Twenty Former Players Gain PGA and Nationwide Tour Status at PGA Tour Q-School  

La Quinta, CA – If you arrived at the finals of the PGA Tour's annual Qualifying Tournament last week and were not prepared to make a plethora of birdies, you were likely going to go home with lost dreams and questions about what might have been. Fortunately for three former EGOLF Tarheel Tour players, red numbers were easy to come by in a week in which hard work finally parlayed itself into a PGA Tour card.

James Nitties, who left his native Australia to come to the United States and play the EGOLF Tarheel Tour with PGA Tour player Nick Flanagan in 2005, finished second at "Q-School" to notch his first trip to the PGA Tour. Nitties' week was solid and steady as the 2008 Nationwide Tour player recorded a mere five bogeys in six rounds contested at PGA West's Stadium and Nicklaus courses. For Nitties, it was a second-round 63 that vaulted him up the leaderboard and into the mix to secure one of the precious cards that would be awarded to the low 25 players and ties. The honor of medalist was still up for grabs heading into Monday's final round, but Harrison Frazar pulled away with a 5-under 67 that gave him an eight-shot win and left Nitties tied with Derek Fathauer for second place.

Matthew Borchert (T11) and Wil Collins (T18) each secured their 2009 PGA Tour cards on Monday after playing on the EGOLF Tarheel Tour. Borchert began his final round in a tie for 29th and on the outside looking in, but quickly overcame an opening-hole bogey with four straight birdies on Nos. 4-7. The Orlando, FL native would stay hot on the back nine with a birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie-par-birdie stretch over his first six holes. Standing on the tee of the par-3 17th, Borchert knew he was on the precipice of achieving his dreams, but was quickly put back in his place with a bogey-bogey finish that would leave him with a 65 and force him to wait and see if his 20-under-par total would be good enough. Turned out it was more than good enough as he was one-shot clear of the dreaded cut line.

For Collins, it was a tale of the 36-hole comeback as the only South Dakota native in EGOLF Tarheel Tour history failed to break 70 in the first four rounds before erupting with closing rounds of 65-67 to earn his PGA Tour card on the number. After the first four rounds at Q-School, the field was divided in half with the upper portion finishing Stadium-Nicklaus and the lower portion finishing Nicklaus-Stadium. Collins found himself in the latter and therefore wasn't even on the same course as the leaders entering the final round. Perhaps the incognito nature of his standing paid off as he was able to climb up the leaderboard without much fanfare and lock up a T18 finish that would put him on golf's grandest stage in 2009. Collins and Notah Begay III were the only two players to earn their cards while finishing on the Stadium Course at PGA West.

Four past EGOLF Tarheel Tour players – Matt Every (T34), Jeff Curl (T40), Josh Teater (T62) and Major Manning (T70) – earned full status on the 2009 Nationwide Tour via their play at Q-School finals.

Curl's play at PGA West verified what many observers had thought for years – that he was too good not to be on one of the two big tours. With his Nationwide Tour card secured for 2009, the former Charlotte 49er standout is sure to draw on his experiences from the EGOLF Tarheel Tour and the 16 Nationwide Tour events he has played over the past three years – achieved mostly via Monday qualifiers. Curl missed only one cut in seven Nationwide Tour starts in 2008 and notched his best finish, a T9, at the Northeast Pennsylvania Classic in August. His success at Q-School was a mere continuation of his great play at the end of the tour season after winning the Walnut Creek Open and finishing runner-up the next week at the Tour Championship before heading off to the first stage. For Curl, it puts him one-step closer to his goal of playing on the PGA Tour and walking in the footsteps of his father Rod, who won the 1974 Colonial National Invitation at hallowed Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, TX.

Former EGOLF Tarheel Tour players who gained conditional status on the 2009 Nationwide Tour include Sal Spallone (T97), Joey Lamielle (T97), Tom Gillis (T107), Gary Christian (T115), Brian Duncan (T115), Lee Williamson (T115), Jonathan Fricke (T115), Michael Sims (T125), Camilo Benedetti (T125), David Robinson (T137), Derek Lamely (T145), Patton Kizzire (T148) and Justin Walters (153rd).

Robinson, who became the EGOLF Tarheel Tour's first $100,000 player in 2008, recovered from a first-round 75 with back-to-back 67s to put himself in good position with three rounds remaining. Unfortunately, those final three rounds were 73-73-74 and only allowed the Sandersville, GA native to move backwards.

Tommy "Two Gloves" Gainey, who finished No. 148 on the 2008 PGA Tour money list, put himself through the difficulty of Q-School again in hopes of improving his conditional status for 2009, but was unable to do so after finishing T80 on the week thanks in part to a final-round 74.

The first full-field event of the 2009 PGA Tour season will kick off on January 15th at the Sony Open in Hawaii. The Nationwide Tour will begin its season on February 5th at the Panama Championship in Panama City, Panama.