Ebner Is 4th, Madsen 5th in Nebraska 1st Stage of PGA Tour Q-School

National

Jack Ebner and Brady Madsen are nearly halfway through the qualifying process for the 2024 PGA Tour, although it gets tougher the further you go.

Ebner, the 2017 Minnesota Junior Boys champion who nearly won the 2022 State Amateur (he finished one shot behind the winner, Ben Greve, at Olympic Hills), graduated from Miami University (Ohio) in June. The former Edina High School star tied for eighth in the Pre-Qualifying Stage of Q-School with a 54-hole score of 214 (72-73-69) at the Mayfield Sand Ridge Club in Chardon, Ohio, in September. That got him through to the First Stage with six shots to spare. 

So far this week, he's in fourth place with one round to go in the First Stage qualifier at Wilderness Ridge CC in Lincoln, Neb. Ebner opened with a 4-under-par 67 and followed it with a 64, which had him tied for second. He shot 73 on Thursday in more difficult conditions -- with wind velocities up to 20 mph -- and he has a 54-hole total of 204. The top 20 finishers and ties will advance from each of the 13 sites where First Stage qualifying tournaments are being played to the Second Stage.

Going into the final round at Wilderness Ridge, there is a five-way tie for 20th at 210.

Madsen, the 2019 Minnesota State Open champion from Raymond, was a Division II All-American Winona State in 2020. He then transferred to Florida Gulf Coast for his senior year, plus an extra year of eligibility -- because the 2020 college golf season was cut short by Covid 19 -- and he was named a Srixon/Cleveland All-American Scholar in 2021.

He made it through Pre-Qualifying -- with seven strokes to spare -- by tying for fifth at Sand Creek GC in Newton, Kansas, where he put together a 54-hole aggragate of 212 (72-70-70).    

Like Ebner, Madsen is in Nebraska this week, and he's in fifth place, one shot behind Ebner at. 205, after posting a pair of 68s and a 69 in the wind on Thursday.

Another former State Open champ who is in position to make it to the Second Stage is Angus Flanagan, the former University of Minnesota star from England. Flanagan, who also has two Tapemark Charity Pro-Am titles on his resume, was exempt from Pre-Qualifying, and he's tied for 11th at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes in Maricopa (basically Phoenix), Ariz. He was tied for 34th after two rounds, but a 7-under 65 put him at 208, and that's three strokes inside the magic number so far. There is a two-way tie for 20th at 211.  

The goal for these guys -- and the approximately 1,137 others playing in First Stage tournaments -- is to make it through this stage and the Second Stage, and get into the Final Stage, which will be played Dec. 14-17 in December in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. From there, the top five finishers -- that's all -- will get PGA Tour status for 2024. But everyone who gets to the Final Stage will have at least some status on the Korn Ferry Tour for next year. 

Two former Minnesota State Amateur champions have already secured spots in the next two stages of Q-School. Derek Hitchner, the former state high school champ from Blake who was an All-American as a fifth-year senior at Pepperdine in 2022-23, played on the PGA Tour Canada this summer and ended up at No. 23 on that money list -- which translated to No. 22 on the points list. That gives the 2021 State Am champ an exemption into the Second Stage.

The 2020 State Am champ, Frankie Capan, went through the entire Q-School process last year, but there were no PGA Tour cards available, just status on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour.  Capan, who completed his college eligibility at Florida Gulf Coast in 2022, was third in the Pre-Qualifying Stage, first in First Stage, tied for first in the Second Stage and tied for eighth in the Final Stage. So he made it onto the Korn Ferry Tour easily, and he played well this year, well enough to be in position to get his PGA Tour card for 2024 by finishing in the top 30 on the points list.

Going into the second-to-last tournament on the schedule, the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship at Ohio State's Scarlet Course, he was No. 46 on the money list, which is essentially the same thing as the points list. A top-5 finish would have vaulted him into the top 30, and he shot a 5-under 66 in the first round. But he made two double bogeys and a triple in the next two rounds, a 74 and a 72. Capan, who averaged 315.3 yards off the tee this year, bogeyed both of the par 5s on the front nine at Scarlet on the final day, and still shot 70. That gave him a 282 and put him in a seven-way tie for 11th place, which was worth $29,175. (He ended the year with $235,135.) 

If, on the other hand, he could have limited himself to two 6s and no 7s that week, he would have been five strokes better off, finished alone in second place and made $165,000. And he'd have his PGA Tour card for next year. 

Nevertheless, Capan will have another crack at getting his tour card. By finishing No. 53 on the Korn Ferry money list -- and No. 52 on the points list -- he is exempt all the way into the Final Stage of Q-School. 


PGA Tour/Korn Ferry Q-School 

FIRST STAGE (13 sites, beginning Oct. 10 through Oct. 27)

The top 20 finishers and ties will advance from each of the 13 First Stage sites to the Second Stage, which will be played at five sites, beginning Nov. 14. The Final Stage will be played in December in Ponte Vedra, Fla., at the TPC Sawgrass Valley Course and Sawgrass CC. From there, the top five finishers will get PGA Tour status for 2024.

Lincoln, Nebraska

At Wilderness Ridge CC

Par 71, 7,107 yards

Third-round results 

1. Tripp Kinney, Des Moines                         64-66-68--198 (-15)
 
2. Alex Scott, Traverse City, Mich.                69-62-70--201

3. Emilio Gonzalez, Charlotte, N.C.              67-68-68--203

4. Jack Ebner, Edina                                    67-64-73--204

5. Brady Madsen, Raymond                         68-68-69--205

T25. Ben Sigel, Minnetonka                          68-69-74--211

T58. Jack Hiemenz, Blaine                           71-72-74--217

T65. Ross Miller, Maple Grove                     74-72-75--221


Maricopa, Ariz. 

At Ak-Chin Southern Dunes

Par 72, 7,546 yards

Third-round results

1. Tanner Gore, Farmers Branch, Texas       66-67-66--199 (-17)

2. Jonathan De Los Reyes, Ripon, Calif.       70-69-72--201

3. Daniel Robertson, St.. Petersburg, Fla.      71-65-68--204

T11. Angus Flanagan, Surrey, UK                72-71-65--208

T16. Andre Metzger, Sioux Falls                   68-74-67--209


Muskogee, Okla.

At Muskogee GC

Par 70, 6,702 yards

Third-round results

1. Luis Gerando Garza, Guanajuato, Mexico   69-68-63--200 (-10)

T2. Brayden Garrison, Franklin, Tenn.             69-71-62--202

T2. Blaine Hale, Richardson, Texas                  64-71-67--202

T2. Joshua Sedeno, Phoenix                             67-67-68--202

T12. Thomas Longbella, Chippewa Falls      70-66-69--205

T18. Will Grevlos, Sioux Falls                        68-71-69--208

T53. Thomas Lehman, Scottsdale, Ariz.       71-71-74--216


Champions Gate, Fla. 

At Champions Gate GC

Par 71, 7,107 yards

Third-round results 

1.  Taylor Funk, Jacksonville, Fla.                      69-65-69--203 (-13)

T2. Keith Greene, Debary, Fla.                           68-68-68--204

T2. Tom Adrounie , Montverde, Fla.                    72-63-69--204

T72. Taylor Sundbom, Duluth                           73-76-74--223 


PRE-QUALIFYING STAGE

Chardon, Ohio

At Mayfield Sand Ridge Club

Par 72, 7,275 yards

39 qualifying spots

Final results

1. Andrew O'Leary, Norfolk, Mass.                    68-67-74--209 (-7)

T2. Tyler Jones (a), Westerville, Ohio               69-68-73---210

T2. Reid Martin, Columbus, Ohio                     72-70-68--210

T8. Jack Ebner, Edina                                    72-73-69--214

What it took -- 220 (5-way tie for 35th)


Newton, Kansas

At Sand Creek Station GC

Par 72, 7,339 yards

24 qualifying spots

Final results 

1. Andres Acevedo,m San Antonio              68-67-67--202 (-14)

2. Wil Gibson, Jonewboro, Ark.                    68-68-67--203

3. Michael Bakker, Sanford, Fla.                   71-71-65--207 

T5. Brady Madsen, Raymond                      76-68-79--212

What it took -- 219 (3-way tie for 22nd)

T42. Dawson Wills, Chaska                        80-77-80--237


Woodstock, Ill.

Bull Valley GC

Par 72, 7,190 yards

23 qualifying spots

Final results 

1. Matthis Besard, Belgium                   68-68-73--209 (-7)

2. Andrew Walker, Holt, Mich.               74-72-67--213

3. Spencer Tibbits, Vancouver, Wash.  73-70-71--214

T10. Jack Hiemenz, Blaine                  76-68-79--223

What it took -- 228 (2-way tie for 22nd)


Brunswick, Ga. 

At Brunswick CC

Par 70, 6,802 yards

37 qualifying spots

Final results 

1. Erik Edwards, Louisville, Ky.               66-67-67--200 (-10)

T2. Kyle Sterbinsky, Jupiter, Fla.             67-72-66--205

T2. Brent Hamm, Warner Robins, Ga.     67-70-68--205

T2. William Hartford, Palm Beach, Calif. 67-69-69--205

T20. Aaron Wilson, Chaska                  73-71-69--213

What it took -- 216 (7-way tie for 33rd)