Lanto Griffin said it’s a different kind of pressure than winning on the PGA Tour, and certainly not easier — all evidence to the contrary with the 63 he threw up Sunday at TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley.
But the Jacksonville Beach residentpassing through Mount Shasta, Calif., and Virginia Commonwealth University, breathes easy knowing he has full Tour status for 2025 after winning the PGA Tour Q School by three blows Hayden Buckley at 9 under par 271.
“It wasn’t about the money,” he said, referring to the difference between the $50,000 he earned for winning the final 72-hole qualifying round and the $1,350 $000 for winning the 2019 Houston Open. “It’s so hard. It looked like a cliff you were going over and now all of a sudden you have a life vest. Q-School is the hardest thing in the world because it’s either pass or fail.
Griffin was joined at the post-round card ceremony by two other Tour veterans who needed that life jacket, Buckley (67) at 6 under and former Florida Gator Alejandro Tosti (66 ) at 4 cents.
Takumi Kanaya, Japan Tour financial leader and MVP last season, shot 69 to finish alone in third at 5 under. Kanaya held the no. 1 in the world amateur rankings for 55 weeks in 2019 and 2020 and made the cut at the 2019 Masters after qualifying with a victory in the Asia-Pacific Amateur.
Two former SEC players who only had mini-tour and Korn Ferry Tour experience before this week, Georgia’s Will Chandler (66) and Vanderbilt’s Matthew Riedel (72) picked up the other two cards when they joined Tosti at 4 under.
Riedel started the day tied for the lead and ultimately had to sink a 5-foot par putt to get his card. He and Chandler will experience life on the PGA Tour for the first time.
Griffin finished 171st on the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup points list to lose his full status (he was expected to be in the top 125 after the Tour’s FedEx Cup fall schedule), Buckley was 139th and Tosti was 129th.
They would have started the season with conditional PGA Tour status, but their cards will offer more tee times to start the season.
“It’s a stressful day just knowing what’s at stake,” said PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, who handed out the prized cards in a ceremony at the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse – cards metal plates on which their names were hand-engraved by Korn Ferry Tour staff. Hannah Miller minutes before Monahan handed them out.
“That’s the beauty of the game,” Monahan continued. “To see these players…to have the chance to get their card today, to see them compete in this environment, it’s awesome. »
Griffin took charge early
Griffin started the day with a score of 2 under and a shot inside the top five bubble to earn a Tour card. But he started the charge early with an eagle on the par-5 first hole and, bizarrely, birdied every other odd-numbered hole on the Valley’s front nine: Nos. 3, 5, 7 and 9.
He was four shots ahead at that point and made six pars in a row on the back, birdied the par-5 16th and pared the last two.
“It was nerve-wracking,” said Griffin, who hit 15 greens and needed only 27 putts.
Griffin, who has lived on the First Coast since 2017, is having a pretty good fall. He and his wife Maya recently welcomed their daughter Navy into the world.
“My new daughter here…it’s really special to me,” he said.
Chandler hosts a dramatic rally
There were 11 elders Georgia Bulldogs who have won on the PGA Tour and the way Will Chandler has played, even a dozen could be in sight.
Chandler was 1 up from the front and five shots out of the top five bubble. But he birdied Nos. 10, 13 and 13, then made an eagle at 16 on a 60-foot putt.
“I was pretty frustrated with the way I finished (Saturday),” Chandler said, referring to an otherwise solid 67 at Sawgrass Country Club. “I had good looks at 16 and 17 and pretty straightforward ups and downs at 18 and I didn’t get it. I was playing well and it should have been lower. So I came here, did some putting and it paid off today.
Tosti shot dead at 17 gets his card
Tosti, a native of Argentina who won the SEC individual championship for the Alligators in 2017, he made one of the tournament’s signature shots when he approached the 17th green from thick rough, on the side of an embankment, from less than 4 feet. He made the birdie putt to get his ticket to the Tour.
He shot 65 in the third round after hitting 4 in the first two days.
“It’s been a challenge for me, my whole life, to manage on my own,” said the fiery Tosti. “It’s super tough, super competitive and almost every decision and thought you have can impact your outcome, your shots. It’s crazy how quickly things can change one way and it’s really hard to get them to change the other way. I was able to do it and how happy I will be for the holidays.
The players of the seventh (Alistair Docherty) at 10 tied for 26th, will get 12 guaranteed Korn Ferry Tour starts over the first three shuffles.
Those tied for 36th thanks to seven players tied for 43rd will get eight starts, in the first two shuffles.
All other players who complete 72 holes will have conditional Korn Ferry Tour status and are guaranteed entry into the PGA Tour Americas Latin American Swing.
Heartbreaking Stories from Q-School
For every success story at Q-School, there are heartbreakers. Here are three:
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Docherty, the Canadian-born who worked as a caddy and played mini-tours, made his only birdie of the day at No. 17 to move within one shot of the cut line for a Tour card. He spliced the fairway at No. 18 and launched an 8-iron over the flag and into the thick rough behind the green. Needing a birdie for his card, he pitched to 4 feet. Docherty quickly left the scoring area and declined comment.
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Nick GabrelcikA three-time ASUN Player of the Year at the University of North Florida, started the day five shots off the Tour bubble and with seven pars and birdies on Nos. 7 and 8, he moved to within three. But he made a double bogey on the par-3 11th hole, a birdie on the 13th, a bogey on the 17th, then hit a nice 9-iron into the 18th green and dropped a 4-foot birdie putt.
“The goal was to be top five on two of my home courses,” said Gabrelcik, who won three college tournaments at Valley and Sawgrass Country Club. “But the end goal is to regain some sort of status that was not conditional and we achieved that. Overall, I’m happy with the state of my game. It just wasn’t where it needed to be, but it was solid enough.
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Jin Chung, a 36-year-old Korean and professional instructor at Chateau Elan Resort in Braselton, Georgia, has attempted the qualifying process 12 times. It was his first time reaching the final round and after shooting 5 under on the front nine on Sunday, he was tied at 4 under and on number to get a card.
But he played the final nine 2-overs with no more bogeys and finished solo eighth.
However, like Gabrelcik, Chung put a positive spin on his week, as it was the first time he achieved status on a major professional tour.
Indeed, he broke down in tears during his post-tour media availability, elated to have had status during the first three Korn Ferry Tour shakeups.
“To understand that point, yes, it’s great,” he said, barely able to get the words out. “It’s a dream come true. I never had status on an official tour. The PGA Tour would have been great, but I’m very grateful to be exempt from the Korn Ferry Tour.
This story has been updated to add additional photos and information.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: PGA Tour Q-School: Lanto Griffin lays off 63, Will Chandler stages late rally
