Connect with us

Entertainment

After starting year with no status, Will Chandler earns first PGA TOUR card at Q-School

Published

5 hours ago

on

Professional golf is full of sliding-doors moments, and for Will Chandler, he thinks back to the Monday qualifier for the Korn Ferry Tour’s Veritex Bank Championship earlier this year. Having no status on any TOUR-sanctioned circuit, he planned to play PGA TOUR Americas Q-School later in the spring and hopefully spend a summer in Canada, honing his game for another try at PGA TOUR Q-School.

Chandler shot 6-under 65 and survived a 5-for-2 playoff to earn his first Korn Ferry Tour start of the season, his first of four successful Monday qualifiers in a year where he finished No. 85 on the season-long standings to secure conditional Korn Ferry Tour status at minimum for 2025.

Sunday afternoon at Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry, Chandler punched up in the biggest way. Chandler, 27, carded a back-nine 30 at TPC Sawgrass’ Dye’s Valley Course on Q-School’s final day to stampede into a three-way T4 (at 4-under 276) and earn his first PGA TOUR card. Had he shot 31, he would have finished one shot away from a card. (The top five and ties at Final Stage earned 2025 PGA TOUR membership.)

Chandler made the turn Sunday at 1-over for the tournament, two strokes inside the number to just earn guaranteed Korn Ferry Tour starts for 2025 – a marginal cushion on a water-logged Dye’s Valley layout. Chandler’s mom Beth and brother Carter made the surprise trip – hiding behind trees and porta-potties throughout the round – and bore witness to the nine-hole stretch that was highlighted by a 20-foot par at the par-3 14th and a 60-foot eagle at the par-5 16th.

PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry
Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 OUT
Par 5 3 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 35
R4 5 3 4

5

 3 4 4 4 4 36
Status E E E +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1
Hole 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 IN Tot
Par 4 3 4 4 3 4 5 4 4 35 70
R4

3

 3 4

3

 3

3

3

 4 4 30 66
Status E E E -1 -1 -2 -4 -4 -4 -4

With his back against the wall, Chandler channeled his best golf, a fitting culmination to a season – and career arc – that has been framed by a veil of uncertainty. Chandler played collegiately at the University of Georgia (at times struggling to crack the starting lineup), turned pro in 2021 and missed at First Stage of Q-School a year ago.

Success hasn’t always seemed inevitable, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It wasn’t always fun getting beat a lot in college by my teammates, but they’re great players too,” Chandler said Sunday in northeast Florida, minutes before his spot inside the top five was finalized. “It builds a lot of grit and a lot of toughness, and that’s what you need out here … (The PGA TOUR) seemed so far away even a month or two ago, so if it holds up, it’s amazing.”

It held up for Chandler, who grew up outside Atlanta and became first acquainted with the game at Cherokee Town and Country Club, playing twilight father-son tournaments with his dad Ricky – who wasn’t on-site Sunday but tracked from afar during a magical nine-hole stretch that quickly moved into the pantheon of inspiring Q-School finishes.

That nine-hole stretch happened in less than three hours, but it was the culmination of years-long grit and determination to get better. Chandler is a “man of few words,” said his mom Beth, but his game at Q-School said plenty.

“He’s a very hard worker, so to get him to take down time is a challenge,” Beth said Sunday. “When he’s in Atlanta at our home, he turns his whole living room into our workout facility and wonders why we have a living room. ‘Why can’t we just make this a gym?’ He’s intense.”

“Will’s just an incredibly hard worker and incredibly focused person,” added his brother Carter. “I thought about all the people that have supported and pushed Will, so this is not only a culmination of his hard work, but everyone that our family’s been so grateful to have in our lives to support in every way possible. This is just a testament to that.”

Beth Chandler mentioned the 24-hour rule implemented by Georgia football coach Kirby Smart, which allows one to celebrate for 24 hours but then get back to work. The celebration was well-earned Sunday evening at TPC Sawgrass, where Chandler enjoyed an ice-cold Michelob Ultra while pacing the back lawn outside the clubhouse, conversing on the phone with well-wishers before taking a group photo with his fellow Q-School graduates. All the while, he wore an aw-shucks smile that projected the energy of a dream achieved.

It’s a long walk from No. 17 to No. 18 at TPC Sawgrass’ Dye’s Valley Course, which Beth Chandler compared to “like icing a kicker” in football. Needing par to earn his first PGA TOUR card, Chandler calmly split the fairway, hit a short iron to 25 feet and two-putted for his card.

Related Topics:
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending