There is a 27-year age gap separating them, but 10 Aussies will enter the Second Stage of the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School all seeking to take a major step towards joining the PGA Tour.
The first of five Second Stage qualifying sites began overnight in Florida where Sydney’s John Lyras and Victorian Brett Coletta will be fighting for a ticket to Q School Finals in Georgia starting on November 4.
Qualifying for the field of approximately 140 who will contest the Finals guarantees a player status on the main feeder tour to the riches on offer on the PGA Tour. The higher the finish, the better the status.
Coletta had the luxury of skipping First Stage after finishing 87th on the 2020-2021 Korn Ferry Tour points list but as only the top 75 keep their cards for the next year, he was required to return to Q School.
For the second time in his career Lyras Monday-qualified for a PGA Tour event in May and, after spending some time on the Forme Tour, successfully navigated his way past First Stage.
The eight other Aussies trying to play their way into the Finals will have to wait another week to put their cases forward.
Mark Hensby [pictured] has already made his debut on the Champions Tour after turning 50 in June and the 2004 John Deere Classic champion will join 23-year-old Danny List from Perth and 25-year-old Sydneysider Justin Warren at Second Stage at Murrieta, California next week.
Veterans Steve Allan and James Nitties are down to play in Albuquerque along with Ryan Ruffels while Mathew Goggin and current world No.129 Jason Scrivener [inset] to chase a spot in the Finals at Plantation Preserve Golf Club in Florida.
Nitties last played a full season on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2015 and played two seasons on the PGA Tour in 2009 and 2010 while Allan qualified for this year’s US Open at Torrey Pines where he missed the cut.
Now 47 years of age, Goggin was a regular on the PGA Tour between 2000 and 2012 but has not played an event attracting world-ranking points since the Panama Championship in February last year.
The Tasmanian last played a full season on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2016, making the cut just once in 20 starts as wrist and back injuries curtailed his playing opportunities in recent years.
Close friends and former Iowa State College teammates Denzel Ieremia and Nick Voke will fly the flag for the Kiwis at Second Stage, both entered to play in California from next Tuesday.
The medallist at Q-School Finals receives fully exempt status the next season, finishers 2-10 receive exempt status through the first two re-orders the next season and finishers 11-40 receive exempt status through the first re-order the next season.
Korn Ferry Tour Qualiying School – Second Stage
October 12-15
Southern Hills Plantation, Brooksville, Florida
Aussies in the field: John Lyras, Brett Coletta
October 19-22
UNM Championship Course, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Aussies in the field: Steve Allan, James Nitties, Ryan Ruffels
Bear Creek Golf Club, Murrieta, California
Aussies in the field: Mark Hensby, Danny List, Justin Warren
Plantation Preserve GC, Plantation, Florida
Aussies in the field: Mathew Goggin, Jason Scrivener
