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Q-School Preview

With another year of Q-School in the books, 29 golfers have punched their ticket to the PGA Tour for the 2011 season. By finishing in the top 25 and ties, these men will join the like of Graeme McDowell, Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods. Four Met Area natives played in the final stage, which was held December 1-6 at the Orange County National Golf Center in Winter Garden, Fla. Although none of the four finished in the top 25, three of them will have PGA Tour status next season. Final scores.

A past winner on the PGA Tour and a five-time MGA major champion, Johnson Wagner (T74), will have conditional status on the PGA Tour for 2011 thanks to finishing 126th on the 2010 Tour money list. It is a bittersweet consolation for Wagner, who finished just one position and $33,175 short of retaining his Tour card. Although an estimate, Wagner is virtually assured of making at least 20 starts in 2011. Another former PGA Tour winner and 1994 Met Junior champ, Marc Turnesa (T114), suffered through a serious back injury in 2010 and will begin the 2011 season on the PGA Tour because of a major medical exemption.

Former Trump National-Bedminster assistant professional Jim Herman (T64), had already earned Tour status for 2011 by finishing in the top 25 on the Nationwide Tour money list and is guaranteed a full PGA Tour season in 2011. It will be his first on the big stage. New Jersey native Chris Nallen (T118) finished 31st on the 2010 Nationwide Tour money list and will have to spend another year as a fixture on the Nationwide Tour.

Notable Met Area club professionals who did not advance out of the second stage included Rob Labritz of GlenArbor and Danny Balin of Burning Tree. Both players qualified for the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straights, where Labritz made the cut and finished as low club pro, which earned him an exemption to second stage. Balin captured the 2010 Westchester Open and finished second at the 2010 Met Open. He was exempt into the second stage for his top-ten performance at the 2010 PGA Professional National Championship.

Andrew Svoboda of Larchmont, N.Y, who won the 2004 Met Amateur, 2003 Met Open, and 1997 Met Junior, along with 2004 MGA/MetLife Boys champion Sunny Kim of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and 2001 MGA/MetLife Public Links champion and two-time Met Junior champ (’98 & ’00) Martin Catalioto of Hilton Head, S.C. also advanced to the second stage, but did not reach the final stage. Also competing at the second stage, but failing to advance to the final stage were club professionals Chris Damiano of Westchester Hills and Brett Stegmaier of Silver Spring.

On the LPGA scene, Westchester County native Nanette Hill, of Pelham Manor, N.Y., finished T22 at LPGA Q-School and will have Category 16 status for 2011. Hill, 23, is a former Wake Forest standout and Second Team All-American spent the 2010 season competing on the Duramed Futures Tour, the LPGA’s developmental circuit. She recorded a win at the City of Hammond Classic and finished 22nd overall on the Futures Tour money list.

With Category 16 status, Hill will have access to Monday qualifiers for LPGA events as well as Futures Tour status.

For complete LPGA Q-School scores, click here.

Below is a roundup of Met Area players who have competed in all stages of PGA Tour Q-School, with links to the results from each site.

Final Stage:

December 1-6, 2010

Orange County National Golf Center, Winter Garden, Fla.

Jim Herman, Port St. Lucie, Fla. (T64)
Chris Nallen, Tucson, Ariz. (T118)
Marc Turnesa, Jupiter, Fla. (T114)
Johnson Wagner, Charlotte, N.C. (T64)

Second Stage:

Nov 16 - Nov 19, 2010

Redstone Golf Club-Member Course, Humble, Texas

Mathias Gronberg, Spring Lake, N.J. – Did not advance
Rob Labritz, Pound Ridge, N.Y. – Did not advance
Andrew Svoboda, Larchmont, N.Y. – Did not advance

Nov 17 - Nov 20, 2010

Hombre Golf Club, Panama City Beach, Florida

Danny Balin, Rockville, Md. – Did not advance
Len Mattiace, Jacksonville, Fla. – Did not advance

Nov 17 - Nov 20, 2010

Bear Creek Golf Club, Murietta, California

Martin Catalioto, Hilton Head, S.C. – Did not advance
Sunny Kim, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. – Did not advance

Nov 17 - Nov 20, 2010

TPC Craig Ranch, McKinney, Texas

Chris Damiano, Scarsdale, N.Y. – Did not advance
Brett Stegmaier, Vero Beach, Fla. – Did not advance

First Stage:

Oct 27 - Oct 30, 2010

PGA Golf Club, Port St. Lucie, Florida

Jimmy Hazen, Miller Place, N.Y. – Did not advance
Sunny Kim, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. – Advanced, t-19
Sam Kang, Rockaway, N.J. – Did not advance
Shawn Matthews, Long Valley, N.J. – Did not advance
Christopher Marinaro, Clifton, N.J. – Did not advance
Michael Quagliano, White Plains, N.Y. – Did not advance
Christopher Scialo, New York, N.Y. – Did not advance

Oct 27 - Oct 30, 2010

Oak Valley Golf Club, Beaumont, California

Andrew Bostrom, Bay Shore, N.Y. – Did not advance

Oct 27 - Oct 30, 2010

The Auburn University  Club, Auburn, Alabama

Eugene Smith, Glen Ridge, N.J. – Did not advance

Oct 26 - Oct 29, 2010

Pinewild Country Club-Magnolia Course, Pinehurst, North Carolina

Jason Anthony, Fairfield, Conn. – Did not advance
Joe Christanson, Scarsdale, N.Y. – Did not advance
Kevin Foley, Somerville, N.J. – Did not advance
Brian Lamberti, Granite Springs, N.Y. – Did not advance

Oct 26 - Oct 29, 2010

Turtle Bay Resort-Palmer Course, Kahaku, Oahu, Hawaii

Brad Tilley, Jupiter, Fla. – Did not advance

Oct 19 - Oct 22, 2010

The Club at Irish Creek, Kannapolis, North Carolina

Tarik Can, Manhasset, N.Y. – Did not advance
Martin Catalioto, Hilton Head, S.C. – Advanced, t-22
Joe Horowitz, East Rockaway, N.Y. – Did not advance

Oct 19 – Oct 22, 2010

Grasslands Golf & Country Club, Lakeland, Florida

Chris Damiano, Scarsdale, N.Y. – Advanced, t-16
David Schuster, New York, N.Y. – Did not advance

Oct 19 - Oct 22, 2010

Carlton Oaks Country Club, Santee, California

Andrew Giuliani, New York, N.Y. – Did not advance

Oct 19 - Oct 22, 2010

Stone Bridge Ranch Country Club-Hills Course, McKinney, Texas

Rahul Sriram, New Canaan, Conn. – Did not advance
John Stoltz, Middletown, N.Y. – Did not advance

Pre-qualifying:

Sep 21 - Sep 24, 2010

Kinderlou Forest Golf Club, Valdosta, Georgia

Tarik Can, Manhasset, N.Y. – Advanced, t-9
Michael Connors, Fairfield, Conn. – Did not advance
Kevin Foley, Somerville, N.J. – Advanced, 2nd
Brian Lamberti, Granite Springs, N.Y. – Advanced, t-18

Sep 21 - Sep 24, 2010

The Golf Club of Dallas, Dallas, Texas

Joe Christianson, Scarsdale, N.Y. – Advanced, t-18

Sep 14 - Sep 17, 2010

Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club - South Course, Dade City, Florida

David Hunt, Maplewood, N.J. – Did not advance
Sam Kang, Rockaway, N.J. – Advanced, t-21
Christopher Scialo, New City, N.Y. – Advanced, t-14

Sep 14 - Sep 17, 2010

Yankee Hill Country Club, Lincoln, Nebraska

Timothy Hegarty, Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. – Did not advance
Mark Yannotta, Whippany, N.J. – Did not advance

Sep 14 - Sep 17, 2010

TPC San Antonio-AT&T Canyons Course, San Antonio, Texas

Reed Howard, Bluffton, S.C. – Did not advance
Shawn Matthews, Long Valley, N.J. – Advanced, t-26
Michael O'Donnell, Goshen, N.Y. – Did not advance

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