Matthew Richardson's hopes nosedive
at US PGA Tour Final Q School

Matthew Richardson from England, the only British/Irish player in the big field, plummeted from joint 10th at the start of the day to joint 87th at the end of it with a second-round, two-over-par 74 for a 36-hole tally of three-under 141 in the US PGA Tour Final Qualifying School over six rounds at PGA West, La Quinta, California.
LEADERBOARD
Par 144 (2 x 72)
132 James Nitties 69 63.
133 Robert Garrigus 69 64, Harrison Frazar 69 64.
134 Tyler Aldridge 68 66, Diego Vanegas 70 64, Troy Kelly 66 68, Gary Woodland 70 64, Bryan DeCorso 66 68, Geoffrey Sisk 69 65, James Oh 71 63, Mark Brooks 66 69.
135 Major Manning 65 70, Ted Purdy 68 67, Bryce Molder 68 67, Jay Williamson 67 68.
136 Chris Tidland 72 64, Matt Every 68 68, Brian Stuard 67 69, Steve Wheatcroft 72 64, Guy Boros 70 66, Kent Jones 67 69, Jeff Gallagher 66 70.
137 Glen Day 70 67, Webb Simpson 69 68, Roger Tambellini 68 69, John Riegger 68 69, Marco Dawson 70 67, Y E Yang 69 68, Bob Heintz 67 70, Patrick Sheehan 69 68, Jason Dufner 66 71, Ryan Hietala 67 70, Brian Smock 69 68, Jimmy Walker 69 68, Drew Laning 70 67.
138 Oskar Bergman 67 71, Martin Piller 73 65, Jeff Gove 71 67, Steven Taylor 71 67, Gavin Coles 69 68, David Berganio jun 72 66, Erick Justesen 67 71, Chris Riley 71 67, Chris Stroud 69 69, Scott Gardiner 69 69, Todd Demsey 68 70, Robert Gamez 69 69, Alex Aragon 71 67, Daniel Summerhays 68 70 (jt 36th).
Selected scores:
141 Matthew Richardson (Eng) 67 74 (jt 87th).
143 Craig Kanada 65 78.

Here's the day's report from the US PGA Tour website:

Aussie Nitties leads the final in California

Tying the low round of the day in the second round, 28 year-old Australian James Nitties fired a 9-under 63 to claim a one-stroke lead at 12 under over Robert Garrigus and Harrison Frazar who each posted 8-under 64s in the second round.
Nitties has competed in the US PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament each year since 2005, having never made it beyond the second stage.
In October, Nitties claimed the Aspen Group WA (Western Australian) Open Championship by two shots. Prior to that win, he had spent most of the 2008 season competing on the Hooters Tour.
Nitties, who was featured on GOLF CHANNEL's show "Big Break," was stricken six months into his professional career in 2005 with reactive arthritis. It took him two years to learn to adjust to it, having not yet recovered from it.
Robert Garrigus, who competed in 29 events on the PGA TOUR in 2008, with a season-best tie for third at the Turning Stone Resort Championship, birdied five of his last six holes en route to his 8-under 64 in the second round. Garrigus finished in the 138th spot on the 2008 US PGA TOUR money list.
Lakewood, California resident James Oh tied Nitties' low-round of the day with a 9-under 63, thanks to nine birdies and no bogeys. Oh is the winner of the 2003 Mark Christopher Charity Classic on the Nationwide Tour. He played in just two events on the Nationwide Tour in 2008, making one cut.
Harrison Frazar, who made 13 of 23 cuts on the US PGA TOUR in 2008, returns to the final stage of q-school after having finished 163rd on the money list. In the second round, Frazar posted four birdies on each nine of the Stadium Course with no bogeys to post his 8-under 64.
Frazar
Frazar has competed on the US PGA TOUR every year since 1998, with a best money list finish of 48th in 2004. This is his first trip to q-school as he finished 13th on the 1997 Nationwide Tour money list to graduate to the US PGA TOUR in 1998.
Troy Kelly, who is the only competitor from La Quinta competing in the 2008 PGA TOUR Qualifying tournament, made five consecutive birdies on holes 7 through 11 to post a 4-under 68 to finish the second round just two shots off Nitties' 12-under lead. This is Kelly's second successful attempt at reaching the final stage. In 2006, he made it to the finals when it was last held at PGA West (he finished tied for 131st).
A former home re-modeler, Kelly was a rookie on the Nationwide Tour in 2007, having played in six events with a best finish of a tie for 25th at the Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open. In 2008, Kelly spent time between the Golden State and Canadian Tours.
Troy Kelly once held the skills to compete in Division 1 basketball but chose to pursue a career in professional golf.
The biggest rally of the day belonged to Jonathan Fricke, who rebounded from a first-round 4-over 76 with a 9-under 63, a difference of 13 strokes. He's currently tied for 50th after two rounds. First-round co-leader, Craig Kanada, however, went 13 strokes in the opposite direction. Following his opening-round 65, he fired a 6-over 78 in the second round.
On Thursday, the toughest hole on the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course was the 453-yard, par-4 18th. It claimed 21 bogeys while surrendering only 18 birdies. The toughest hole on the Stadium Course was the 255-yard, par-3 sixth, having claimed 21 bogeys to just six birdies.
After two rounds, the cumulative scoring average on the Stadium Course was 70.822. The scoring average following the second round on the Nicklaus Course was 69.871. There were 66 below-par rounds posted on the Nicklaus Course and 55 sub-par rounds posted on the Stadium Course.
There were a total of 20 bogey-free rounds posted in the second round, nine of which came from the Stadium Course, 11 from the Nicklaus Course.
The purse for the 2008 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament is $1,057,500, with the winner receiving $50,000. Players earning a PGA TOUR card by tying for 25th or better after 108 holes will earn a minimum of $25,000. Players who gain exempt status on the Nationwide Tour by tying in the next 50 (or number nearest to 50) will earn $5,000.
The final stage saw 163 players (including one amateur -- Scott Fawcett from Dallas, Texas) tee it up after 1,288 players entered the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament. Six pre-qualifying sites, 12 first-stage sites and six second-stage sites were used to determine the 163 players for the final stage.
Only six players made it through pre qualifying, first stage and second stage to reach the finals. They are Scott Fawcett, Brad Golden, Patton Kizzire, Martin Piller, Joseph Sykora and Steven Taylor. In 2007, six players also advanced through the pre qualifying and both stages. In 2006, when pre qualifying was introduced, only one player advanced to the final stage from the pre qualifying.
When these venues were used in 2006, George McNeill won with a score of 23 under. Forty players qualified for the PGA TOUR that year (35 and ties were accepted) with a score of 8 under or better.
Forty-nine players (the next nearest number to 50) shot 1 over or better to earn exempt status on the Nationwide Tour. All remaining players earned conditional status on the Nationwide Tour.
Superintendent Greg Hrycyk and his staff have removed approximately 20 acres of scrub from the Stadium course during the year. The scrub removal program was instigated to make the Stadium course more playable and assist with the pace of play.
The field this year includes one former Major Champion (Mark Brooks -- 1996 PGA Championship), one former Ryder Cup representative (Chris Riley - 2004), three former Presidents Cup representatives (Carlos Franco-- 1998, 2000, Notah Begay III - 2000, Mark Brooks - 1996) and 20 former PGA TOUR winners, led by Brooks and John Huston with seven victories. Three players who finished in the top 25 on the 2008 Nationwide Tour money list and graduated to the 2009 PGA TOUR are also here this week trying to improve their current status. They are Spencer Levin (22nd), Bryce Molder (23rd) and Ricky Barnes (25th).
It is a truly International field this week. While the majority of the field is composed of Americans, Australia (12), Canada (four), Sweden (two) and South Korea (two) have multiple representatives. The United Kingdom, Japan, Korea, Colombia and Norway each have a single representative.