It’s back to school for many aspiring professional golfers, and with the end of the PGA Tour’s wrap-around schedule comes the return of the Q School.
It was back in 2012 when then-commissioner Tim Finchem announced a series of significant changes, among them that all 50 tour cards for the 2013-14 PGA Tour season will be awarded through the then-Nationwide Tour (now the Korn Ferry Tour). Q-School didn’t go away altogether; it was merely reworked for those seeking access to the developmental tour.
Officially titled PGA Tour Q-School presented by Korn Ferry, it has returned with the action getting underway Wednesday in three different locations in California, Illinois and Kansas. There will be four more pre-qualifiers starting Sept. 20 and then one last pre-Q on Sept. 27.
There will be 13 First Stage qualifiers spread out in October and five Second Stage qualifiers in November.
The final stage, for those good enough and probably fortunate enough to survive the grind, will be Dec. 14-17 at TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley Course and Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
The entry deadline for the pre-qualifying events was Aug. 28, but for those non-members of any of the PGA Tour affiliated tours who did apply paid a $3,000 entry fee. Go to pgatour.com for live leaderboards.