Opinion & Analysis
Survive and Advance: A step-by-step guide to getting through Q-School
It’s the most nerve-wracking job interview you’ve ever heard of. Except it’s not a job interview, it’s a golf tournament.
The field is made up of players shooting the lowest scores of their lives, and those whose game is in a downward spiral. A notoriously grueling event that goes by a nickname many a hip-hop artist would envy. It is, of course, Q-School.
The event, formally known as the Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament — a similar process exists to gain status on the LPGA, Champions, Mackenzie, and other tours — is a taxing process, especially for those who must start at the ground level. The Pre-Qualifying stage begins in late summer, comes with a hefty $2,700 entry fee, and like most job interviews brings a great deal of pressure to perform. Unlike most interviews, however, advancing to the next round is quite costly. The top-40 or so players from each of the six Pre-Qualifiers across the country who advance to the First Stage must cough up another $2,500 registration fee to keep their dreams alive.
The list of ways one can skip Pre-Qualifying and jump right into the First Stage in early fall is long. It ranges from exemptions for those who competed in any of the four major championships in the previous two seasons to those who are Nos. 6-25 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. Skipping straight to the First Stage, however, doesn’t cut down on the cost. The price tag for jumping in at the First Stage is a cool $4,500. Each of the 12 First Stage sites includes a field of about 78 players, give or take, with only about 20 players living (metaphorically) to fight another day.
The cycle continues in the Second Stage. Did you make a cut in one of the last eight majors? Now’s your time to join the party. Are you one of the top-five ranked amateurs in the world? Welcome to the Second Stage. I hope you brought your checkbook, the entry fee for starting here is $4,000.
Many roads lead to Q-School, and some of them require a U-Turn. Matt Bettencourt found himself in the Second Stage despite racking up nearly $3 million in career earnings on the PGA Tour. But 80 percent of his $2.875 million in winnings came from the work he did between 2009-11, and in 2016 Bettencourt earned just one FedEx Cup point in five starts on the big tour. With a shot to gain status on the Web.com Tour via Q-School, Bettencourt had three sub-par rounds, but his third-round 77 cost him the opportunity to advance to the Finals.
For every former PGA Tour player limping back to Q-School there are a dozen hopefuls looking to take their career to the next level, one nerve-wracking shot at a time. That’s the category Aaron Cockerill falls into. Cockerill spent the 2016 season on the Mackenzie (Canadian) Tour and gave this reaction after completing the First Stage.
If you ever want to get your heart rate up and feel some nerves .. just pay a bunch of money and go play four rounds of golf .. ???????? #qschool
— Aaron Cockerill (@A_Cockerill) October 7, 2016
Cockerill earned a T9 finish at Stage One and a spot in the Second Stage, where he found even more success with a T4 finish.
Not every up-and-comer has the fairytale Q-School experience that Cockerill is having. Tyler Gann, another hopeful in search of his Web.com Tour card, almost let nerves cost him the opportunity to land his dream job. He carded a triple-bogey on the 71st hole of the 72-hole First Stage, but back-to-back rounds in the 60s in the second and third rounds kept him one shot clear of heartbreak.
Man, what a week. A stressful ending, but the result I wanted. On to 2nd stage! #SurviveAndAdvance
— Tyler Gann (@Tyler_Gann) October 14, 2016
Stage Two wasn’t quite as forgiving for Gann, whose score of 2-under par for the tournament was nine strokes too many to qualify for the Finals.
Anybody ranked in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings but for some reason is searching for Tour status will join about 80-100 others who are exempt into the Final Stage after the $3,500 entry fee. Regardless of what road they took to get there, those who reach the Q-School Final Stage in Winter Garden, Fla., December 8-11 can breathe a sigh of relief.
The roughly 144 players who reach the Final Stage will assure themselves at least some status on the Web.com Tour in 2017. The number of tournaments they get access to, and some prize money, is the cherry on top they’re competing for. The Final Stage winner gains full exemption on the Web.com Tour in 2017 and $50,000 in prize money. Those finishing in the top-45 also earn some cash and full Web.com Tour exemptions, but are subject to periodic re-order at some point during the season depending on their Final Stage finish. Players finishing below 45th gain conditional status for the following season, sharing tournament spots with those who finished No. 76-100 on the Web.com Tour Regular Season Final Official Money list, and the No. 2-5 finishers from the PGA Tour Latinoamerica, MacKenzie Tour and PGA Tour China Final Official Money Lists.
After nearly four months, the job interview that is Q-School finally comes to an end. The pressure, however, does not. Those who earn Web.com Tour status will undoubtedly chase the ultimate goal of securing one of the 50 PGA Tour cards awarded to Web.com Tour players annually. Those who fall short of that will find themselves battling to simply retain their status on the Web.com Tour. The rest will take a U-turn right back to Q-School
Below is the list of players who will compete in the final stage of the Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament Dec. 8-11 at Orange County National’s Crooked Cat and Panther Lake Courses in Winter Garden, Fla.
| Frank Adams III | Salisbury, NC |
| Steve Allan | Scottsdale, AZ |
| Abraham Ancer | Mission, TX |
| Mark Anguiano | Whittier, CA |
| Jamie Arnold | Atlanta, GA |
| Paul Barjon | Fort Worth, TX |
| Bryan Bigley | Charlotte, NC |
| Jacques Blaauw | Centurion, Gauteng, South Africa |
| Rohan Blizard | Sydney, Australia |
| Christian Brand | Scott Depot, WV |
| David Branshaw | Tampa, FL |
| Kent Bulle | Nashville, TN |
| Gunn Charoenkul | Bangkok, Thailand |
| Zihao Chen | Guangdong, China |
| John Chin | Temecula, CA |
| Daniel Chopra | Orlando, FL |
| Aaron Cockerill | Gunton, Manitoba, Canada |
| Eric Cole | Tequesta, FL |
| Trevor Cone | Concord, NC |
| Austin Connelly | Irving, TX |
| Corey Conners | Listowel, Ontario, Canada |
| Adam Cornelson | Langley, British Columbia, Canada |
| Vince Covello | Ponte Vedra Beach, FL |
| Josh Creel | Cheyenne, WY |
| Brandon Crick | McCook, NE |
| Nick Cullen | Atlanta, GA |
| Matt Davidson | Greenville, SC |
| Emilio Dominguez | Pacheco, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Kevin Dougherty | Murrieta, CA |
| Parker Edens | Greeley, CO |
| Brad Elder | Reston, VA |
| Derek Ernst | Weatherford, TX |
| Seth Fair | Brownsburg, IN |
| Armando Favela | Chula Vista, CA |
| Colin Featherstone | Fallbrook, CA |
| Trevor Fisher, Jr. | Gauteng, South Africa |
| Nick Flanagan | Ponte Vedra Beach, FL |
| Alex Franklin | San Rafael, CA |
| Stephen Gangluff | Carlsbad, CA |
| Brice Garnett | Gallatin, MO |
| Michael Gellerman | Sterling, KS |
| Michael Gligic | Kitchener, Ontario, Canada |
| Talor Gooch | Midwest City, OK |
| Oliver Goss | Knoxville, TN |
| Jeff Gove | LaQuinta, CA |
| Lanto Griffin | Blacksburg, VA |
| Vaita Guillaume | Faquay Varina, NC |
| Luke Guthrie | Jacksonville Beach, FL |
| Chesson Hadley | Raleigh, NC |
| Brandon Harkins | Scottsdale, AZ |
| Seann Harlingten | West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Evan Harmeling | Andover, MA |
| Matt Harmon | Hudsonville, MI |
| Adam Hart | Columbia, SC |
| Michael Hebert | Atlanta, GA |
| Mark Hensby | Scottsdale, AZ |
| Bo Hoag | Columbus, OH |
| Jonathan Hodge | Jasper, TN |
| Justin Hueber | Jacksonville, FL |
| Brian Hughes | Centralia, WA |
| Vince India | Deerfield, IL |
| Carter Jenkins | Raleigh, NC |
| Michael Johnson | Birmingham, AL |
| Alex Kang | Las Vegas, NV |
| Billy Kennerly | Alpharetta, GA |
| Chris Killmer | Issaquah, WA |
| John Young Kim | Walnut, CA |
| Lucas Kim | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Alex Kim | Fullerton, CA |
| Taewoo Kim | Gapyeong-gun, Gyeong, South Korea |
| Kurt Kitayama | Henderson, NV |
| Jim Knous | Englewood, CO |
| Ben Kohles | Reston, VA |
| Dustin Korte | Hendersonville, TN |
| Cliff Kresge | Kingsport, TN |
| Will Kropp | Edmond, OK |
| Andrew Landry | Dripping Springs, TX |
| Jesse Larson | Mendon, VT |
| Nate Lashley | Scottsdale, AZ |
| Tain Lee | Irvine, CA |
| D.H. Lee | Cleveland, OH |
| K.H. Lee | Encinitas, CA |
| Richard H. Lee | Scottsdale, AZ |
| Doug Letson | Tampa, FL |
| Michael Letzig | Kansas City, MO |
| Ken Looper | Mandeville, LA |
| Sam Love | Trussville, AL |
| Tom Lovelady | Birmingham, AL |
| Justin Lower | Charlotte, NC |
| Brock Mackenzie | Scottsdale, AZ |
| Sebastian MacLean | Doral, FL |
| Chase Marinell | Cape Coral, FL |
| Max Marsico | Las Vegas, NV |
| Max McCardle | N. Plympton, Australia |
| A.J. McInerney | Henderson, NV |
| Parker McLachlin | Scottsdale, AZ |
| Fernando Mechereffe | Knoxville, TN |
| Eric Meierdierks | Wilmette, IL |
| Daniel Miernicki | Santee, CA |
| Alex Moon | Dallas, TX |
| Taylor Moore | Edmond, OK |
| Trevor Murphy | Scottsdale, AZ |
| Chris Naegel | Wildwood, MO |
| Augusto Nunez | Yerba Buena, Tucuman, Argentina |
| Carlos Ortiz | Addison, TX |
| Chase Parker | Augusta, GA |
| David Pastore | Jupiter, FL |
| Jeremy Paul | Boulder, CO |
| Guillermo Pereira | Santiago, Chile |
| Ben Polland | Manhasset, NY |
| Aron Price | Ponte Vedra Beach, FL |
| Tyler Raber | Davis, CA |
| Seth Reeves | Suwanee, GA |
| Jim Renner | Orlando, FL |
| Wes Roach | Knoxville, TN |
| Max Rottluff | Scottsdale, AZ |
| Nick Rousey | Pensacola, FL |
| Charlie Saxon | Tulsa, OK |
| Mike Schoolcraft | Denver, CO |
| Justin Shin | North York, Ontario, Canada |
| Conrad Shindler | Dallas, TX |
| Trey Shirley | Bowling Green, KY |
| Matthew Short | Hudson, NC |
| Ben Silverman | Greenacres, FL |
| David Skinns | Suwanee, GA |
| Byron Smith | Palm Desert, CA |
| Jesse Speirs | Memphis, TN |
| Eric Steger | Fishers, IN |
| Damon Stephenson | Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia |
| Sepp Straka | Valdosta, GA |
| Ben Taylor | Champions Gate, FL |
| Jarin Todd | Woodinville, WA |
| Peter Tomasulo | McKinney, TX |
| Ethan Tracy | Galloway, OH |
| Martin Trainer | Palo Alto, CA |
| Blake D. Trimble | Houston, TX |
| Marc Turnesa | Jupiter, FL |
| Dawie van der Walt | Kingwood, TX |
| Sebastian Vazquez | Pharr, TX |
| Drew Weaver | Atlanta, GA |
| Fred Wedel | The Woodlands, TX |
| Tom Whitney | Fort Collins, CO |
| Kyle Wilshire | Orlando, FL |
| Cameron Wilson | Rowayton, CT |
| Chris Wilson | Dublin, OH |
| Andy Winings | Fishers, IN |
| Casey Wittenberg | Memphis, TN |
| Daniel Woltman | Beaver Dam, WI |
| Chris Worrell | Jenks, OK |
| Zach Wright | Marion, IA |
| Greg S. Yates | Mansfield, TX |
| Ryan Yip | Phoenix, AZ |
| Andrew Yun | Scottsdale, AZ |
| Xinjun Zhang | Northridge, CA |
| Jordan Zunic | Russell Vale, Australia |
Aronimink is not a storied club, but when Donald Ross himself proclaimed it to be as good as he can design and build, one had to take notice. Jay Sigel was the pre-eminent male amateur golfer from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. He might have called any number of Philadelphia clubs home, but he chose Aronimink. It served him well. Gary Player won a PGA Championship here in 1962, and was followed by the 1993 winner … nobody. Aronimink gave that event away to Inverness, for reasons of which it is certainly not proud. So be it. We had to wait sixty-four years for the PGA to return to Newtown Square, but here we are. Aronimink has been neo-restored by Gil Hanse and team, to return Ross features with an eye toward defense against the dark arts, errrr, high-tech equipment.
Day one saw Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau dig big holes, to the tune of plus-four and plus-six, respectively. Since the first-round lead will be minus-three at worst, many shots will need to be made up for the power couple to reach contention. By nightfall, seven golfers held the day-one lead at three-under par 67. Shots and sticks caught our attention, and we are proud to present Five Things We Learned on Tech Thursday at the 2026 PGA Championship. Thanks to InsideTourGolfer, Today’s Golfer, and GolfWRX for initial equipment research.
First, meet Min Woo Lee
Min Woo Lee, aka Dr. Chipinski, has once again thrust himself into the conversation of Can he, will he, when will he? Lee has so much talent, wins not nearly as often as we believe that he should, and has no major near-misses (much less titles) on his wiki. The young Aussie is getting older and wiser, but is he able to avoid the scarring that holds the older and wiser back from breaking through? Philadelphia offers another opportunity. Min Woo signed for five birdies and two bogeys on day one, and grabbed a share of the opening-day lead at Aronimink. Winners transcend history and the moment, and Lee will need that sort of ascent to lift the Wannamaker on Sunday.
Second, meet Aldrich Potgeiter
The young South African golfer can rip driver with the best of them. Aronimink tips out at nearly 7400 yards, but beyond the fairway bunkers that ensnare only the mortals, Potgeiter can take his chances with wedge from the rough. On Thursday, he spent plenty of time in the spinach. Like Popeye, he used his muscles to gouge and thrash and dig his way out. Six birdies against three bogeys on the card brought AP in a three deep.
Third, meet Martin Kaymer
Not a major event takes place without a where’s he been throwback moment. We know that Martin Kaymer left the PGA and DP World tours for LIV golf, but the two-time (US Open and PGA) major winner has a lifetime exemption into at least one major event, and he seizes the opportunity each May. Kaymer joined the six-seven brigade with four birdies and a solitary bogey on day one. Kaymer was never a long hitter, and the years are kind to no golfer. The German champion will need to uncork every bottle of guile and strategy in his cabinet to remain in contention. For today, though, he occupies a rung on the ladder of Tour Tech.
Fourth, meet Scottie Scheffler
Let’s see, he’s the defending champion at the PGA, and he found his way back to the top tier with five birdies against two bogeys. To be a favorite and then play up to that stature and expectation is quite difficult. Just ask Rory, Bryson, and some of the other pre-tournament heartthrobs. Scheffler’s game is complete, and to knock him off the OWGR #1 pedestal, one needs to defeat him at the majors. Aronimink is the sort of course that fits Scheffler’s game. Better yet, it unfits the game of many of his challengers. Don’t expect Scheffler to go away anytime soon. Come Sunday, he’ll be around.
Fifth, meet Stephan Jaeger
Clocking in for the unheralded players shift are Ryo Hisatsune and Stephan Jaeger. Hisatsune logged seven birdies on day one, but gave most of them back with four bogeys. Still, he’s tied at the top for a time. Jaeger pitched five birdies against two bogeys, including a run of three consecutive, from holes four through six. Odds are that one of the two will hang around through 36 holes. Odds also suggest that both will be gone by Saturday evening. Still, the PGA Championship has historically been the major most likely to be won by an under-known. Both Hisatsune and Jaeger feature on that list, so good luck, lads!
On this episode of the Club Junkie Podcast, I head to the Titleist Performance Institute for a full driver fitting with the new Titleist GTS lineup. We dive into the fitting process, talk about what made the biggest difference in performance, and break down how the different GTS heads and shaft combinations compare on the launch monitor. If you are thinking about a new driver setup for this season, there is a lot to take away from this one.
I also get into Brooks Koepka and the gear setup he brought to the PGA Championship, including the putters that caught my eye during the week. There are some interesting equipment trends showing up at the highest level right now and we break down what stands out.
To wrap things up, I talk about reshafting a few wedges, what I learned during the process, and swapping an adaptor onto a new shaft for another build project in the shop. A gear packed episode from start to finish for anyone who loves golf equipment and club building.
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Excited for this week’s WITB as we get to add the new Titleist GTS woods to the bag! I was fit at Titleist’s TPI facility in Oceanside California a few weeks ago and my new clubs just showed up. I am also adding a cool set of irons that I built last year some wild custom wedges into a new golf bag. Speaking of the bag I have a new Ghost Anyday Black Ops stand bag that I will be using on my Motocaddy Remote M7 electric cart.
Driver: Titleist GTS3 (11 degrees @ 10.25)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 6s
3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD CQ-7s
5-wood: Titleist GTS (18 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 7s
9-wood: Titleist GT1 (24 degress)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 7s
Irons: Bettinardi CB24 (5-PW)
Shafts: KBS C-Taper Lite 110 stiff
Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (50-09 SB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff
Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (56-12 SB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff
Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (60-08 LB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff
Putter: Dan Carraher ZT Proto
Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour
Bag: Ghost Anyday Black Ops Stand Bag
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Patrick Reed WITB 2026 (May)
Driver: Titleist GT3 (9 degrees) Buy here. Shaft: Aldila Rogue Silver 130 M.S.I. 70 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi35 (15 degrees)...
Aaron Rai’s winning WITB: 2026 PGA Championship
Driver: TaylorMade M6 (9 degrees) Shaft: Aldilda Synergy Blue 70 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue...
Michael Block WITB 2026 (May)
Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (9 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black VeloCore+ 5 X 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (15 degrees @14.25) Shaft: Mitsubishi...
Bryson DeChambeau WITB 2026 (May)
Driver: Krank Formula Fire Pro (6 degrees) Shaft: Project X Prototype 3-wood: Krank Formula Fire (10 degrees) Shaft: LA Golf BAD...
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Dill Pickleson
Dec 12, 2016 at 1:36 am
Sorry my friend didn’t make it although is top 10 on the pga tour in my (very large) country. The level of play is extremely high and I feel for those that make it all the way to the finals and miss out…..
GtownHotBrown
Dec 8, 2016 at 11:56 am
Got some boys competing this week. Good luck fellas. Bring it back to Kentucky!
BeenThere
Dec 6, 2016 at 6:11 pm
Great article but the entry fee information is not correct regarding Stage Two and the Final Stage. Once you have paid the full amount for Pre Qualifying ( if necessary ) and First Stage you do not pay anything else if you advance. The fee structure is broken down like that on the application for those who are exempt to the different stages. For example if you are exempt into the second stage you only pay $4,000 or if you are exempt directly to the final stage by position on the money list or World Ranking, you only pay $3500. How much you pay is also determined by how soon you pay before the deadline with $6,000 being the maximum. Hope this helps.
Nick Heidelberger
Dec 6, 2016 at 6:38 pm
Indeed! I misinterpreted the fee structure. The story has been updated to clarify the costs. Thank you!
Duffer1880
Dec 6, 2016 at 8:38 am
A couple of names I recognise from Feinstein’s ‘Tales from Q School’ of a few years back. There are some very accomplished golfers on that list – just goes to show how high the standard is. These guys are indeed good.
Simz
Dec 6, 2016 at 3:08 am
“…….whose score of 2-under par for the tournament was nine strokes too many to qualify for the Finals”
OK then! Yep, there’s levels to everything. These guys are just too good!
Back to this 9-5 job I guess.
CCshop
Dec 5, 2016 at 7:19 pm
Step by Step guide to advance at Q School
1. Shoot low scores
Think I’ve figured out the secret
birdy
Dec 5, 2016 at 4:32 pm
so you have to have deep pockets or an angel investor to make it in golf…..
Progolfer
Dec 5, 2016 at 11:50 am
I’ve played in Q School a few times and did well in the majority of them (got to 2nd stage a couple years ago), and can tell you from personal experience how ridiculous the entry fees are– even more so since the PGA Tour cut ties with Q School, and now that it’s qualifying only for the Web.com Tour. The PGA Tour wants to keep old, fading veterans around on Tour (who got there from Q School in the first place) and prevent young, exciting up-and-comers from succeeding. Personally, I don’t think that’s the way to grow the game.
Johnnylongballz
Dec 5, 2016 at 6:30 am
Brutal!