Pair Of Golfers With Tennessee Ties In Top 10 After First Day Of Q-School Final

The battle of self-will and mental endurance otherwise known as the Final Stage of PGA Tour Q-School presented by Korn Ferry began its four-day odyssey on Thursday with 170 golfers hopeful of finding one of five golden tickets at the end of the weekend.

After resuming the practice last year for the first time since 2012, PGA Tour cards will be awarded at Final Stage to the top five and ties at the conclusion of 72 holes contested, with two rounds each at TPC Sawgrass’ Dye’s Valley Course along with Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. But those outside the top five will battle for status and eligibility across the many pathway tours to the PGA Tour as well.

The field is loaded with both past and future stars trying to earn their way back onto professional golf’s biggest stage. Among the veterans who have had to return to the qualifying process are multiple Tour winners Nick Watney, Sean O'Hair and Martin Laird, as well as other Tour winners such as Lanto Griffin, Austin Cook, Tyler Duncan, Tommy Gainey and Garrick Higgo.

There are plenty of representatives with ties to Tennessee as well, and a pair of golfers find themselves in good position after the opening round. Grant Hirschman, a Memphis native with 116 Korn Ferry Tour and a pair of PGA Tour starts under his belt, shot a 2-under 68 at Dye’s Valley to equal the score posted by former Vanderbilt standout Matthew Riedel who concluded his Commodore career last spring.

Hirschman, 29, who played collegiately at Oklahoma, was a three-time TSSAA individual state champion at St. George’s Independent School. He also finished runner-up in the 2014 Tennessee State Amateur in addition to a 3^rd-place showing that same year at the Tennessee State Open.

Riedel, 24, has 14 Korn Ferry events under his belt in his fledgling career after turning professional this summer, including a runner-up placement.

Three other golfers with state ties sit in a tie for 42^nd place after carding rounds of 1-over 71. Included in that trio are recent University of Tennessee graduate and 2022 Tennessee State Player of the Year Bryce Lewis, Korn Ferry Tour veteran Dawson Armstrong, 28, of Spring Hill who competed at Lipscomb University in college, and former Belmont golfer Ashton Van Horne, 30, who earned co-medalist honors at last week’s Second Stage qualifier in Dothan, Ala.

Davis Shore, a Knoxville native who was a two-time TSSAA champion at Christian Academy of Knoxville prior to competing collegiately at Alabama, joins Tennessee graduate and Knoxville native Jake Hall in a group tied for 70^th at 2-over 72.

Dickson’s Billy Tom Sargent, signed for a 3-over 73 (T96), one shot better than the 4-over 74 (T117) recorded by former South Carolina golfer and Knoxville native Ryan Hall, and former Vanderbilt All-American John Augenstein, who has a top 10 among 14 PGA Tour showings to go with a third-place finish in 72 Korn Ferry starts.

Owen Stamper, a former Middle Tennessee State University making his first Q-School appearance after earning co-medalist with Van Horne last week thanks to a final hole birdie, opened with a 5-over 75 (T140). Knoxville native and Clemson alum Kyle Cottam joined recent Vanderbilt grad Cole Sherwood at 6-over 76 (T145).

Erik Barnes, the OVC player of the year in 2009 at Austin Peay State University who lost in a playoff in last year’s Puerto Rico Open as his best finish in 42 tries on the PGA Tour, finished the day at 7-over 77 (T157). Former Chattanooga Mocs John Houk struggled in his Final Stage debut, posting a 9-over 79 (T167).

Austin Smotherman, winner of the 2021 Simmons Bank Open outside of Nashville, finds himself in a tie for 7^th following a 2-under 70, while Robbie Shelton, the winner of the 2019 Nashville Open and Knoxville Open events on the Korn Ferry Tour, is at 4-over 74, good for a tie at 117^th.  

Former UCLA golfer and DP World Tour member Corey Shaun blistered the Dye’s Valley layout with a course-record 9-under 61, carding nine birdies without a single bogey to grab a five-shot lead after the first day.

A total of 91 players advanced via Second Stage finishes, while the remainder of the field earned direct access to Final Stage via various exemption categories. In addition to those earning their 2025 PGA Tour cards due to a top 5 finish, the next 40 finishers (and ties) will earn exempt status through multiple reshuffles of the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour season.

The first 25 finishers and ties are subject to the third reshuffle (12 guaranteed starts) and any remaining finishers within the category are subject to the second reshuffle (eight guaranteed starts). All medalists from Second Stage are also guaranteed eight Korn Ferry Tour starts for 2025.

All remaining finishers at Final Stage earn conditional status for the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour season, in addition to being exempt through the Latin America Swing of the 2025 PGA Tour Americas season.

Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com