It all comes down to 18 holes at the TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley on Sunday for around two dozen players with realistic chances of finishing among the top five in the PGA Tour Q-School to earn PGA Tour cards for the 2025 season.
Not much changed in Saturday’s third round, especially at the Sawgrass Country Club, where the top half of the draw found more pleasant conditions than the bluster and the chill of the first two rounds.
PGA Tour Q-School fourth-round tee times
Two of the three players in the final group, former Vanderbilt player Matthew Riedel and former hockey player Alistair Docherty, are in the final group again. Riedel (67), who only player in the field to have shot under-par in all three rounds so far, is tied with Docherty (67) at 6-under-par 204.
Takumi Kanaya of Japan (68), who blasted out of a bunker at the 15th hole for birdie, is alone in third at 4-under. First-day leader Corey Shaun (70), doubled the 18th hole to drop into a tie for fourth with Grant Hirschman (66), John Greco (67) and Hayden Buckley (67) at 3-under.
Shaun had played 17 holes at 2-under, with no bogeys, prior to the closing double.
There are 23 players within five shots of the group tied for fourth, the bubble to get their Tour cards. The group includes four players with First Coast ties: past Tour winner Lanto Griffin (69) of Jacksonville Beach at 2-under, Ponte Vedra High and West Point graduate Marcus Plunkett (70) and Adrien Dumont de Chassart (67) of Ponte Vedra Beach at 1-over, and University of North Florida graduate Nick Gabrelcik (71) at 2-over.
Riedel, who was part of the Commodores team that won The Hayt by a record score and margin in 2023, said he’s trying to “keep it simple.”
”I came in with really no expectations of what scoring was,” said Riedel, who is making his first trip to Q-School. “Anything under par, even around par, is a great round. You can’t really predict golf.”
Docherty, who is making his fifth trip to Q-School, said he “left a few [shots] out there.”
”That’s just golf,” said the former caddie, who took up golf when he proved too injury-prone in hockey. “I’m happy with where I stand but I want to take advantage of the day tomorrow.”
What are the stakes in Sunday’s final round?
The top five players, plus ties, will earn PGA Tour cards for the 2025 season. That bubble is 3-under entering the final round.
The next 40 players, plus ties, will be exempt on the Korn Ferry Tour through at least the first two reshuffles (eight tournaments). There are 52 players on that bubble, with 13 at 4-over.
The first 25 players among that group will be exempt through the first three reshuffles (12 tournaments). The players in the conditional categories are reshuffled on the basis of their record every four events.
Everyone else who finishes 72 holes will earn conditional Korn Ferry Tour status and will have full status on the PGA Tour Americas Latin American Swing. The higher a player finishes in the final Q-School standings, the better chance of earning more Korn Ferry and PGA Tour Americas starts.
How did Dye’s Valley and Sawgrass play in the third round?
After a brutal day on Friday, Sawgrass played to a stroke average of 70.832, 4.2 shots easier as the wind died down and temperatures warmed. Dye’s Valley averaged 70.558 nearly two strokes easier.
The toughest hole at Sawgrass in the third round was the par-4 18th for the third day in a row, averaging 4.398. The hole is normally a par-5.
The hardest hole at Dye’s Valley in the third round was the par-3 11th, at 3.533.
Are there tickets available for PGA Tour Q-School?
Yes, and they’re free … but only for rounds at Dye’s Valley, since Sawgrass is a private course. Fans must register for the tickets at the tournament’s ticketmaster.com site. Upon arriving at one of the two gates to the TPC Sawgrass, fans with mobile tickets will be directed to parking.
Is the final round of PGA Tour Q-School televised?
Yes. The NBC Sports App be on the air for the final round from 12-2 p.m., and Golf Channel will pick up the coverage from 2-4 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: PGA Tour Q-School: The stakes for Sunday’s fourth round at Dye’s Valley
