Q School - Training Camp For A Sport With No Teams

In two weeks time---November 17-20---two of British Columbia's popular touring golf professionals, Ray Stewart of Abbotsford and Jim Rutledge of Victoria, will take their clubs and their skills to Scottsdale, Arizona with the intention of playing their way on to the Champions Tour for 2010, the senior division of the PGA TOUR reserved for players age 50 and over.

Both players successfully maneuvered their way through last week's opening qualifying rounds in Florida and have advanced into the final stage of 72 holes where the top five finishers will earn Champions Tour exempt status and the next seven will receive conditional status.

Two other BC Seniors hoping to join the lucrative Champions Tour, Norm Jarvis of Surrey and Richmond's Daryl Stubbs, had their hopes dashed at a first stage Q school in Texas.

Beginning November 18-21 the second stage of the PGA TOUR's regular Q school will unfold in six cities from Florida to Georgia to Texas to California. BC hopefuls will be North Vancouver's Bryn Parry and Stuart Anderson from Victoria.

Should they be successful they'll then join a final class of 156 players in La Quinta, California December 2-7 for the ullltimate108-hole qualifying school where the top 25 and ties will graduate to the PGA TOUR for 2010 and join the likes of Tiger Woods, Mike Weir, Stephen Ames and a rookie from Vernon, BC, Chris Baryla, who qualified this season via the Nationwide Tour's Top 20 money list.

Meanwhile, the LPGA TOUR will hold it's 90-hole Q School at Daytona Beach, Florida December 2-6.

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Additionally, a number of players from the U.S. and abroad are likely to show up back in Florida and California during March and April when the Canadian Tour opens its doors to two Winter Qualifying Schools.

By John Berkovich - Media Director, Canadian Professional Golf Tour
The Florida Q-School takes place in Brooksville March 9-12, 2010 at both Southern Hills Plantation Club and Hernando Oaks Golf & Country Club. Southern Hills, a Pete Dye design, is a par-72, 7,557 yard layout featuring several elevation changes. Hernando Oaks features water hazards on seven holes and large, undulating greens. The Scott Pate design is a 6,905 yard layout that plays to a par 72.

From March 30 - April 2, the California Qualifying School takes place just outside San Diego at Carlton Oaks Golf Club.

Another Pete Dye design, Carlton Oaks, selected by the PGA TOUR to host a First Stage Qualifier since 2007, is a 7,225-yard golf course that has also hosted an NCAA Championship as well both U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur Qualifiers.

Benefits of Canadian Tour membership are numerous.

The winner of the Players Cup and the top five on the Order of Merit following the tournament will be exempt into the RBC Canadian Open while of the Mexican PGA Championship receives an exemption into the 2010 Mexican Open.

The Canadian Tour also receives five exemptions into the Nationwide Tour's Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic.

The top six finishers at each Canadian Tour event receive Official World Golf Ranking points and Canadian Tour members are also eligible for a share of the Canadian Bursary; a fund created to assist player development.

In addition, the top two finishers on the final 2010 Order of Merit will receive exemptions into second stage of PGA TOUR Qualifying School.

Spencer Levin, the Canadian Tour's 2007 International Rookie of the Year and now a member of the PGA TOUR, graduated a Winter Q-School.

"I heard a lot of good things about the Canadian Tour from other players so when the Winter Qualifying School came up, I entered it," said Levin.

"Not only do you play against some great players, you learn how to travel across the continent on your own.

"You learn how to schedule yourself and how to look after things when you are on the road. When you get to the big tour, you are already used to certain things. The Canadian Tour is a great Tour and I know it has helped me become a better player."

Canadian Tour graduates include Weir, Ames, Steve Stricker, Paul Casey, Nathan Green, Stuart Appleby, Chris DiMarco and many others. Collectively, Canadian Tour alumni have earned more than $365 million and 100 PGA TOUR titles.