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| Last 10 q-school medalists: Where are they now?Oct. 18, 2010 | | PGATOUR.com Pat Perez, the 2001 q-school medalist, has won more than $10 million since joining the PGA TOUR in 2002. Earning medalist honors at the PGA TOUR's Qualifying Tournament is no guarantee of future success. But does it guarantee you playing privileges on TOUR for the upcoming season, just as it does for the top 25 finishers at q-school. From there, each golfer will decide his own fate. Q-school medalists have gone on to fame and glory. Ben Crenshaw (1973 medalist), Fuzzy Zoeller (1974) and Mike Weir (1998) have won a combined four Masters, while Paul Azinger (1984) captained the U.S. to a Ryder Cup win in 2008. On the flip side, Wren Lum (1978 spring medalist) won just over $10,000 in his 26 starts on the PGA TOUR and had only one top-10 finish. Aussie Neale Smith was one of five co-medalists in 1992, made just $11,413 in 22 starts the next year and never played in another TOUR event. How will the most recent winners end up? Here's a look at the last 10 q-school medalists.
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| 2009 |
TROY MERRITT |
Bear Lakes, West Palm Beach, Fla. |
| A rookie on the PGA TOUR this year, Merritt made a huge move up the money list when the pressure was on Sunday at the Frys.com Open. His tie for 18th propelled him from 126th to 118th -- giving him some much-needed breathing room entering the final two events of the season. He has one top-10 and four top-25s in 26 starts this season, but has also missed 15 cuts. |
| 2008 |
HARRISON FRAZAR |
PGA West, La Quinta, Calif. |
| The Texan's q-school victory included a 59 in the fourth round. The veteran kept his card in 2009, finishing 112th, but this year he has battled left hip and right shoulder injuries that required surgery and hasn't played since the Travelers Championship in June. Frazar, who expects to return to the TOUR in January, had made just four cuts in his first 17 starts. |
| 2007 |
FRANK LICKLITER |
Orange County National, Winter Garden, Fla. |
| The two-time PGA TOUR champ was medalist at q-school in his fourth successful appearance. He lost his card the following year, finishing 149th on the money list, and hasn't been fully exempt since. He has played 20 events on the Nationwide Tour this year and ranks 66th entering this week's Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open presented by Planters, played on one of his two home courses at TPC Sawgrass. |
| 2006 |
GEORGE McNEILL |
PGA West, La Quinta, Calif. |
| He spent much of 2006 working as a club pro in Fort Myers, Fla. Once he got his chance on the PGA TOUR, the Florida State grad made the most of the opportunity -- winning in Las Vegas the following season. After three straight $1 million seasons, though, McNeill could be looking at another trip to q-school this year. He ranks 141st on the PGA TOUR money list as the first stage gets under way. |
| 2005 |
J.B. HOLMES |
Orange County National, Winter Garden, Fla. |
| He proved his q-school victory was no fluke when he won the FBR Open in his fifth professional start. The big-hitting Holmes has hit seven figures in earnings in four of his last five years and played on the 2008 Ryder Cup team. The 2010 season has been Holmes' best financially as he posted one second, one third and 12 top-25 finishes. |
| 2004 |
BRIAN DAVIS |
PGA West, La Quinta, Calif. |
| The Englishman has been a fixture on the PGA TOUR since he won qualifying school. He has yet to win a PGA TOUR event, but he has five runner-up finishes -- including two this year. And his playoff loss earlier this year at the Verizon Heritage, where he called a penalty on himself during the first extra hole, proved inspirational to many. |
| 2003 |
MATHIAS GRONBERG |
Orange County National, Winter Garden, Fla. |
| The Swede's win at qualifying school snapped a string of seven previous unsuccessful trips. Gronberg has gone back twice since earning medalist honors and secured his card for 2010 thanks to a top-25 finish on the Nationwide Tour. Unless he contends in one of the last two Fall Series events, Gronberg appears headed back to q-school again since he currently ranks 171st on the money list. |
| 2002 |
JEFF BREHAUT |
PGA West, La Quinta, Calif. |
| This veteran has spent the last three years on the Nationwide Tour where he is a two-time champ -- both before the 1998 season, though. He managed to finish inside the top 125 on the TOUR money list twice in the five years after his q-school victory. Brehaut currently ranks 58th on the Nationwide Tour money list with a season's best tie for fifth two weeks ago in Chattanooga. |
| 2001 |
PAT PEREZ |
Bear Lakes, West Palm Beach, Fla. |
| The Arizona State product has been a regular on the PGA TOUR since he won q-school. His brother Mike, who won last year's "Big Break Disney" and is playing in first stage next week, competed with him in the finals in 2001. Perez finally picked up his first TOUR victory eight years later at the Bob Hope Classic presented by Arnold Palmer. He has three top-10s this year and currently stands 108th on the PGA TOUR money list. |
| 2000 |
STEPHEN ALLAN |
PGA West, La Quinta, Calif. |
| The Aussie finished eighth on the Australasian Tour Order of Merit this year but has no status on the PGA TOUR or Nationwide Tour. His best finish on the TOUR money list after he won q-school was 105th in 2003. He kept his card the following year, as well. |
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