Holmes first at Q-school, Haas in
John Holmes played the best golf, while Bill Haas and Danny Ellis delivered the drama Monday in Winter Garden, Fla., to join 29 others who survived the most grueling week on the PGA Tour to earn their cards for next year.
Holmes became the first player in 22 years to leave college and win the PGA Tour qualifying tournament, closing with a 3-under 69 to win by three shots over Alex Cejka of Germany. It was a magnificent week at Orange County National for Holmes, the former Kentucky star who helped the United States win the Walker Cup this summer.
He was the only player to shoot in the 60s all six rounds.
“I’m just glad it’s over,” said Holmes, who finished at 24-under 408. “I made it pretty easy on myself this week. I just went out there and tried to play 18 holes every day and act like I was playing with my buddies. It was a relief when that last putt went in on the last hole.”
Typical of the last day at Q-school, there were high-wire acts and train wrecks, and tears of joy and disbelief.
Haas, who narrowly missed his card last year, was headed for more heartache on the Panther Lakes course when he bogeyed the 15th hole to fall to 9 under, two shots below the projected cut line.
But with his father, Jay Haas, nervously watching, the rest of the round was pure clutch.
The 23-year-old Haas holed a 10-foot putt to save par on the 16th, made birdie on the 17th and came to the par-5 18th needing a birdie to get his card. From 203 yards away in the left rough, he chased his approach onto the front of the green, lagged his 50-foot eagle putt to inside 3 feet and sneaked it in the right side for a 72 and his PGA tour card.
Ellis was even more spectacular at the end. He figured 10 under would be the number and wanted to get his chip close enough for a tap-in. He chipped in for eagle, which was a good thing when the cutoff moved to 11 under.
The best comeback of all, though, belonged to John Engler, a former All-American at Clemson who was told it was unlikely he would play golf again and might never walk properly after a horrific car accident two years ago.
But Engler got through the first two stages of Q-school, then shot 67-68 over the final two days to earn his card with two shots to spare.
College football
Of bowl schools, 41 percent miss mark
Forty-one percent of this year’s bowl-bound college football teams fall below the NCAA’s new academic benchmark, and almost half of them lacked a 50 percent graduation rate, according to an annual survey.
The 56 Division I-A football teams headed to bowl games have a lingering problem of too many student-athletes failing to complete their studies, said Richard Lapchick, the University of Central Florida professor who authored the report.
“The key is admitting students who are qualified to be in that school,” said Lapchick, who heads the DeVos Sport Business Management Program at UCF.
This is the first year Lapchick has used the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate to measure the bowl-bound schools’ academic progress. In past years, the study has relied solely on graduation rates.
“San Diego State football coach Tom Craft was fired after four seasons in which his Aztecs failed to post a winning record.
Craft, who had one year left on his contract, was 19-29 in four seasons. His best finish was 6-6 in 2003.
“Virginia defensive coordinator Al Golden will become the new Temple football coach, a school official told the Associated Press.
Miscellany
Parra beats Asloum, retains flyweight belt
Undefeated Lorenzo Parra of Venezuela successfully defended his WBA flyweight title for the fifth time, unanimously outpointing Frenchman Brahim Asloum in Paris to improve to 27-0.
“Matt Skillman, a former junior college basketball coach, was given two years of probation in Wichita, Kan., for falsifying players’ federal work-study timecards.
“Sexual assault charges against former La Salle basketball player Dzaflo Larkai were dismissed because his accuser, a former member of the women’s team, decided not to proceed with the case on the day the trial was to begin.