Golf Question of the Week: How Will This Year’s Q-school Graduates Fare on Next Year’s PGA TOUR?
http://goccusports.com/chantspics/print/johnson-dustin-action1.jpgCoastal Carolina star Dustin Johnson (pictured) survived the Q-school pressure cooker this month, and capped his stellar collegiate season by earning the Holy Grail for aspiring professional golfers: a PGA TOUR card for the 2008 season.
The question we pose this week applies not only to Johnson, but to every brand-new card-carrying TOUR member:
So you got your PGA TOUR card … Now, can you keep it?
This recent Associated Press piece offers some compelling Q-school facts that, in equal parts, should bode well for the Class of 2007 and have them quaking in their FootJoys. Consider that:
- At least one Q-school graduate has won a PGA TOUR event the following season for the past 26 years; and
- Four players who made it through Q school over the past 10 years have gone on to win majors (Ben Curtis, Rich Beem, Mike Weir, Todd Hamilton); while
- Eighteen players who made it through 2006 Q school were forced to return this year in an attempt to keep their cards; and
- Seven out of 10 Q-school graduates since 1991 have not been able to keep their cards.
Jason Sobel at ESPN.com rated the chances of each 2007 Q-school graduate making an impact in the 2008 PGA TOUR season. Dustin Johnson earned three out of a possible five stars from Sobel, along with this synopsis:
Up-and-comer alert! A three-time All-America at Coastal Carolina and member of the victorious U.S. Walker Cup squad, Johnson is one of the top American players to reach the tour in the past few years. He may need a little seasoning, but in time he'll be a solid pro.
Among the golfers Sobel thinks will make the most impact are former NCAA champion and Phil Mickelson college teammate Todd Demsey, and four-time PGA TOUR winner Carlos Franco.
Tell us what you think, Beach Bloggers. How will the Class of 2007 fare next year?
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