Colorado natives Dillon Stewart and Chris Korte advance to final stage of PGA Tour/KFT Q-school, along with former TPC Colorado regular Dan Erickson
By Gary Baines – 12/5/2025
Two Colorado natives who have won the CGA Amateur, plus a former northern Colorado resident, punched their tickets to the final stage of PGA Tour/Korn Ferry Tour Q-school on Friday.
Littleton native Chris Korte, Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins and former TPC Colorado regular Dan Erickson successfully negotiated the second stage of qualifying and thus kept their hopes alive of earning regular PGA Tour or Korn Ferry Tour status for 2026.
All players who compete in the final stage — set for Dec. 11-14 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. — receive at least conditional KFT status for next year, but those who finish outside the top 45 and ties are unlikely to get many starts on that circuit, judging by recent history.
With five second-stage tournaments concluding on Friday, Erickson finished third in Dothan, Ala., Korte was fourth in Valdosta, Ga., and Stewart was ninth in Tucson, Ariz.
Stewart, the 2023 CGA Amateur champion who won an event on PGA Tour Americas in July, narrowly missed earning KFT status through PGA Tour Americas as he finished 12th in late September on the season-long points list. But only the top 10 landed KFT cards.
The 2024 Sinclair Rocky Mountain Open winner shot scores of 71-74-67-68 to finish at even-par in Tucson. With the top 14 and ties advancing, Stewart made it on the number. For the four rounds, he finished with 13 birdies, nine bogeys and two double bogeys.
Regis Jesuit and DU grad Chris Korte is headed to the final stage of Q-school for the second straight year.
Meanwhile, competing at the second stage of PGA Tour/Korn Ferry Tour Q-school certainly isn’t anything new for Korte. This week marked the sixth straight year the Regis Jesuit High School and University of Denver graduate has competed in stage 2.
But advancing to the final stage of Q-school takes things to another level. Korte had that opportunity last year for the first time, and on Friday he earned a return trip to final stage, where PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour cards will be at stake.
On Friday, with bad weather leading to a cancellation of the scheduled fourth round of the second stage tournament in Valdosta, Ga., Korte ended up tied for fourth out of 77 player in what turned out to be a 54-hole event.
As it was, fourth place is exactly where Korte finished last year at the second-stage tournament at the same site. But he’ll hope for a better follow-up performance in the final stage after placing 117th there a year ago.
This time around, Korte posted rounds of 65-70-73 for an 8-under-par total. With the 18 players at 5 under or better advancing to the final stage, Korte kept his hopes alive for a 2026 PGA Tour or KFT card.
The Final Stage of Q-school is scheduled for next week at TPC Sawgrass. The top five finishers (ties for fifth place will be played off this year) in the final stage will earn 2026 PGA Tour status. The rest of the top 45 and ties will land some exempt status on the Korn Ferry Tour for next year, while the remaining finishers will have conditional KFT status. But that conditional status didn’t get Korte any KFT starts this year — though he did Monday qualify for The Ascendant presented by Blue at TPC Colorado in Berthoud. He also Monday qualified for three PGA Tour starts in the 2025 calendar year, finishing 16th in the Puerto Rico Open in March.
Korte, winner of both a CGA Match Play (2017) and a CGA Amateur (2015), finished the week with 16 birdies and eight bogeys through three rounds on Valdosta.
Joining Korte and Stewart in advancing to the final stage was Erickson, whose family formerly lived in northern Colorado and held a membership at TPC Colorado. Erickson played on the DP World Tour and the HotelPlanner Tour in 2025. He tied for third place out of 74 competitors in Dothan, Ala., where weather likewise shortened the tournament to 54 holes.
Erickson went 67-74-67 for an 8-under total at a site where the top 14 finishers and ties will move on to the final state. He made 16 birdies, four double bogeys and two double bogeys for the week.
Meanwhile, former Colorado Christian University golfer Sangha Park missed advancing to final stage by a stroke in Tucson after he played his final four holes in 2 under par.
Here are the results for all the players with strong Colorado ties at the second stage of Q-school:
Tucson, Ariz. (Top 14 Finishers and Ties Advance to Final Stage)
Advance to Final Stage
9. Dillon Stewart, Fort Collins 71-74-67-68–280
Failed to Advance
15. Former Colorado Christian University golfer Sangha Park 72-72-66-71—281
51. Jake Staiano, Englewood 76-76-68-71—291
Valdosta, Ga. (Top 15 Finishers and Ties Advance to Final Stage)
(Note: 54-Hole Qualifier Due to Weather Issues)
Advances to Final Stage
4. Former Coloradan Chris Korte, Scottsdale, Ariz. 65-70-73–208
Failed to Advance
28. Former CSU golfer Gunnar Brown, Shorewood, Minn. 73-72-69–214
Dothan, Ala. (Top 14 Finishers and Ties Advance to Final Stage)
(Note: 54-Hole Qualifier Due to Weather Issues)
Advances to Final Stage
3. Former Coloradan Dan Erickson, Conroe, Texas 67-74-67—208
Failed to Advance
30. Former CU golfer Justin Biwer 71-72-71–214
54. Former DU golfer John Sand 71-73-75–219
Savannah, Ga. (Top 15 Finishers and Ties Advance to Final Stage)
Failed to Advance
45. Griffin Barela, Lakewood 70-74-65-71–280
Palm Coast, Fla. (Top 14 Finishers and Ties Advance to Final Stage)
Failed to Advance
69. Former Coloradan Brandon Bingaman, Dallas 80-70-77-72—299
For all the scores from Q-school, 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