As Luke Clanton continues to rack up points toward a PGA Tour card, the player who clipped him for U.S. Open low-amateur honors is back in action this week working toward Tour membership of his own.
Neal Shipley, this year’s low amateur at both Pinehurst and Augusta National, is among those teeing it up in the second stage of PGA Tour Q-School, which runs Tuesday-Friday at four sites across the country.
Shipley posted three top-20s on Tour after turning pro in late June, including a T-6 at the ISCO Championship. He also had three top-10s in Canada, though it was not enough to earn Korn Ferry Tour status via PGA Tour Americas. And so, Shipley heads to Kinderlou Forest Golf Club in Valdosta, Georgia, where he will be joined by a stacked field that includes George Bryan IV, YouTube star and brother of Tour winner Wes Bryan; Taylor Funk, son of Fred Funk; Turk Pettit, the former NCAA individual champion who played LIV Golf’s inaugural season; Curtis Thompson, the older brother of Lexi Thompson; and Jake Staiano, a first-stage medalist who recently served a three-month suspension for betting on golf.
The Tour has not announced how many players will advance through each of the four sites, though the first second-stage site, completed last month, had 20 players make it through to final stage, including two-time final-stage medalist Zack Fischer, former U.S. Amateur runners-up Derek Bard and Ben Carr, and Grant Hirschman, a former Tour member who starred at Oklahoma.
Final stage is set for Dec. 12-15 at TPC Sawgrass (Dye’s Valley) and nearby Sawgrass Country Club (East/West). The top five finishers and ties will earn PGA Tour cards with other top finishers earning various levels of Korn Ferry Tour status.
Here is a quick look at each of the second-stage sites:
Dothan, Alabama
Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail (Highlands/Meadow), Tuesday-Friday
Notables in field: John Augenstein, Owen Avrit, Jacob Bergeron, Connor Black, Marcus Byrd, Sam Choi, Harry Ellis, Palmer Jackson, Eddy Lai, Yuxin Lin, Jack Maguire, Billy Tom Sargent, Chase Sienkiewicz, D.J. Trahan, Dawie van der Walt, Fred Wedel
Palm Coast, Florida
Hammock Beach CC, Tuesday-Friday
Notables in field: Garrett Barber, Cody Blick, Devon Bling, Canon Claycomb, Cristian DiMarco, Marty Dou, Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira, Angus Flanagan, Luis Gagne, Abel Gallegos, Luke Guthrie, Gavin Hall, James Hart du Preez, Hank Lebioda, Adam Long, Willie Mack III, Brad Marek, Byron Meth, Dylan Meyer, David Nyfjall, Charlie Reiter, Davis Shore, Jacob Solomon, Julian Suri
Valdosta, Georgia
Kinderlous Forest GC, Tuesday-Friday
Notables in field: Dawson Armstrong, George Bryan IV, Taylor Funk, Aman Gupta, Blaine Hale Jr., Ryan Hall, Jim Herman, Derek Hitchner, Michael Johnson, Sung Kang, Bryce Lewis, William Moll, Greg Odom Jr., Turk Pettit, Thomas Ponder, Luke Schniederjans, Cole Sherwood, Neal Shipley, Benjamin Shipp, Jake Staiano, Scott Stevens, Andy Svoboda, Josh Teater, Curtis Thompson, Brett White, Herman Wibe Sekne, Hunter Wolcott
Valencia, California
Valencia CC, Tuesday-Friday
Notables in field: Sangmoon Bae, Jonas Baumgartner, Aaron Beverly, Davis Bryant, Mats Ege, Michael Feagles, Nicolo Galletti, Robert Garrigus, Theo Humphrey, Ryo Ishikawa, Takumi Kanaya, Andrew Kozan, Ben Lorenz, Brandon McIver, Dylan Menante, Maxwell Moldovan, Anthony Paolucci, Raul Pereda, Kevin Stadler, Kyle Stanley, Brian Stark, T.J. Vogel, Joey Vrzich
ALREADY COMPLETED
Savannah, Georgia
The Landings Club (Deer Creek), Nov. 19-22
Medalist: Marcelo Rozo (-23)
Notables advancing: Zack Fischer (-20), Tain Lee (-18), Rhein Gibson (-18), Spencer Ralston (-15), Rayhan Thomas (-13), Ben Carr (-13), Bryson Nimmer (-13), Derek Bard (-13), Grant Hirschman (-13), Jake Hall (-12)
Notables failing to advance: Brett Stegmaier (-11), Ollie Schniederjans (-11), Sampson Zheng (-10), Cooper Dossey (-9), Morgan Hoffmann (-8), Michael Brennan (-8), Patrick Flavin (-7), Bo Hoag (-6), Travis Smyth (-6), Trevor Werbylo (-6), Spencer Levin (-6), Julian Perico (-5), Peter Fountain (-3), Cole Anderson (-3), Shawn Stefani (+3), Brandon Hagy (+11)
