A golfer lines up his putt during the Dayton Valley Golf Club Korn Ferry Tour qualifier in 2019.
Photo by Carter Eckl.
DAYTON — Skyler Finnell, Santa Fe, Calif., parlayed a sizzling 7-under par 29 on his front nine (the course back nine) into an 8-under par 64 and a one stroke lead after the first round of Stage One Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying at Dayton Valley Golf Club. He leads Noah Norton, Chico, Calif. who fired a 7-under 65 in his first ever Q-school round.
David Bradshaw, Harpers Ferry, W.Va., James Holley, Howell, Mich. and Li Wang, Seattle, Wash. each shot 6-under par 66 and are tied for third. Seven players carded 5-under 67 and are tied for sixth place.
Finnell started on the 10th tee and opened his round by going birdie, eagle, birdie. He then added a birdie on 14 and an eagle three on 18 for the incredible start.
“It was a dream start to the round when I made a short birdie on the first hole and then chipped-in for eagle on the par 5,” said the 27-year-old former University of San Diego golfer. “I made another birdie and then finished by hitting a hybrid 238-yards into the wind to 4-feet on the ninth hole (course no. 18) and drained the putt.”
“I thought I had a real low number in my sight, but it was hard to keep it going after such a good start,” he explained. “It got a little more windy out there and par became a good thing. But, I played really solid all day and my game is the best it has ever been. I hope that’s a good sign of things to come in this year’s qualifying process.”
Norton, who played college golf at Georgia Tech, had a bogey-free round in his first shot out of the box in Q-school.
“It’s a good start but I still have a long ways to go,” he said. “The scorecard looks pretty even though it didn’t look like it at times out there today. I’m going to have to keep doing a good job of staying out of trouble like I did today.”
The wind tried to be the story in the first round. But there is too much golf talent in the field of 75 players to allow that even to happen. Forty-three players in the field were under par in the early morning cool and windy scoring conditions. There were an additional seven players at even par and the total scoring average for the entire field was right at 1-under par at 71.16.
Former Nevada Wolf Pack golfer Kaleb Gorbahn, Smithers, BC, Can. fired a 4-over par 76 and is in a five-way tie for 68th place. That position would be 7 strokes above the qualifying number if the tournament ended after one round.
The 20 low scores and ties after Friday’s final round of the 72-hole tournament will advance to Second Stage Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying at five sites in October. Players advancing to the second stage will play to make the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School Final where they will vie for a spot on the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour.
For complete results and individual player scorecards visit the web link: https://pgatq.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/pgatq21/event/pgatq2115/contest/4/leaderboard.htm