Final Stage Preview

The final stage of PGA Tour Q-school begins Thursday at Sawgrass Country Club and TPC Sawgrass. The 72-hole, no-cut event has 168 players in the field. The breakdown of cards available is as follows:

• Top five and ties earn PGA Tour Cards
• The following 40 and ties earn exempt KFT cards through the second or third reshuffle
• The next 20 earn exempt Americas Tour cards
• All the rest earn both conditional KFT and Americas Tour status. 

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A field breakdown

Players with the most PGA Tour wins- Sean O'Hair and Scott Piercy, 4

The player with the most PGA Tour starts- O'Hair, 421

The player with the most career PGA Tour earnings- You guessed it: Sean O'Hair, $25.2 million

PGA Tour winners in the field- 17

Highest Ranked OWGR- Keita Jakajima, Japan OOM winner, 90th. 

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From Monday Qs to Finals

‍Ryan Gerard- The former Tar Heel earned special temporary membership for 2023 after a Monday Q and 4th place finish at the Honda Classic.

‍Peter Kuest- The former BYU star Monday Q’d into the Rocket Mortgage and finished T4 to help him earn Special Temp membership last season.

‍Davis Lamb- Lamb held conditional status on PGA Tour Canada before Monday Qualifying into ATB Classic and winning. The following week, he won again. The Notre Dame grad finished 3rd on the Order of Merit and earned a spot at the final stage. 

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Guys to Pull For

‍Hayden Springer- If you aren't pulling for Hayden, I can't help you. Springer’s 3-year-old daughter Sage passed away last month after being born with Trisomy 18. Also, Hayden DQ'd himself at the Rocket Mortgage Monday Q during the playoff because he had accidentally added a 15th club after his round. He deserves to find success.  

‍Thomas Power Horan- Horan finished in the top five on the Australasian Tour Order of Merit to earn a spot in the final stage. A few years ago, Horan quit playing because his sister was diagnosed with cancer and the family needed financial help. He returned after an 18-month layoff and won in his second start. 

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Players to Watch

Aldrich Potgieter- The 19-year-old South African is uber-talented, and it would be no surprise to see him nab one of the five PGA Tour cards.

Stuart MacDonald- MacDonald had a great season on the mini-tour grind picking up a win and runner-up on PGA Tour Canada. 

Jared du Toit- After being an All-American at Arizona State and contending at the Canadian Open as an amateur, big things were expected. However, his pro career has been a grind. Earlier this fall, he won the first stage of the Asian Tour Q-school by ten and got through both the first and second stages of the PGA Tour Q-school. 

Cooper Dossey- I once called him the "best player without status," but now that he has made it to the final stage, that title will be handed down to someone else. Although he struggled a bit in Canada this summer, it's not surprising to see him at the final stage. 

Marcus Byrd- Byrd won four times on the APGA Tour and looks to lock up guaranteed starts on a bigger tour in his first trip to the final stage. 

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They Must Be Tired

Braden Thornberry- The former NCAA champ has played all stages of DP (Euro), LIV, and now PGA Tour Q-school. Playing a total of nine stages across three continents helped Thornberry rack up some serious frequent flier miles this fall. Thornberry has conditional DP Tour status locked up for 2024.

James Nicholas- Nicholas was able to grab full DP status for next season after getting through all three stages there. Now, he looks to do the same for the PGA Tour. 

Zach Bauchou- The former Oklahoma State Cowboy locked up full Asian Tour status at LIV Promotions (Q-school) last week, and now looks to see if he can nab one of the five PGA Tour cards. 

Sleepers

Chandler Blanchet- With full KFT status locked up after winning the Order of Merit on the LatinoAmerican Tour, Blanchet is freewheeling the final stage. 

Keenan Huskey- The lefty missed getting through numerous Monday Q's by one or two last year and backed up the good play with some mini-tour wins. It would be no surprise to see him play well here.

My Picks (Non "big" name category)

Keenan Huskey

Dylan Meyer

Cooper Dossey

Chandler Blanchet

Stuart MacDonald