Travis Trace finally has a chance to get his PGA Tour card in the Q-School National Finals — and it’s a home game for the Sandalwood High and University of North Florida graduate.
His fifth attempt during a second qualifying stage proved to be a charm. Also on the 18thth hole at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club in Valdosta, Georgia.
Trace made a 15-foot birdie putt on his 72sd Friday, the hole for the second stage of Tour qualifying will be tied at 12th at 1-under-par 287 and clinch the final qualifying spot for next week’s PGA Tour Q School presented by Korn Ferry at TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley and Sawgrass Country Club.
Trace (74 in the final round) hit the fairway and holed a 56-degree wedge through the cold wind at the par-4 18th, setting up the final putt. It was his fourth birdie on the back nine, where he shaved 10 shots off a disastrous front nine 42 in which he played his first two holes at 3-over, with a double at the par-5 second.
Travis Trace had to carry his own bag during the final round
And Trace didn’t have anyone to give him a pep talk at the turn – his caddy of the week, former UNF teammate Jack Comstock, was a groomsman at the wedding of one of their best friends, Eric Havixbeck, another Sandalwood graduate, and had to leave after Thursday’s third round.
That left Trace to carry his own bag – and keep his own advice.
“I was a little shocked (on his first nine),” said Trace, who started the day at 3 under, two shots inside the cut line. “He played very hard, it was cold, it was windy, the greens were incredibly fast and it was easy to get out of position. Everything seemed to snowball. All I could do was try to take it one hole at a time. »
Well, it’s a cliché because it’s true. And Trace righted the ship with a 15-foot birdie putt at No. 10 and a two-putt birdie from 30 feet at the par-5 11th.th.
“It was huge to make birdie No. 10 to get the monkey back,” Trace said. “I told myself to stay in it until it was over.”
Trace took revenge on the Kinderlou forest
Trace birdied the 14th on a 5-foot putt and had no trouble matching the rest of the holes on the back. He finished one stroke ahead of six players who were tied at even.
Trace also felt like he owed Kinderlou, a sprawling, rugged course designed by Davis Love III. Trace competed in the second qualifying stage there last year and shot 2-over in the final round to miss advancing by two shots.
He could have chosen one of the other four sites in the second stage but returned to Valdosta.
“I wanted to come back and get revenge,” he said.
Trace in search of one of the five PGA Tour cards
Trace, 28, will compete in the Q School finals from December 13-16 after failing four times. The final field will play two rounds each at Dye’s Valley and Sawgrass Country Club, with the top five finishers, plus ties, earning PGA Tour cards for the 2025 season.
Will this be an advantage for home lessons? After all, Trace played The Hayt at Sawgrass four times while at UNF, and played many games at The Valley.
Or will there be added pressure trying to get his Tour card home?
“I don’t think it will be difficult,” he said. “I can’t wait to get home. They’re two courses that I know very well and my game feels like I’m in a really good place other than a nine hole.
By reaching the final stage, Trace will at least have PGA Tour Americas status next year. He has been playing on this tour and in Canada since he turned professional. This season, he has made nine of 16 caps and finished in the top 10 three times.
“I stayed super competitive,” he said. “Last year was a pretty low point. I was rather discouraged. But I know my good golf is good enough to compete here. I think I have some momentum.
Sam Anderson, a Wisconsin graduate who established a base in Ponte Vedra Beach, medaled at Kinderlou with a 12-under 276, six shots ahead of Aman Gupta of Palm Beach Gardens and Blaine Hale of Dallas.
The Valdosta qualifier was one of four Stage 2 qualifiers Friday that rounded out the field for Q School.
Luke Guthrie wins Hammock Beach qualifying
Former PGA Tour member Luke Guthrie of Ponte Vedra shot a closing 69 at the Conservatory Course at Hammock Beach in Palm Coast to win the qualifier by two shots at 10-under 276. The former PGA State player Florida’s Hank also qualified for the Q-School finals. Lebioda (69-281), Jacksonville’s Cody Blick (69-281) and former University of North Florida player Lance Yates (76-282).
Bartram Trail graduate Julian Suri of Ponte Vedra (69-284) finished one stroke out of the final qualifying spot when he parred his final four holes.
Marcus Plunkett finishes strong in Dothan
Army graduate from West Point Marcus Plunkett of Atlantic Beach shot final rounds of 65-69 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Highlands and Marshwood courses to finish solo fourth at the Dothan, Ala., second-stage qualifier at 12-under 276, three shots behind the co- medalists Ashton Van Horne of Georgetown, Ky., and Owen Stamper of Scottsville, Ky.
Plunkett, who was the Patriot League Player of the Year in 2014 for Army, had six birdies during a final-round 69. He shot a bogey-free 65 in Thursday’s third round. Plunkett played high school golf at Nease and then at Ponte Vedra.
Raul Pereda qualifies with a margin
Graduated from Jacksonville University Raúl Pereda, who earned his Tour card at last year’s Q School, shot final rounds of 67-68 at Valencia Country Club in California to finish tied for fourth and punch his ticket to Ponte Vedra. Pereda shot 12-under 276 and finished three shots behind Petr Hruby of the Czech Republic (68-273).
Veteran Marcelo Rozo wins in Savannah
Marcelo Rozo, a Colombia native with 10 professional victories under his belt, opened with a 64 and went on to shoot 23-under 265 at the Landings Deer Creek Course in Savannah, Georgia, in a second qualifying round held on November 19. -22.
Rozo edged another veteran, Zack Fischer, 35, of Benton, Ark., by three shots.
This article was originally published on Florida Times-Union: Travis Trace rallies at Kinderlou to qualify for PGA Tour Q-School
