First Stage of 2025 PGA Tour Q-School is currently in progress, with Pre-Qualifying taking place a month ago. Those who advance play Second Stage in early December, and the Final Stage is in mid-December.
Best of luck to all.
Q-School is extremely stressful, and the pace of play definitely reflects it. As is the $5000+ entry fee. As the golf commentators like to point out, players are playing to see if they will have a job in 2026. Advance and you make the PGA Tour or Korn Ferry Tour; come up short and you are out of a job, they say.
Come up short and out of a job? Eh, contrary to popular belief, not totally accurate.
Sure, if you played the PGA Tour or Korn Ferry Tour, failed to keep your card, and had to return to Q-School, it might feel that way. If you are just out of college, just turned professional, and this is your first attempt, it could have that feeling as well: play golf for a living or ‘no idea.’
For many professionals aspiring to play the Tour, the season consists of mini-tour events, Monday Qualifiers, and focusing on getting the game to peak in time for Q-School each fall. If this is how you spent the last year, coming up short at Q-School means, in theory, life really does not really change much, as the new year is a repeat of the last.
The so-called mini-tours, famously played by Tom Lehman, operate events as professionally as possible for as low a cost as possible, while looking for sponsorships, to keep the prize fund as high as possible.
The entry fees are steep – one mini-tour in my area with three-round events indicates $800+ entry fees. Its most recent event had 18 players; the winner finished 17-under and won $6000. The two players tied for second place won $2000 each, $1300 for fourth place, $1100 for fifth place, and $400 for two players tying for sixth. Shoot 1-under 215 and finish seventh or worse gets you nothing.
When I played in the PGA Professional Championship, I was asked to provide information about potential winnings. One of the questions was whether the winnings was going to me or not. Seems like an odd question – why wouldn’t they?
At this point, we must discuss the idea of backers and investors in professional golf.
To the uninitiated, you may be thinking that is exactly what all those logos are on the shirts, hats, and golf bags you see on TV. That is certainly true for the big names who have “made it,” but what about players who have not?
The vast majority of players have some degree of financial support or investors in their professional journey. Of course, everyone is different, but the general idea is that a golfer will receive some degree of financial support to travel around to play in various events. After winning some prize money, that money gets divvied up between the player and the investor.
For example, several years ago, a talented college player from my area turned professional. An investor reached out about backing him, and they eventually came to an agreement: the player would get an allowance for entry fees, travel, and lodging, covered by the investor. Any prize money would be split 30-70, with the 30 going to the player. If the total prize money for the year reached a certain benchmark, then the split would change to 70-30, with the 70 going to the player.
To avoid spending part of his 30 on rent or a mortgage on a place where he would not spend much time, the player moved back into his parents’ house and set out on his season. Fortunately, he did well, got to the benchmark so his 30 became 70, and he had a successful and profitable season.
He entered Q-School that fall, made it to the then-Web.com Tour, then eventually the PGA Tour. How the arrangement progressed, I do not know, but it gives a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes.
Personally, after I finished third in my State Open many years ago, someone approached to gauge my interest in creating such an arrangement.
At the time, I felt (and still feel to this day, if my back would hold up) like I would play well enough to keep a Tour card. He and I agreed that our conversation would lead to me sending him a proposal a few days later. So, it was time to do some math.
At the time, I had a mortgage, lived alone, and had a full-time job. I wanted to walk away from the year with a certain take-home to generally match the salary I would be forgoing. I needed to make sure I had enough money to pay the mortgage for the house I would not spend much time in and basic utilities.
I kept running into a snag when I could not figure out a financial split that both made sense to me and one that the investor would reasonably agree with. Also, since I had a pet at home, I liked the idea of taking an RV or camper to events instead of hotels, so she would not be with me instead of alone so much more. A few days later, I called and expressed my unease with what I thought it would look like, and asked him about the agreements he had with others.
Eventually, I thanked him for his time and declined to move forward, though I do still have his phone number and speak to him occasionally.
Going back, if you are a mini-tour player and are operating in such an arrangement, coming up short in Q-School means, other than potentially renewing for the new year, everything stays the same.
As a newly turned professional becomes a bit more seasoned, how many years of chasing Q-School will a player or an investor stomach before reality kicks in? If a player repeatedly comes up short, at some point, an investor will want to cut ties. For the player, then what?
Now what about someone who played the Tour, had to return to Q-School and then came up short?
Jason Dufner, now 48 years old and the winner of the 2013 PGA Championship and four other PGA Tour events, is an interesting case. His exemption from the PGA has expired, but he has some status and can play some events. He played eight events in 2025, six in 2024, and enters Monday Qualifiers.
I will discuss the retirement angle in a future article, but at some point, putting a college degree to use or finding a job in the golf business or whatever, becomes what’s next.
I find a safety net for many who come up short is to find an Assistant Professional job at a golf course. They get competition through Section events, a stable salary, and a golf course to play and practice. There are many assistants that are excellent players, but whose goal to attain PGA of America membership is lacking – their goal is the Tour.
The PGA of America requires apprentices to achieve membership in a specified time frame – it was eight years for me – then they cannot participate in Section events. The various Assistants Championships across the country were becoming so overrun with such players that the National PGA Assistant Professional Championship had to restrict entry to those with Class A membership or those on Level 3 apprenticeship – just short of membership.
Whatever happens, Q-School can be must-see TV, but what is not televised is just as important.