Q-School Recap
For a player with no status like myself, Q School is a process consisting of four total stages: Pre-Qualifying, First, Second, and Final Stage. Known as the ultimate gauntlet in professional golf, my Q-School journey started in early September.
The pre-qualifying stage serves as a “weed-out”, much like those business classes some of us took freshman and sophomore year of college. With 75 golfers vying for 33 spots, pars were a great score at Bull Valley. Not for the faint of heart, I can confidently say that Bull Valley is one of the harder courses I have played in competition. Designed with quirky doglegs and hazards looming around most corners, the 54 holes of prequalifying was anything but “stress-free”. An opening round 69 put me in a tie for the lead, and with shakier rounds of 74 and 75, I finished in 7th place, comfortably making it through to First Stage.
After taking a couple of days off, I got right back on the horse. With a steady diet of practice and play, I was staying sharp in anticipation for the September 28th announcement that would contain my first stage location.
My desired location was Lincoln, Nebraska, for no other reason than the fact of its proximity to Chicago. I would be able to drive. A big part of me feels comfort when I can take my car to tournaments. The convenience of throwing everything in the backseat, regardless how big or small an item is, is a nice luxury, especially when I will be spending a week in an Airbnb.
When I received the email, I was hit with a wave of excitement. Another opportunity to get one step closer to having status, the goal for any professional golfer coming out of college.
My practice ramped up, with longer daily sessions at the Merit Club in Libertyville. I worked on some swing thoughts and played nine holes a day, getting into scoring mode. I wasn’t exactly hitting it the way I wanted, but I was keeping it in front of me during those playing sessions, allowing for some scoring potential.
With the car loaded up and directions plugged in for Lincoln, I began the trek on Saturday, with the upcoming Tuesday marking the start of the tournament. Staying with my good friend and former college assistant coach Chad Merzbacher, we tried to make the week feel as homey as possible, making dinner each night and keeping the TV glued to football.
We took Sunday to see all 18 holes of Wilderness Ridge. A private course weaving through houses, Wilderness Ridge boasts tight tee shots, challenging par 3s, but fairly getable par 5s, making the par 71 layout fair and right in front of you. Through the first 18 holes of practice, I was pretty sporadic with most clubs from tee to green, scraping it around, but not too concerned, as I took notes in my yardage book and analyzed green complexes and lines off the tee.
With Italian sausage and pasta closing out the night, it was a solid day, but I went to sleep uneasy, hoping I could find a swing feel for the next few days.
Monday came and went quickly. We played 9 holes in the morning and teamed up with Matt Wininger, a fellow Miami (Ohio) graduate who I met earlier this summer in Iowa. It has been fun casually running into playing partners from past events.
Those 9 holes led to more of the same. Wayward shots led to confusion, which led to experimentation, all in an effort to find a swing feel for the week ahead. Nonetheless, with less confidence that I would like and little expectation (something I probably benefited from), we were off!
My opening tee shot round one was perfect, with a driver right up the gut, leading to a birdie. Yes, for how I was feeling, it was awesome. A few bogeys and birdies coming in resulted in one under 70, a solid opening round. The only goal in Q-School is to not play yourself out of it right away, and I did a great job of that. I went back to the range for more work.
My opening tee shot for the second round was also perfect. With little expectations all week, there wasn’t much judgment of the result coming from me, allowing me to accept what happened quicker. I followed up my first round with another one under 70, right in the hunt after day 2. With winds quieter than expected, the course was giving up birdies, however I had to rely on some longer putts and good short game to score.
In the third round, I was paired with Brad Hopfinger. A Lake Forest High School graduate and Scouts legend, it was fun to make the connection. Brad was coming off a season of finishing 112th on the Korn Ferry Tour money list, and looking to progress through Q-School to regain his status for next year.
Round three had more of the same, with some loose shots leading to bogeys and not too many good birdie opportunities. I settled for an even par 71. With the cut line at 6 under, likely to move even lower, I needed an extremely solid day to have a chance at advancing, but with that chance, there was hope.
I got off to a great start in the final round, birdieing holes 3, 6, and 7. With a short par 5 9th, I was feeling the good energy needed to have a fun day. A very poor drive left on 9 forced me to pitch out sideways leaving 200 yards for my third shot. I settled for par and turned in three under.
Pars on holes 10-13 wasn’t ideal, but still left me in a decent spot. Needing to go three under in my last five holes to make the eventual cut of seven under. After a good tee shot (one of the few of the week) on the par 5 14th, I had 260 yards in. The downhill approach has water surrounding the green, but I figured I needed to make something happen, with the remaining holes being quite challenging. For such a great tee shot, I hit one for the worst 3 woods in recent memory, finding the water and leading to an eventual bogey. I played the remaining holes in even par, signing for two under 69, missing the cut by 3.
Deflated and annoyed, I drove the 7 hours home. With that last round in the rearview mirror, I had lots of time to reflect on what transpired over the four days, and where we go from here.
I was proud of the way I fought all week without my best stuff. I was proud of my acceptance of both my good and poor results over the four days in Lincoln. I can improve on my self talk and inner confidence because as I have shown it. I know my good golf is good enough to compete on golf’s biggest stage.
Until then, we keep on working.
