Seven Golfers With Tennessee Ties Advance To PGA Tour Q-School Finals

The Second Stage of PGA Tour Q-School is the great separator in professional golf. It rewards those moving ahead to Final Stage by guaranteeing them some level of exempt status for next season, leaving others facing a future of uncertainty while waiting an entire year before making another run through what is essentially a multi-stage job interview.

There is a diabolical component to the Second Stage. It is equal parts exhilaration and devastation, depending upon which side of the cut line golfers find themselves. Both of those emotions were surely evident on Friday as 15 golfers with Tennessee connections found out their fate for 2025.

With the Second Stage events being held at four sites after Knoxville native and former University of Tennessee golfer Jake Hall punched his ticket at a qualifier two weeks ago, seven more golfers will join Hall at Final Stage set for Dec. 13-16 at TPC Sawgrass’ Dye’s Valley layout along with Sawgrass Country Club.

At the Valdosta, Ga. tournament held at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club, Kyle Cottam and Ryan Hall of Knoxville, Bryce Lewis of Hendersonville and Spring Hill’s Dawson Armstrong all finished tied for 7^th with a four-day total of 3-under 285 as the top 17 places advanced.

Meanwhile, former Middle Tennessee State University standout Owen Stamper birdied his final hole to claim co-medalist honors at 15-under 273 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail event in Dothan, Ala., joining Athens native John Houk (10-under 278, T7) and Dickson’s Billy Tom Sargent (9-under 279, T11) among the 20 who made it through from that qualifier.

Meanwhile, others felt the sting of what could have been in falling short by the slimmest of margins at the Valdosta qualifier. Chattanooga native and former South Carolina golfer Scott Stevens and Maryville’s Harry Lord both were squarely on the cut line of 1-under before suffering a late bogey to finish one shot out of qualifying territory.

Stevens, who has made the cut in 12 of 29 Korn Ferry events including a T12 finish at the 2023 Simmons Bank Open, bogeyed 17 to finish at even par 288. Lord, native of England who finished his career at North Texas after three seasons at Lincoln Memorial, made a valiant comeback with birdies at 16 and 17 before a gut-wrenching bogey at 18 left him also one shot back at even par

They weren’t the only victims of Q-School heartbreak. Neal Shipley, who was low amateur at both the Masters and U.S. Open earlier this year before earning $410,268 including a 6^th place finish in 10 starts on the PGA Tour, suffered a pair of late bogeys to miss by one shot. Also, Taylor Funk, son of long-time PGA Tour veteran Fred Funk, shot a final round 77 to fall 21 spots to finish tied for 26^th, two strokes off the cut.

But the week also provided plenty of late heroics that will transform the professional trajectory of some of those with Volunteer State ties. Houk, a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga last spring, found himself tied for 61^st after an opening round of 76. But consecutive rounds of 67 coupled with a 68 on Friday allowed him to finish tied for 7^th in Dothan.

Houk had an eventful front nine that was bookended by his only two pars. He birdied 2 and 3 before bogeying the next two holes. A birdie at the 6^th was followed by an eagle on the 561-yard par-5 7^th, only to give back another shot with a bogey at 8 to make the turn in 34.

His final nine was much less chaotic, compiling seven pars plus birdies at 15 and 18 to climb 10 spots on the day.

“It means a lot to make it to Finals,” Houk said. “I feel like I did a great job of embracing the challenge this week. Everything changed in the first round on hole 15. I had just made a double on 14 and was tied for last place in the tournament. I felt uptight the whole day and I asked myself why I was nervous. God had obviously brought me here for a reason. At that point we had nothing to lose. It could only get better from there, and I kept that mentality the rest of the week.”

As doubts prior to Friday’s round crept into his mind, Houk decided to reach out to his former coach at Chattanooga, Blaine Woodruff.

“I started doubting myself again, so I ended up texting Coach Woodruff for advice,” Houk said. “I called him ‘The Golf Philosopher’ when I was at UTC, and he told me to choose a Bible verse to dwell on when things were uneasy during the round. I chose Psalm 50:15 that says ‘call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.’ I used this the entire back nine, not so that it would deliver me from making bad swings, but from any self-doubt or negative thoughts.”

Houk’s comeback didn’t surprise Woodruff.

“John’s the grittiest competitor I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been fortunate enough to be around some really good players that were very competitive,” Woodruff said. “He’s got a switch that flips to where failure just doesn’t become part of the equation anymore. I’m really not surprised knowing John that he could shoot 76 and claw back to get status and get to Final Stage. It’s just who he is. I couldn’t be prouder of him.”

Also making a charge in Dothan was Sargent, who earned his fourth trip to Final Stage and has made 39 Korn Ferry Tour appearances. The week started slowly with a 75 to sit in 52^nd place after the first round, but the former Western Kentucky University performer followed up with scores of 65 and 67 before closing with an even par 72 despite playing his final nine holes in 3-over to finish tied for 11^th.

But no one dazzled any brighter in his first Q-School appearance than Stamper after a rollercoaster finish in chasing medalist honors. The native of Scottsville, Ky. held a three-shot lead over fellow Kentuckian Ashton Van Horne with four holes remaining after birdies at 11, 12 and 14. But Van Horne’s second eagle on his round at 15 coupled with bogeys from Stamper at 16 and 17 resulted in a four-shot swing that left the former Blue Raider one-down heading to the final hole.

Stamper’s 3-wood from the tee found the rough on 18, then his approach from 94 yards nestled to eight-feet which he converted for the crucial birdie. As a result of finishing co-medalist, Stamper is guaranteed eight Korn Ferry starts for 2025 plus conditional status the remainder of the year.

“Making that putt was massive,” Stamper said. “It means, for lack of better words, I’ll have a job next year. This is pretty much the best-case scenario from what I was hoping. I can be free swinging now at Final Stage, going to compete without the ultimate stress of getting a job. We can just go and trust our game that is clearly good enough to win.”

After starting his final round in Valdosta tied for 12^th with little margin for error, Armstrong’s final round 2-under 70 enabled the former Lipscomb University golfer to return to Final Stage. Armstrong has 110 Korn Ferry starts under his belt including a runner-up finish and a third place showing among his five top 10s.

“Being able to make it back to Final Stage is great,” Armstrong said. “I gutted it out hard today.”

Cottam, who played collegiately at Clemson, carded a 1-over 73 to secure his spot, while Lewis, a former University of Tennessee star, shot even par 72 to earn a shot at Final Stage in his first try.

“We work so hard all year for this week and to see it pay off is awesome,” Cottam said. “My coach, Jason Gandy, my family and my wife have all had to make sacrifices for me to be where I am and I’m incredibly grateful. In fact, my first wedding anniversary was Dec. 2 so I missed that to come play in this. To go out there and make it thru is incredible.”

Hall, a South Carolina graduate, shot 1-under 71 on Friday to move up two spots into the 7^th place gridlock at 3-under for the week.

Among those failing to advance from Valdosta were former Vol Hunter Wolcott of Burns, who shot 74 on Friday to close the week at 1-over 289 in a tie for 24^th. Knoxville’s Jake Mynatt, who played at Carson-Newman, posted a 68 to move up 21 spots into a tie for 26^th at 2-over 290. Former Clemson Tiger William Nottingham of Kingsport ended the week at 10-over 298 (T51), while Tennessee alum Spencer Cross of Sevierville closed with a 12-over 300 but will have status on the Latin America Swing of the PGA Tour Americas by virtue of winning medalist honors at his First Stage qualifier in Nebraska.

Former University of Louisville golfer Trevor Johnson of Brentwood failed to advance with a total of 2-over 290 (T53) from the Dothan qualifier, as did former UTC golfer Paul Conroy (13-over 301, T73).

Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com