Alistair Docherty sounds like a golf name — born to country club money or perhaps a Scottish golfer making a run in the Open Championship, then buying the house a pint in a St. Andrews pub.
This particular Alistair Docherty is neither (although he wouldn’t turn down the pint). Indeed, he’s a long way from either scenario and if fans are looking for an underdog to root for in this week’s PGA Tour Q-School, presented by Korn Ferry, they’d be hard-pressed to find a better example.
Docherty, a native Canadian who grew up in Vancouver, Wash., battled gusty wind to craft a masterful 66 at the TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley on Friday and grabbed a share of the lead at the halfway point of the PGA Tour’s final-stage qualifier with Corey Shaun (76, Sawgrass Country Club) and Matthew Riedel (69, Valley) at 3-under-par 137.
Takumi Kanaya of Japan (70, Valley) is alone in fourth place at 2-under. Five players are tied for fifth at 1-under ( the threshold to earn PGA Tour cards for the 2025 season): Lanto Griffin of Jacksonville Beach (70, matching the low score at Sawgrass), Joe Weiler (70, Valley), Jin Chung (70, Valley) and two-time final stage winner Zack Fischer (70, Valley).
Fischer was tied for the lead before making bogey on his last two holes.
Alistair Docherty battled ‘squirrley’ driver
Docherty hit 14 of 18 greens despite missing six fairways and birdied three of his last five holes. He dropped a 6-footer for birdie at the past.
The temperatures were about 10 degrees warmer than the first round but the wind was fiercer. The carnage was especially bad at Sawgrass, where no one broke the par of 70.
“I’ve kept it in front of me,” Docherty said. “I’ve had a couple of squirrely drives but that’s going to happen in this wind. The putter has been feeling good and just being patient.”
The main casualty at Sawgrass was Shaun, who broke the Dye’s Valley Course record on Thursday with a bogey-free 61. He birdied his first hole to get to 10-under but that was his highlight: Shaun went on to hit only one more green in regulation and made seven bogeys.
Docherty’s journey has been a wild ride
Docherty, 30, knows about patience. He checks off all the boxes of a guy who loves golf, even though it doesn’t always love him back.
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Small-college player, check. Docherty was all-regional and a conference tournament medalist at NCAA Division II Chico State.
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Mini tour grinder, check. Docherty had a cup of coffee on the old Mackenzie Tour in Canada, PGA Tour Latinoamerica and anywhere else he could find to tee it up for meager checks.
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Plan B, check. In between mini tour starts and attempts at Monday qualifying, Docherty worked as a caddie at clubs such as the Silverleaf Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., and the Vintage in Indian Wells, Calif.
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Getting his heart torn out, check. Docherty qualified for the Korn Ferry Tour Championship this year at the French Lick Resort and after a final-round 68, was in solo second. He would make the top-30 on the final points list and earn a PGA Tour card if he stayed alone in second, or if one player tied him but Doc Redman and Brian Campbell both birdied the last to join him in a three-way tie, just enough to knock Docherty to No. 32.
Docherty said he’s in it to win it
Docherty has full Korn Ferry Tour status for next year but is at Q-School to try and snatch one of the five PGA Tour cards.
He’s halfway home.
“I have that backup plan but that’s not why I’m here,” he said. “I’m trying to finish at the top of the leaderboard and give myself an easy way home on Sunday.”
Docherty has enough confidence to think he can do well on the PGA Tour with full-time status. He had a taste of that in May when he got a sponsor invitation to the Myrtle Beach Classic (played opposite the Wells Fargo Championship) and finished second to Chris Gotterup with a closing 64 and a 16-under 268.
Another turning point was befriending Sam “Riggs” Bozoian of Barstool Sports when he was a caddie at Silverleaf. He and Bozoian played a match against two club members day and the podcaster was so impressed he gave Docherty a $50,000 check for expenses.
Docherty now represents Bar Stool.
“He’s [Bozoian] been my No. 1 supporter,” Docherty said. “I don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t run into Riggs.”
The tournament continues on the weekend with the top half of the field playing at Sawgrass and the other half at Dye’s Valley. Those waves will flip courses on Sunday.
Golf Channel will air the weekend rounds from 1-3 p.m. on Saturday and 2-4 p.m. on Sunday.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: PGA Tour Q-School: Alistair Docherty thr
