Frank Esposito Inside Top 10 At Final Stage Of Champions Tour Q-school
Frank Esposito Jr. of Forsgate, who earned full-time status by winning the qualifying tournament for the PGA Champions Tour in 2014, had a strong finish with a 4-under-par 68 on the final day in the final stage of the annual Qualifying Tournament for the PGA TOUR Champions at the Magnolia Course at Walt Disney World Resort. He is among a field of 78 players competing over 72 holes for five fully-exempt cards in 2017.
Esposito got inside the Top 10 with an 8-under-par 71-71-70-68-280.
With full-time status in 2015, Esposito, 53, a Rutgers University graduate, played in 12 events, made 11 cuts with one top 10 finish, and earned $147,709. Last year, with partial status, he played in three Champions events, making one cut, and earned $5,880.
The long-time former Brooklake pro has won two NJSGA Opens and is a Hall of Fame member of the New Jersey section of the PGA.
Under the new eligibility regulations for PGA TOUR Champions in 2017, the top five finishers at Q-School will earn fully-exempt status, while Nos. 6 through 30 (and ties) will be granted associate membership on Tour, and will have access to event qualifying while bypassing pre-qualifying. Should there be a tie for the fifth and final fully-exempt card, a sudden death playoff will ensue.
While known as one of the most difficult professional sports leagues to gain access to, PGA TOUR Champions saw a wealth of success this past year from players who competed in the 2015 Qualifying Tournament.
Brandt Jobe was Q-School medalist in 2015 and finished the 2016 PGA TOUR Champions season at No. 20 in the Charles Schwab Cup, thanks to seven top-10 finishes – including two during the three-event, season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs. Four players went from 2015 Q-School to the 2016 Charles Schwab Cup Championship, including Jobe, Mike Goodes, Paul Broadhurst and Tom Byrum.
The field at the Magnolia Course features 12 players with PGA TOUR victories under their belt, including Guy Boros, Jim Carter, Jose Coceres, Trevor Dodds, Gary Hallberg, Mike Heinen, Brian Henninger, John Inman, Greg Kraft, Neal Lancaster, Ted Tryba and Grant Waite.
Five former European Ryder Cup team members will attempt to qualify for PGA TOUR Champions, including Barry Lane, Miguel Angel Martin, Paul McGinley, Phillip Price and Jean Van de Velde.
McGinley, who will turn 50 on December 16, is one of the most decorated players in the field, with four career European Tour victories to his name, and Ryder Cup appearances in 2002, 2004 and 2006 – all of which resulted in victories. In 2014, McGinley captained the European Team to victory at Gleneagles in Scotland with a convincing 16.5 to 11.5 margin of victory.
Van de Velde, who infamously triple-bogeyed the 72nd hole before losing the 1999 Open Championship in a playoff, made eight starts on PGA TOUR Champions this year, with a T37 at the Shaw Charity Classic serving as his best finish.
Tommy Tolles, who turned 50 on October 21, is making his first appearance at PGA TOUR Champions Q-School this week. The Flat Rock, N.C. native, whose last PGA TOUR start came in 2005, strung together a memorable set of near-miss performances in the late 1990s. Tolles finished T2 at THE PLAYERS Championship in 1996, T3 at the 1996 PGA Championship, T3 at the 1997 Masters Tournament, T2 at the 1999 Sony Open in Hawaii, and missed qualifying for the 1997 U.S. Ryder Cup team by one spot (finished 11th).
Thirty-nine (39) players in the field played in at least one PGA TOUR Champions event in 2016, with 12 of the 39 advancing to the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs. At No. 47 in the final Charles Schwab Cup standings, Jim Carter finished the highest of any player in the field.
The Magnolia Course at Walt Disney World Resort served as co-host of the PGA TOUR’s Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic from 1971 through 2012, producing winners such as Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Lanny Wadkins and Payne Stewart. Nine former winners of the event are active PGA TOUR Champions members, including Stephen Ames (2007, 2009), Davis Love III (2008), Joe Durant (2006), Vijay Singh (2003), Jose Coceres (2001), Duffy Waldorf (2000), Brad Bryant (1995), Jeff Maggert (1993) and Mark O'Meara (1991).
