33 Tarheel Tour players advance

Chad Wilfong

Several Tarheel Tour players have now advanced to second stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School including 21 of the 32 successful qualifiers at Florence Country Club. The list of Tarheel Tour regulars is lead by Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey whose 13-under par total for four rain-soaked days was good enough to finish in fourth place. Finishing in fifth place by himself was Sandersville, GA native David Robinson. Robinson got off to a bit of a slow start at Florence Country Club this week but managed to finish up with rounds of 65-65 to breeze into second stage. Monavie Open champion Brian Quackenbush rode the strength of his second round 64 to a sixth-place finish after firing a final round 68. Quackenbush’s 11-under par total left him tied with Tarheel Tour players David Sanchez, Gregg Jones, and Garrett Frank. Jones, a member of Florence Country Club delighted the local fans with back-to-back 65’s before settling for a final round 69 and a ticket to second stage. The round of the tournament belonged to Emmitt Turner who fired a final round 64 to come from way back to finish the tournament at three-under par and in a tie for 25th place. The clutch performance was exactly what Turner needed with the top-25 players plus ties advancing to second stage. Turner finished the week tied with Brent Delahoussaye, Ben Duncan, Stephen Poole, Kevin Silva, and Brennan Webb, all Tarheel Tour players who managed to sneak through on the number.

Florence Country Club was not the only qualifying school site where Tarheel Tour players were able to make an impact. Brian Duncan finished up with back-to-back 67’s to finish alone in second place at Cypresswood Golf Club in Spring, TX to join Jay Hobby as successful qualifiers from that site. In Dayton Valley, NV Matt Bettencourt bounced back from a sub-par third round to finish up with a final round 69 and finished the event at 12-under and in fourth place to advance. At Grasslands Golf and Country Club in Lakeland, FL Chad Wilfong fired a blistering 9-under par 63 to finish up at 16-under par and shared medallist honors with another Tarheel Tour player, Derek Lamely. Bjorn Widerstedt, Ben McClung, David Thomas, and Steve Sokol were also successful in their bids to advance in Lakeland.

Halfway through the first stage of qualifying 33-Tarheel Tour players have secured a spot at second stage. The second set of first stage sites begins play Tuesday, October 30. One site to keep an eye on is Treyburn Country Club in Durham, NC where no less than nine former Tarheel Tour champions will attempt to advance, including 2006 leading money winner Dustin Bray, and 2007 Salisbury Classic champ Ryan Blaum.

Several Tarheel Tour players find themselves in good position to advance at the halfway point of the first stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School. The most popular site for Tarheel Tour players this week is Florence Country Club where Brian Quackenbush sits tied for second after 36-holes after opening with rounds of 67-64 for a 9-under par total heading into Thursday’s action. Quackenbush is followed by Pinehurst native, David Sanchez with an 8-under par total after opening the event with back-to-back 66’s. Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey fired a second round 65 and finds himself in a tie for fifth after two days. Gainey’s total of 14-birdies through 36-holes leads the field. The top-25 players plus ties advance to the second stage of qualifying. If play ended today 17-players who participated on the Tarheel Tour in 2007 would advance including leading money winner Matt Cannon, 2006 Bermuda Run Open winner John McAllister, Clemson alumni Gregg Jones, Ben Duncan and Brent Delahoussaye, as well as David Robinson and former Wake Forest star Ryan Gioffre.

In other qualifying school action, Matt Bettencourt opened with rounds of 68-66 and is tied for first at 10-under par at Dayton Valley Country Club in Dayton, NV. At Grasslands Golf and Country Club in Lakeland, FL several Tarheel Tour players are currently in position to advance including Jacksonville, Fl native Andy Bare as well as Bjorn Widerstedt, Derek Lamely, Jeff Street, and Steve Sokol. At Cypresswood Golf Club in Spring, TX Brian Duncan and Jay Hobby both find themselves in the top-20 at the halfway mark. For full Q-school results at each site click on the links above.