Korn Ferry Tour Q-School: Second-stage recaps from Florida, California, Alabama, New Mexico
School is back in session.
The second stage of Korn Ferry Tour Q-School will take place at five sites across the country, beginning in Brooksville, Florida on Oct. 12-15 and ending with Oct. 19-22 events in Dothan, Alabama; Murrieta, California; Plantation, Florida; and Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The number of players advancing out of each site will vary, but those who qualify for final stage will not only earn at least conditional Korn Ferry Tour status, but they will also have a chance to improve that status on Nov. 4-7 at The Landings Club in Savannah, Georgia.
Here is a recap of each second-stage site as play finishes up:
Brooksville, Florida
Oct. 12-15, Southern Hills Plantation, Par 72
Final results (top 19 and ties advanced)
Medalist: Alex Weiss. The 25-year-old Marshall product has never teed it up in a Korn Ferry Tour event, yet he shot 20 under over four days to finish three shots clear of the field.
Notables moving on: Three shots behind Weiss was a player who’s made 434 career starts on the PGA Tour, Jonathan Byrd. The five-time Tour winner made 15 starts on Tour last season using his past-champion status, though he fell six spots short on the FedExCup points list of qualifying for the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. He still has some status on Tour for this season, but a KFT card will give the 43-year-old more playing opportunities. … Michael Johnson, the 28-year-old Auburn grad, was solo third at 16 under. Johnson played three seasons on the KFT before losing his card after the 2019 campaign. He made just one KFT start during the most recent super season. … Erik Compton and Brett White were part of a group at T-4, and both have inspiring stories. The 41-year-old Compton, who played five seasons on the PGA Tour and the past four seasons on the KFT, is a two-time heart transplant recipient. He finished No. 140 on the KFT points list last season with just two top-25s in 30 starts. White, 28, has never teed it up on the KFT. He did compete on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica in 2017, but in the summer of that same year he contracted viral encephalitis, spending three weeks in a hospital and needing three months of physical therapy in order to re-learn how to walk and talk, among other basic functions. By March 2018, he was doing full swings with a golf club. (Read this story on White by Golf Digest’s Joel Beall) … White’s closing 65 was matched by Callum McNeill, a 27-year-old from Scotland, who can play the bagpipe and has a brother who is a professional horse jockey. McNeill tied for 11th at 11 under, three shots clear of the cut line. … Luke Guthrie was also 11 under. The 31-year-old Illinois product is a two-time KFT winner and spent three full seasons on the PGA Tour before losing his card following a limited 2015-16 campaign. He had just one top-10 in 38 KFT starts this past season, finishing No. 147 in points. … Brandon Stone, a three-time European Tour winner from South Africa, was among those who advanced on the number at 9 under. The 28-year-old former University of Texas standout is currently ranked No. 136 in the world, but he has yet to earn his PGA Tour card or play a single KFT event. … Speaking of international players, Thomas Rosenmuller was also 9 under. The 24-year-old German won three times last year on the Pro Golf Tour in Europe, though he’s struggled this season on the Challenge Tour. … Belmont grad Ashton Van Horne, 27, sunk a 20-footer for birdie on the ninth hole, his final hole of the day, to shoot 5-under 67 and advance on the number.
Notables missing out: Van Holmgren, who bypassed his extra year at Florida Gulf Coast to turn pro after this summer’s U.S. Amateur, bogeyed his final hole to miss by a shot. … Willie Mack III, fired two 68s, but a second-round 75 hurt as the Michigan native ended up at 7 under. … Former TCU player Hayden Springer opened in 66, but eventually fell back to 7 under. Springer received attention earlier this year after Firepit Collective’s Ryan French, also known as Monday Q Info, told the emotional story of Springer’s 1-year-old daughter, Sage, who was born with a rare genetic disorder called Trisomy 18. (Click here to read more.) … The group at 6 under included Florida college products Alejandro Tosti (Florida) and Jack Maguire (Florida State), as well as Trevor Sluman, the 28-year-old nephew of six-time PGA Tour winner Jeff Sluman. A couple more former Florida collegians, both from UCF, Brad Schnieder and Bobby Bai, finished at 4 under. … Jamie Lovemark, the 33-year-old former NCAA individual champion at USC and two-time KFT winner, hasn’t played a full season on the PGA Tour since 2017-18. He failed to satisfy a major medical extension and played mostly on the KFT last season. He finished No. 86 in points, so despite missing out this week at 4 under, he still has some KFT status. … Another NCAA champ, 2018 individual winner Broc Everett of Augusta, shot even par. … Several Tour veterans shot even par or worse this week – John Merrick, Kevin Stadler and Spencer Levin, who have combined for 829 starts, two wins and 55 top-10s on the PGA Tour. … Smylie Kaufman withdrew after two rounds. He was 9 over at the time.