These five golfers – four of them Aussies – earned 2024 PGA Tour Champions tour cards at Q school at TPC Scottsdale

TPC Scottsdale’s Champions Course was host for the 72-hole qualifying tournament.

The PGA Tour Champions had five tour cards for 2024 up for grabs at TPC Scottsdale’s Champions Course this week.

The final stage of Q School for the senior circuit provided 78 golfers 72 holes to snag status for next season.

By Friday, 73 of those golfers came up short, including Baseball Hall of Famer John Smoltz (dead last by eight shots at 22 over), 72-year-old Dick Mast (who shot or beat his age two times this week), Notah Begay, Shaun Micheel, Ted Purdy, Carlos Franco and Bryan Hoops, the lone amateur in the field who missed out on a playoff by a stroke.

All is not lost for those who finished sixth through 30th, as they will be eligible to apply for PGA Tour Champions Associate Membership for 2024, which would then get them into qualifiers.

But for those lucky top five, they are now fully exempt into all open, full-field events for the 2024 season on the PGA Tour Champions.

Here’s a closer look at what turned out to be an Aussie takeover, with Australian golfers earning four of the five cards.

Eric Axley goes low at PGA Tour Champions Q School with front-nine 28; Wes Short, Jr. leads

After an opening eagle, Axley had six straight birdies to start his second round.

There’s going low.

And there’s what Eric Axley is doing Wednesday during the second round of the PGA Tour Champions Q School final stage.

Starting on the back nine on the Champions Course at TPC Scottsdale, Axley eagled the par-5 10th hole. Nice start.

He then went birdie-birdie-birdie-birdie-birdie-birdie to get to 8 under through six holes.

Axley finally cooled off with pars on the par-5 17th and par-4 18th. Still, he made the turn in 28 and was officially on 59 watch.

“Once I eagled No. 10, it seemed like the birdies weren’t much more than tap-ins,” Axley said. “I think I had it inside three feet on each of my first eight holes, except the par-3 16th. There, I had 192 yards and hit it to six feet, but still made it. So, everything just felt really comfortable down that stretch of holes.”

The 28 ties the low nine-hole score on the PGA Tour Champions in 2023.

He then parred Nos. 10 and 11 but a disastrous quadruple 7 on the par-3 third hole, his 12th of the day, did some damage to his scorecard. He would later birdie Nos. 5, 6 and 7 to post a 7-under 64 and walk off the course tied for sixth. He ended the day in a tie for seventh.

“I hit a weird tee shot on No. 3 that ended up in a bad spot,” he said. “I couldn’t get it on the green from where I was, so I ended up having a bogey putt from 20 feet. I ran that by three feet, then ran it by three feet coming back. So, that was a four-putt. It was like getting punched in the stomach when you aren’t prepared for it. But, I did bounce back somewhat with three more straight birdies on 5, 6 and 7. So, that helped.”

Axley, 49, has one win – the 2006 Valero Texas Open – in 209 starts on the PGA Tour and $3.2 million in career earnings. He doesn’t turn 50 until April 22 next year but is vying for one of five tour cards being handed out this week for the 2024 season.

Wes Short, Jr., shot a 63 on Wednesday and sits at 12 under, alone in first at the halfway mark. He had seven birdies and an eagle. Daniel Chopra, Shane Bertsch and Cameron Percy are tied for second at 11 under. Alan McLean is solo fifth at 10 under.

Other notables include Dick Mast, the last golfer in the field at age 72, beat his age by shooting an even-par 71; Scottsdale’s Bryan Hoops, the lone amateur in the field, tied for 12th after scores of 64-72; and former Major League pitcher John Smoltz is last. He followed his first-round 80 with a 76. He is 14 over.

MLB Hall of Famer John Smoltz earns spot in Final Stage of PGA Tour Champions Q-School

Smoltz hadn’t finished better than T-54 in three prior appearances at the first stage of PGA Tour Champions Q-School.

From the mound to the golf course, John Smoltz is proving to be a heckuva athlete.

The Major League Baseball Hall of Famer earned a spot into final stage qualifying through PGA Tour Champions Q-School after finishing T-14 at this week’s first stage at Buckhorn Springs in Valrico, Florida. Smoltz posted scores of 71-73-74-71, finishing at 1-over 289 for the week, to earn one of 18 spots into final stage qualifying.

Smoltz hadn’t finished better than T-54 in three prior appearances at the first stage of PGA Tour Champions Q-School.

Smoltz, 55, will be in the field of 80 next month at TPC Scottsdale’s Champions Course, where final stage will be contested Dec. 5-8. Only five cards are up for grabs.

Slowly, Smoltz has been making a name for himself on the golf course after his illustrious baseball career. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015, won a Cy Young Award and earned eight National League All-Star team selections.

Smoltz hasn’t competed on PGA Tour Champions since 2021, but he has competed in nine events overall. He also competed in the 2018 U.S. Senior Open.

Schupak: Let’s hear it for Rob Labritz, the feel-good story of the week, if not the year, in golf

Your goose bumps had goose bumps watching the video of Rob Labritz after he qualified for PGA Tour Champions.

Move over Mike Visacki. There’s a new feel-good story of the year contender.

Big Mike pulled on the heart strings when he Monday qualified for the Valspar Championship and cried enough tears to be standing in casual water. The video of his phone call to his dad went viral.

But that was so April and that was before PGA club professional Rob Labritz made his dream come true, earning exempt status on PGA Tour Champions for 2022.

Trailing by one entering the final round, Labritz, the director of golf at the GlenArbor Golf Club in Bedford Hills, New York, carded the low score on Friday with a bogey-free 7-under 64 to grab medalist honors at TPC Tampa Bay. He posted a 72-hole score of 17-under 267 to finish three strokes ahead of runners-up Thongchai Jaidee and David Branshaw.

“I’ve been envisioning this happening. And it did, which is crazy,” Labritz said after achieving his dream of 15 years. “It shows the power of the mind. I’m beyond the moon. I’m almost speechless. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this, to know that my golf game held up.”

If your goose bumps didn’t have goose bumps after watching the video above, well, we can’t be friends.

There’s nothing better in sports than the long shot finally having his day in the sun. Labritz has been a club pro since age 19, wearing an assortment of hats in his day job that leaves little time to concentrate on his own game.

Somehow, he says, he kept his game sharp. Over the years, he’s qualified for the PGA Championship eight times, finishing as the low PGA professional at both the 2010 and 2019 PGA Championships. He is a three-time Met PGA Player of the Year, and his hole-out in the 2013 Professional National Championship was the No. 1 “Top Play” on SportsCenter. This summer, he warmed up for Q-School by winning the Massachusetts Open, Rhode Island Open, the Met Professional Championship and the Westchester Open (at his home club).

So, this was no fluke. Labritz turned 50 on May 31, but he’s been planning for his chance to qualify for the senior circuit for at least 15 years.

“This is what I’ve worked for my entire life,” he said. “Every time I’m out hitting golf balls, I’m thinking of this. I’m thinking of the shots I need to hit to make sure this happens. It’s super important, but it’s super fun, too. I’m doing what I love, and there’s nothing better.”

But PGA Tour Champions is virtually a closed shop. It is geared to provide a mulligan for the stars of yesteryear, so fans can have another bite at the apple of seeing Arnie, Jack and Lee win once again and more recently Fred Couples, Bernhard Langer and Ernie Els.

To protect the stars of yesterday, only five cards are available at final stage. The next 25? They earn the right to try to Monday qualify into events. Labritz had to a jump through a lot of hoops even to have a shot at his dream.

To do so, he had to beat a field of veteran pros and former Tour winners such as Harrison Frazar, Frank Lickliter and Ken Duke. In other words, guys whose day job was to groove their swing all day and only ate what they killed.

Every once in a while, a David comes along and beats the Goliaths: Walt Zembriski, a former steel worker, cattle farmer Robert Landers and beer truck driver Mark Johnson were some of the unheralded players to unlock the door. Labritz is following in the footsteps of club pros Jim Albus, Tom Wargo and driving-range pro Allen Doyle, who didn’t make their mark in the professional ranks until turning 50.

As Labritz sat in scoring after his final round, he pulled his hat low to try to hide the emotions, but it was too late. “I’m not a good-looking crier,” he cracked. He whipped out his black leather yardage book and flipped up a flap to reveal the embroidered words he’s tried to live by: Keep grinding….Always…But look around and enjoy the ride!

Those were words on a note (accompanying a bottle of Dom Perignon) from one of his members after he qualified for his first PGA Championship at Hazeltine.

“All the sacrifice, we did it,” Labritz told his wife via a phone call videoed by PGA Tour.com as the emotions and tears poured out.

“I’m going to enjoy this for a while,” he said.

As he should.

“To know that my golf game held up…” and his voice trailed off. He didn’t need to finish the thought.

That’s because it’s evident that Labritz loves being a club pro, but he loves competing, too. As he’d already put it, he’s ready for “the next chapter” and the chance to concentrate on his golf game for once and compete on a more level playing field.

To Labritz, there’s nothing better than doing what you love.

Actually, there is – it’s called doing what you love at the highest level. It’s why Rob Labritz can’t wait to tee it up on the Champions Tour in 2022.

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Rob Labritz among five golfers to earn 2022 tour cards at PGA Tour Champions Q-School

Rob Labritz, twice the low PGA professional at the PGA Championship, won medalist honors at PGA Tour Champions Qualifying Tournament Friday and is among five golfers who earned 2022 tour cards. Labritz, the director of golf at the GlenArbor Golf …

Rob Labritz, twice the low PGA professional at the PGA Championship, won medalist honors at PGA Tour Champions Qualifying Tournament Friday and is among five golfers who earned 2022 tour cards.

Labritz, the director of golf at the GlenArbor Golf Club in Bedford Hills, New York, was low pro at the 2010 and 2019 PGA Championships. He won Q school by three shots. He finished 17 under after posting scores of 65-71-67-64 at TPC Tampa Bay. Labritz has played in the PGA Championship eight times but beyond that, he has appeared in just three PGA Tour events in his career.

David Branshaw and Thongchai Jaidee finished tied for second at 14 under. Jaidee’s third-round 63 was the best score of the week. Roger Rowland finished solo fourth at nine under, while Tom Gillis was solo fifth at eight under.

The week started with 79 golfers vying for fully exempt status into open, full-field events on the 2022 PGA Tour Champions schedule. The next 25 finishers Friday are now eligible to compete in open qualifiers in Champions in 2022. Notable names among that group include: Guy Boros (T-6), Skip Kendall (T-10), Mario Tiziani (T-1), Matt Gogel (T-14) and Paul Stankowski (T-14).

Tiziani is Steve Stricker’s brother-in-law and has caddied for Stricker on a few occasions.

Interesting names who came up short: Harrison Frazer (T-32), Omar Uresti (T-32), Olin Brown (T-44), Jonathan Kaye (T-47) and Frank Lickliter II (T-61).

Among those who withdrew during the final day included Carlos Franco, Jose Coceres and 70-year-old Dick Mast, who started on the PGA Tour Champions in 2001; he began his PGA Tour career in 1974.

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