And The Rest Of The Exempt Are...
The final PGA Tour Q School ended on Monday in Palm Springs, and while there are plenty of familiar faces among the 26 players earning their cards, few people likely wagered on Korea's Dong-hwan Lee being the medalist. A 25-year-old whose only previous U.S. starts were MCs at the 2008 Puerto Rico Open and this year's U.S. Open, Lee is a veteran of the Japan Tour, where he has won twice (in 2007 and 2011) and finished 6th in earnings in 2007. European Ryder Cup veterans Ross Fisher ansd Robert Karlsson clearly carry the biggest résumés among the qualifiers, though perhaps more notable is another Korean, Si Woo Kim, who at age 17 became the youngest-ever Q School graduate. Kim won't be eligible to enjoy full member status until he turns 18 next June, but he is eligible to play via sponsor/foreign exemptions or Monday qualifiers prior to that point. Perhaps the predicted rise of Korean male golfers (a good decade behind the ascendence of its female stars) is finally upon us...
1 Dong-hwan Lee -25 407
T2 Ross Fisher -24 408
T2 Steve LeBrun -24 408
T4 Richard H. Lee -23 409
T4 Billy Horschel -23 409
T4 Kris Blanks -23 409
T7 Erik Compton -22 410
T7 Brad Fritsch -22 410
T7 Jin Park -22 410
T10 Fabian Gomez -21 411
T10 Michael Letzig -21 411
T10 Jeff Gove -21 411
T10 Steven Bowditch -21 411
T14 Matt Jones -20 412
T14 Robert Karlsson -20 412
T14 Eric Meierdierks -20 412
T17 Scott Langley -19 413
T17 Aaron Watkins -19 413
T17 Derek Ernst -19 413
T20 Si Woo Kim -18 414
T20 Tag Ridings -18 414
T22 Donald Constable -17 415
T22 Bobby Gates -17 415
T22 Patrick Reed -17 415
T22 Henrik Norlander -17 415
T22 Chez Reavie -17 415