Ten players with strong Colorado ties, including PGA Tour winner Kevin Stadler and 2024-25 DP World Tour card holder Davis Bryant, set to tee it up for second stage of PGA Tour Q-school in early December
By Gary Baines – 11/22/2024
The second stage of PGA Tour qualifying, which is pivotal for many of the competitors, began on Tuesday, with 11 players with strong Colorado connections among those teeing it up either this week or early next month.
Among the locals in stage 2 tournaments are a PGA Tour winner (part-time Denver resident Kevin Stadler, who claimed the 2014 WM Phoenix Open title) and an owner of a 2024-25 DP World Tour card (Davis Bryant of Aurora).
There are two winners of the Inspirato Colorado Open (Stadler and Bryant), four former CGA Players of the Year (Stadler, Jake Staiano of Englewood, AJ Ott of Fort Collins and Bryant), and six winners of CGA men’s majors — either the CGA Amateur or the CGA Match Play (Stadler, former Littleton resident Chris Korte, Bryant, Griffin Barela of Lakewood, Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins and Ott).
For those who successfully advance from the second to the final stage — set for Dec. 12-15 in Ponte Vedra, Fla. — they’ll be guaranteed at least conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour. And the top finishers at final stage will earn considerably more desirable status as five PGA Tour cards (plus ties) will be up for grabs, with the next 25 finishers and ties being fully exempt on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour, while the following 40 and ties are exempt through the second reshuffle on the KFT.
The first second-stage tournament concluded on Friday in Savannah, Ga. — where former University of Denver golfer John Sand fell well short of advancing, finishing 54th. But four more stage 2 events are scheduled for Dec. 3-6, with 10 players with significant Colorado ties competing. Below are the results this week and the locals who are entered at other sites.
Savannah, Ga. Nov. 19-22
Failed to Advance to Final Stage (18 Advanced)
54. Former DU golfer John Sand 71-68-71-74–284
ALL THE SCORES
Valencia, Calif. Dec. 3-6
Davis Bryant, Aurora
Part-time Denver resident Kevin Stadler
Dillon Stewart, Fort Collins
Palm Coast, Fla. Dec. 3-6
Griffin Barela, Lakewood
Valdosta, Ga. Dec. 3-6
AJ Ott, Fort Collins
Jake Staiano, Englewood
Former Golden resident Andy Svoboda
Former Littleton resident Chris Korte
Dothan, Ala. Dec. 3-6
Former DU golfer Carson Griggs
Former DU golfer Chris Gilman
Dan Erickson, whose family has lived in northern Colorado in recent years but is moving out of state, withdrew this week from stage 2, though he had advanced from stage 1. Likely that has everything to do with Erickson, like Bryant, qualifying for a 2024-25 DP World Tour card earlier this month.
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