time, and he’d earned every second of it.

Chandler’s T-6 finish at The People’s Open guarantees him a spot in next week's Mexico Open and adds $310,500 to his bank account.

The 77-year-old run of Monday qualifiers for the Phoenix Open has come to an end. But Chandler is the best example of why Monday Qs should live on. 

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