Former CGA Amateur champ Griffin Barela finishes with flurry to advance in PGA Tour Q-school; 4 locals see 2026 LPGA Q-Series hopes end
By Gary Baines
With four holes remaining in the first stage of PGA Tour Q-school on Friday in San Jacinto, Calif., things weren’t looking particularly promising for Lakewood resident Griffin Barela.
He was 11 under par through 68 holes of the event — which seems pretty darn good — but it wasn’t going to be enough to advance to stage 2 of Q-school.
But that’s when the 2021 CGA Amateur champion threw it into high gear. And good thing he did. The 27-year-old birdied three of his final four holes — and needed all three of them to keep his 2026 Q-school hopes alive.
Barela, a Lakewood High School graduate, advanced on the number in San Jacinto, ending up at 14 under par for the week (67-70-70-67), good for a six-way tie for 13th place at a site where the top 17 finishers and ties moved on.
Over the four rounds, Barela carded an eagle, 15 birdies and three bogeys.
With that, Barela earned a spot in stage 2 of Q-school, set for Dec. 1-4 at five sites, with the top performers there advancing to the Q-school finals. At the finals — Dec. 10-13 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. — five 2027 PGA Tour cards will be awarded, with the next 40 players and ties landing preferred Korn Ferry Tour status. The remaining final-stage finishers will earn conditional status on the KFT.
Barela played primarily on PGA Tour Americas in 2026, posting three top-20 showings.
This week marks the third of three straight weeks of first-stage Q-school tournaments. Previously, Coloradans Connor Jones and AJ Ott, former University of Colorado golfers Dylan McDermott and Josh Creel, ex-Colorado State player Gunnar Broin and former part-time Coloradan Dan Erickson landed stage 2 berths.
Here are how all the players with significant Colorado ties fared at the first stage of PGA Tour Q-school this week:
San Jacinto, Calif., Nov. 3-6 (Top 17 finishers and ties advance)
Advances to Second Stqage
13. Griffin Barela, Lakewood 67-70-70
Failed to Advance
30. Former CU golfer Michael Feuerstein 69-68-71-69—277
43. Roberto Lebrija, Vail 74-72-69-66–281
Lakewood Ranch, Fla., Nov. 3-6 (Top 17 finishers and ties advance)
Failed to Advance
47. Dillon Stewart, Fort Collins 73-74-69-74—290
71. Bo Wardynski, Berthoud 73-79-79-74–305
Tucson, Ariz., Nov. 3-6 (Top 17 finishers and ties advance)
Failed to Advance
56. Former Fort Collins resident Matt Liringis 79-69-70-69—287
64. Former CU golfer Tucker Clark 73-75-77-67–292
PREVIOUSLY
Newton, Kan., Oct. 27-29 (Top 17 finishers and ties advance)
Advances to Second Stage
13. Former CSU golfer Gunnar Broin 70-70-75-65—280
Failed to Advance
60. Rhett Johnson, Littleton 72-79-74-73—298
Bermuda Run, N.C., Oct. 27-30 (Top 17 finishers and ties advance)
Advances to Second Stage
16. Former CU golfer Dylan McDermott 71-67-68-72–278
Abilene, Texas Oct. 27-30 (Top 17 finishers and ties advance)
Advances to Second Stage
16. Cheyenne native and former CU golfer Josh Creel 72-69-69-67—277
Failed to Advance
23. Former DU golfer John Sand 73-68-69-68–278
27. Former Colorado Christian University golfer Xavier Bighaus 71-70-68-72–281
Lincoln, Neb. Oct. 20-23 (Top 17 finishers and ties advance)
Advance to Second Stage
8. Connor Jones, Westminster 70-67-68-69—274
12. AJ Ott, Denver 67-69-67-73–276
Albuquerque, N.M. Oct. 20-23 (Top 17 finishers and ties advance)
Advances to Second Stage
14. Former part-time Coloradan Dan Erickson 71-70-72-66—279
Failed to Advance
27. Former CU golfer Adam Matteson 69-72-70-71–282
27. Former CU golfer Yannik Paul 75-68-72-67–282
33. Jake Staiano, Englewood 74-65-69-75—283
59. Derek Fribbs, Aurora 74-64-77-81–296
59. Hunter Swanson, Superior 75-70-73-78–296
For results from all 2026 PGA Tour Q-school tournaments, CLICK HERE.
— Meanwhile, at LPGA Q-Series in Venice, Fla.: Also held Tuesday through Friday this week was the rescheduled LPGA Qualifying Series’ qualifying stage. The field, which originally numbered 198, featured four players with strong Colorado ties. But none of those four will advance to the final stage of Q-Series as finishing in the top 55 and ties was necessary to take that step.
Here are how the golfers with significant Colorado connections fared:
LPGA Q-Series Qualifying in Venice, Fla.
(Top 55 Finishers and Ties Advance to Final Qualifying)
Failed to Advance to Final Qualifying
115. Former CU golfer Morgan Miller 75-73-73-72—293
145. Former Loveland resident Lauren Dickey 81-72-70-73—296
169. Former Colorado resident Eva Pett 78-73-71-77—299
185. Katie Hollern, Sedalia 75-84-74-72—305
For all the scores, CLICK HERE.
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com