Gunn copes with 80 degree Florida heat to match par of 71 at Web.com Tour Q School
By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Arizona-based Dornoch exile Jimmy Gunn coped well with an 80 degree temperature in Florida to match the par of 71 in the first round of the Web.com Tour School final tournament at PGA National, Palm Beach Gardens today.
With half the field of 155 still to finish, Gunn was lying joint 81st.
All the competitors who have made it through to this stage are guaranteed membership of the Web.com Tour in 2016. How many tournaments they will have access to will be decided by the finishing order after 72 holes.
Gunn, starting at the 10th, was two over par after only five holes, with bogeys at the 11th and 14th, but he covered the remaining 13 holes in two under par with birdies at the long 18th and par-4 second hole.
Englishman David Skinns did not do so well. He had a six-over 77 to be sharing 151st place.
Setting the pace with a seven-under 64 was Canada's Adam Svennson, a shot ahead of Americans Rick Lamb and T J Vogel.
LEADERBOARD
Par 71
64 A Svensson (Can)
65 R Lamb (USA), T J Vogel (USA)
SELECTED SCORES
71 J Gunn (Sco) (T81)
77 D Skinns (Eng) (T151)
Web.com Tour NEWS RELEASE
By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Arizona-based Dornoch exile Jimmy Gunn coped well with an 80 degree temperature in Florida to match the par of 71 in the first round of the Web.com Tour School final tournament at PGA National, Palm Beach Gardens today.
With half the field of 155 still to finish, Gunn was lying joint 81st.
All the competitors who have made it through to this stage are guaranteed membership of the Web.com Tour in 2016. How many tournaments they will have access to will be decided by the finishing order after 72 holes.
Gunn, starting at the 10th, was two over par after only five holes, with bogeys at the 11th and 14th, but he covered the remaining 13 holes in two under par with birdies at the long 18th and par-4 second hole.
Englishman David Skinns did not do so well. He had a six-over 77 to be sharing 151st place.
Setting the pace with a seven-under 64 was Canada's Adam Svennson, a shot ahead of Americans Rick Lamb and T J Vogel.
LEADERBOARD
Par 71
64 A Svensson (Can)
65 R Lamb (USA), T J Vogel (USA)
SELECTED SCORES
71 J Gunn (Sco) (T81)
77 D Skinns (Eng) (T151)
Schniederjans, Pan one back at Web.com Tour Q-School
Ollie Schniederjans
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Getty Images
)
Two former World No. 1 amateurs rose to the occasion on Thursday at Web.com Tour Q-School.
Ollie Schniederjans and Cheng Tsung Pan posted matching 6-under 66s in Round One on PGA National's Fazio Course to open with one of the lead at the pressure cooker event.
The star former amateur duo only trails Canada's Adam Svensson (Champion Course) and the U.S.'s Rick Lamb (Fazio) through 18 holes.
“I hit it exceptional all day today,” said Svensson, who turned professional earlier this year and finished ninth on the Mackenzie Tour Order of Merit. “I had a couple of nice putts drop there in the end including a tricky right-to-left putt on the ninth that somehow ended up rolling in.”
The top 45 finishers and ties over 72 holes this week in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., will earn their Web.com Tour cards for 2016. But, only the winner (or co-winners) are fully-exempt, with finishers 2-10 (and ties) susceptible to the third reshuffle and finishers 11-45 (and ties) susceptible to the second reshuffle of 2016.
The youth movement, so far, appears to be in line for the best status.
Schniederjans, 22, and Pan, 24, are both regarded as young guns with a bright future in golf, and the Canadian leader, at age 21, actually is the youngest of the trio.
Schniederjans and Pan are the bigger names, though, and their paths to this point since turning pro are remarkably different. It was a tour of PGA Tour sponsor's exemptions for Schniederjans after he moved to the paid ranks in July. Two top-25s in four starts, though, wasn't enough to earn him a spot in Web.com Tour Finals, and the Georgia Tech product needed a massive comeback at Web.com Tour Q-School Stage II to make it to the final stage ... on the number. Without that late surge (and advancement to final stage), Schniederjans would have no shot at status on either the Web.com or PGA Tour for 2016.
But he did make it to this week. And Schniederjans pulled out another clutch stretch Thursday with six birdies in eight holes on his back nine for 66. Apparently the positive vibes at PGA National stem back to his junior days.
"I played the Polo Invitational out here that I won actually," Schniederjans said. "It's actually the biggest junior tournament I've ever won. So I have good memories out here."
Meanwhile, Pan, who turned pro a month before in June, took up residence on the Mackenzie Tour for the latter part of 2015 and only posted two wins and a third in his restricted time. Pan, via just seven starts, finished second on the Tour's money list and earned his Web.com Tour card in the process (he's at Q-School final stage to up his status).
"I'm really happy with my play, my iron play is good. Everything went well," Pan said. "I'm really enjoying it, and looking forward to shooting some more low scores here, hopefully."
T.J. Vogel and Austin Cook, the Monday qualifying leader, are also at 6 under through 18 holes.
Kyle Jones, a 2015 American Palmer Cup team member, posted 4-under 67 at the Champions and sits T-15. Jack Maguire, who recently left Florida State and plans to turn pro after advancing to final stage, posted 1-under 71 (Fazio) for T-56.
Ollie Schniederjans and Cheng Tsung Pan posted matching 6-under 66s in Round One on PGA National's Fazio Course to open with one of the lead at the pressure cooker event.
The star former amateur duo only trails Canada's Adam Svensson (Champion Course) and the U.S.'s Rick Lamb (Fazio) through 18 holes.
“I hit it exceptional all day today,” said Svensson, who turned professional earlier this year and finished ninth on the Mackenzie Tour Order of Merit. “I had a couple of nice putts drop there in the end including a tricky right-to-left putt on the ninth that somehow ended up rolling in.”
The top 45 finishers and ties over 72 holes this week in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., will earn their Web.com Tour cards for 2016. But, only the winner (or co-winners) are fully-exempt, with finishers 2-10 (and ties) susceptible to the third reshuffle and finishers 11-45 (and ties) susceptible to the second reshuffle of 2016.
The youth movement, so far, appears to be in line for the best status.
Schniederjans, 22, and Pan, 24, are both regarded as young guns with a bright future in golf, and the Canadian leader, at age 21, actually is the youngest of the trio.
Schniederjans and Pan are the bigger names, though, and their paths to this point since turning pro are remarkably different. It was a tour of PGA Tour sponsor's exemptions for Schniederjans after he moved to the paid ranks in July. Two top-25s in four starts, though, wasn't enough to earn him a spot in Web.com Tour Finals, and the Georgia Tech product needed a massive comeback at Web.com Tour Q-School Stage II to make it to the final stage ... on the number. Without that late surge (and advancement to final stage), Schniederjans would have no shot at status on either the Web.com or PGA Tour for 2016.
But he did make it to this week. And Schniederjans pulled out another clutch stretch Thursday with six birdies in eight holes on his back nine for 66. Apparently the positive vibes at PGA National stem back to his junior days.
"I played the Polo Invitational out here that I won actually," Schniederjans said. "It's actually the biggest junior tournament I've ever won. So I have good memories out here."
Meanwhile, Pan, who turned pro a month before in June, took up residence on the Mackenzie Tour for the latter part of 2015 and only posted two wins and a third in his restricted time. Pan, via just seven starts, finished second on the Tour's money list and earned his Web.com Tour card in the process (he's at Q-School final stage to up his status).
"I'm really happy with my play, my iron play is good. Everything went well," Pan said. "I'm really enjoying it, and looking forward to shooting some more low scores here, hopefully."
T.J. Vogel and Austin Cook, the Monday qualifying leader, are also at 6 under through 18 holes.
Kyle Jones, a 2015 American Palmer Cup team member, posted 4-under 67 at the Champions and sits T-15. Jack Maguire, who recently left Florida State and plans to turn pro after advancing to final stage, posted 1-under 71 (Fazio) for T-56.
Labels: PRO GOLF
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Thursday, December 10, 2015
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