BATON ROUGE–? Former LSU standout Chris Wells has gotten off to a fast start in his career as a professional golfer as he will compete in the first stage of the PGA Tour Q-School beginning Oct. 23 at Grasslands Golf and Country Club in Lakeland, Fla.
Wells, a three-time letterwinner and two-time All-SEC selection during his collegiate career from 2004-07, was one of 37 qualifiers for the first stage of the PGA Tour Q-School at the pre-qualifier at Stonebridge Ranch Country Club in McKinney, Texas, on Sept. 28.
The native of Mobile, Ala., tied for 14th place in the 72-hole tournament after posting rounds of 72, 73, 69 and 73 for a two-round total of 1-under 287 at the par-72 layout.
Wells will tee off in the First Qualifying Stage of Q-School in a 78-player field at Grasslands Golf and Country Club beginning Oct. 23. The percentage of qualifiers for the Second Qualifying Stage has yet to be determined as players must advance through three stages of Q-School to earn the right to compete on the PGA Tour.
Former Tiger Billy Dressler (1999-2001) will join Wells in the first stage of Q-School after earning one of 36 spots at the pre-qualifier at The Auburn University Club in Auburn, Ala., with a tie for 28th place. Dressler will attempt to advance to the second stage of qualifying at the Kinderlou Forest Golf Club on Oct. 31 – Nov. 3.
Wells is fresh off of a top-20 finish in the Adams Golf Pro Tour Series as he tied for 17th at the 2007 Community Bank Classic at Northwood Country Club in Meridian, Miss., on Saturday. He fired rounds of 71, 66, 69 and 72 to finish the 72-hole event at 6-under 278.
He has also played in two tournaments as a member of the NGA Hooters Pro Golf Tour. Wells earned 51st-place finishes in the Dothan Classic at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Highland Oaks in Dothan, Ala., on Aug. 26 and the Kandy Waters Memorial Classic at Gosher Plantation Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., on Sept. 16.
Pre-Qualifying – McKinney, TX
Sep 25 – Sep 28, 2007
Stonebridge Ranch Country Club –
Top 37 and Ties Advanced to First-Stage PGA Tour Qualifying
1 Justin Fraley, Rowlett, TX -12 276
2 Jim Renner, Plainville, MA -11 277
3 Patrick Sullivan, Moumelle, AR -10 278
4 Garrett Osborn, Birmingham, AL -8 280
T5 Wes Homan, Cincinnati, OH -7 281
T5 Michael Radek, Chicago, IL -7 281
T5 Derek Busby, Tallulah, LA -7 281
8 Brett Myers, Broken Arrow, OK -5 283
T9 Robert Gwin, Houston, TX -4 284
T9 Mike Wendling, Oklahoma City, OK -4 284
T9 Blayne Hobbs, Anthem, AZ -4 284
T12 Daniel Vojta, Palatine, IL -2 286
T12 Tyler Leon, Dallas, TX -2 286
T14 Chris Wells, Baton Rouge, LA -1 287
T14 Jacob Korb, Jupiter, FL -1 287
16 Brice Garnett, Gallatin, MO E 288
T17 Kevin Silva, New Bedford, MA +1 289
T17 Robert Sullivan, Cocoa Beach, FL +1 289
T17 Travis Stockholm, Springfield, SD +1 289
T20 Brent Akins, Scottsdale, AZ +2 290
T20 Scott Abbott, Dallas, TX +2 290
T22 Reed Davis, Cordova, TN +3 291
T22 Justin Goodhue, Glastonbury, CT +3 291
T22 Nick Becker, Boise, ID +3 291
T22 Dennis Riedel, St. Clair, MI +3 291
26 Zach Jaworski, Cordova, TN +4 292
T27 Randall Hunt, Fort Worth, TX +5 293
T27 Jerad Harklau, Dallas, TX +5 293
T27 Eric Hird, Santa Ana, CA +5 293
T27 Andrew Bostrom, Scottsdale, AZ +5 293
T31 Glen T. Griffith, Tucson, AZ +6 294
T31 Chris Thompson, Germantown, TN +6 294
T31 Darren Fletcher, Phoenix, AZ +6 294
T31 Bryce Benson, Arlington, TX +6 294
T35 Erik Lee Billinger, Highland Ranch, CO +7 295
T35 Paul Cormack, Banchory, Kincardinshire +7 295
T35 Reino Deetlefs, Ft. Worth, TX +7 295
T35 Andreas Huber, Garden City, NY +7 295
T35 Parker LaBarge, St. Louis, MO +7 295
Pre-Qualifying – Auburn, AL
Sep 25 – Sep 28, 2007
The Auburn University Club
Top 36 and Ties Advanced to First-Stage PGA Tour Qualifying
1 Charlie Soule, Longmont, CO -13 275
T2 J.T. Kohut, Simi Valley, CA -9 279
T2 Jerod Turner, Hurst, TX -9 279
T2 Chad Saladin, Gilbert, AZ -9 279
5 Chris Naegel, Chesterfield, MO -7 281
6 Tyler Aldridge, Nampa, ID -6 282
7 Christian Ries, Columbus, GA -3 285
T8 Jon Hurst, Fredericksburg, VA -2 286
T8 Michael Arnaud, Nederland, TX -2 286
10 Dan Norton, Vancouver, BC -1 287
11 Chris Trevino, Reno, NV E 288
12 Derek Berg, Duvall, WA +1 289
T13 Jake Ellison, Las Vegas, NV +3 291
T13 Mike Johnston, Milwaukee, WI +3 291
T13 Aaron Manning, Mesa, AZ +3 291
16 Bradley Farmer, Hermitage, TN +4 292
T17 Brett Callas, Houston, TX +6 294
T17 Gabe Reynolds, San Marcos, TX +6 294
T19 Niall Turner, Minneapolis, MN +7 295
T19 Mason Crumpler, Enterprise, AL +7 295
T19 Shawn Edwards, Sandy, UT +7 295
T19 Mike Kitowski, Aurora, CO +7 295
T23 Daniel Mitchell, Oklahoma City, OK +8 296
T23 Scott Diel, San Diego, CA +8 296
25 Ted Soule, Austin, TX +9 297
T26 Brian Mills, Fort Worth, TX +10 298
T26 Brian Prouty, Tucson, AZ +10 298
T28 Jim Sorenson, Mt. Pleasant, IA +11 299
T28 Billy Dressler, Lake Charles, LA +11 299
T28 Jerry Crowell, Riverside, CA +11 299
T28 Lucas Lee, Torrance, CA +11 299
T28 Ben Fox, Studio City, CA +11 299
T33 Mick Baker, Cave Creek, AZ +12 300
T33 Scott Richardson, Palmdale, CA +12 300
T33 Ben McCaslin, Austin, TX +12 300
T33 Brady Swedberg, Garfield, MN +12 300