Four NYS Pros Compete at PGA TOUR Q-School Final Stage
UPDATE – James Nicholas fired a 5-under 67 in the final round of PGA TOUR Q-School to finish with a 72-hole total of 2-over par, and tie for 36th place. His strong finish guarantees the Scarsdale native starts on the Korn Ferry Tour next season.
Derek Bard and Dan McCarthy each finished the tournament at +6. The two upstate New York natives shot their low scores during Saturday's third round with 67 and 68 respectively. Brandon Wu withdrew during the fourth round.
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PONTRE BEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Four New York State pros will compete in the Final Stage of PGA Tour Q-School presented by Korn Ferry, scheduled from December 12-15 at TPC Sawgrass’ in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. 171 players are competing over 72 holes with no cut.
Related: Leaderboard / Tournament Info
New York State natives, Derek Bard of New Hartford (resides in Jacksonville Beach, FL), Dan McCarthy of Syracuse (resides in Palm Beach Gardens, FL), James Nicholas of Scarsdale(resides in Palm Beach Gardens, FL) and Brandon Wu of Scarsdale (resides in Dallas, TX) each earned their way to the finals through the multiple stages of qualifying earlier this summer/fall.
Bard, 29, has emerged in the final stage of Q-School for the first time since 2018 (turned pro the year prior). The former University of Virginia standout, who was the runner-up to Bryson DeChambeau in the 2015 U.S. Amateur, has struggled over the past several years but finished strong during this year’s Second Stage Qualifier at The Landings in Savannah, Georgia to earn his spot.
McCarthy, 39, has made 159 career starts on the Korn Ferry Tour since turning professional in 2007. The Le Moyne College alum recently made his first PGA Tour cut during the Shiners Children’s Open in October. He finished the 2024 KFT season with a strong performance in the final event, to keep some status (top 75 get exempt, he finished 68th). He advanced through the second stage qualfier with a T6 finish at 8-under par. His official world golf ranking is currently 560.
Nicholas, 27, held full status on the DP World Tour during the 2024 season and finished 135th in the tour’s standings. He also played in two PGA Tour events last season and made one of the cuts. He competed in last year’s PGA TOUR Q-School and finished T91. This year, he qualified with a T5 finish during the second stage. He was previously a member of the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020-21. His official world golf ranking is 637.
Wu, 27, has been a member of the PGA Tour since 2022 (turned pro in 2019). He’s made 57/102 cuts since then with nine top 10 finishes and two runner-up finishes. His official world golf ranking is currently 286.
The top 5 players will earn 2025 PGA Tour Cards, while the next 40 finishes and ties will earn guaranteed starts on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour. The following 20 finishers and ties will earn guaranteed starts on the 2025 PGA TOUR Americas. The remainder of the players will have conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour Americas.
Coverage
Saturday: 1-3pm (Golf Channel Digital), 3-5pm (Golf Channel)
Sunday: 1-3pm (Golf Channel Digital), 3-5pm (Golf Channel)
