US PGA Tour Qualifying School

RUSSELL KNOX FALLS AT STAGE 2 HURDLE

.. so too does 2004 Open winner Todd Hamilton

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
The American (Tour) Dream of Inverness exile Russell Knox is over for yet another year.
The Scot who can make thousands of dollars a year on the NGA Hooters Tour just cannot crack it through the US PGA Tour Qualifying School.
Today, at Southern Hills Plantation Club, Brooksville in Florida, Knox finished joint 41st in one of the Stage 2 eliminators being staged across America to decide who would qualify for the Final Q School at Orange County National Golf Centre near Orlando, Florida from December 1 to 6.
Knox, a former Scotland youth cap but a resident of Jacksonville Beach, Florida since his four years at Jacksonville University, had rounds of 68, 72, 74 and 74 for level par 288.
He finished 18 shots behind the joint winners at this venue - Bill Hurley from Maryland (69-67-67-67) and Scott Brown (South Carolina) (65-68-70-67), both on 18-under-par 270.
The limit mark for qualifying was six-under-par 282. There were 19 qualifiers.
Other "failures" at Southern Hills PC were England's John Morgan with 72, 71, 75 and 72 for 290 (joint 49th) and Sweden's Daniel Chopra, twice a winner on the US Tour, with scores of 70, 77, 72 and 73 for 292 and joint 54th place.
Englishman Zane Scotland failed to progress from the Stage 2 event at Hombre Golf Club, Panama City Beach, Florida. He had scores of 72, 75, 71 and 73 for 291 and finished joint 41st at this venue where the qualifiers for the Final Q School included Mansfield-born Greg Owen, one of the unsung English competitors on the US PGA Tour.
Owen has had a bad season, having made only 10 cuts in 27 events and is 183rd in the money table with $268,835 to his name.
The 38-year-old, 6ft 4in player shot rounds of 72, 66, 70 and 75 for one-under-par 283 and a joint 15th ticket to the Final Showdown.
One of the biggest names to fail in his big to retain US PGA Tour player status was Todd Hamilton who beat Ernie Els in a play-off to win the 2004 Open at Royal Troon (Phil Mickelson was third and Lee Westwood fourth) and also the Honda Classic on the US Tour that year.
Sic transit gloria indeed. Six years later the man from Westlake, Texas makes only four cuts in 20 starts and now he has paid the ultimate price for "losing it."
Hamilton finished joint 50th in the Stage 2 eliminator at TPC Craig Ranch, McKinney in Texas. He had rounds of 69, 75, 75 and 70 for 289.
A qualifier in joint second place at this venue was former British boys champion and one of the youngest ever winners on the European Tour, Spain's Pablo Martin with rounds of 68, 70, 67 and 68 for 15 under par 273.
Failure at any Qualifying School the world over also hits the player financially.
The cost of entering the US Tour Q School, depending on at what stage, is roughly $4,500.
Is that a rip off? Most certainly is, but all the Tours use qualifying schools to pay their staff's annual wages - and some. It's all about supply and demand.
The number of places to be won at Q School is low but the number of people for whom hope springs eternal is very high.

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