Richard Green carded a four-round total of 18-under at TPC Scottsdale (Champions) to finish four clear of Wes Short, Jr., for medalist honours.
Green has won three times on the DP World Tour and ranked as high as No. 29 in the world. Just one thing was missing on his resume. He had never played a full season in the United States. The 51-year-old Australian made amends at Final Stage of the PGA TOUR Champions Qualifying Tournament. With five PGA TOUR Champions cards available, it was more than enough to punch his full-time ticket to the circuit.
Related: Top-5 all but out of reach, Jeev, Jyoti battle for next best spots
Green and Short Jr, join Tim O’Neal, Brian Cooper and David McKenzie as players to earn 2023 PGA TOUR Champions status via Final Stage of Q-School.
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India’s Jyoti Randhawa carded an even par 71 in the final round to finish 28th while Jeev Milkha Singh shot a closing 74 to finish T48.
“It means everything,” said Green of earning PGA TOUR Champions membership. “I’ve had a long career playing overseas in Europe and I’ve wanted to always play in America. I tried my best to get a card on the PGA TOUR in the 2000s and just fell short all the time. It’s like a goal achieved, so that’s a big deal.”
Green geared up for Q-School by competing on the European Senior Tour this summer, winning twice at the Jersey Legends and WINSTONgolf Senior Open. He cruised through his First Stage site in Mesquite, Nevada, with a 21-under total, a whopping 12 strokes clear of the field. He didn’t miss a beat this week in the Phoenix metroplex, carding rounds of 68-65-68-65 to assume an all-important spot in the top five, with medalist honors to boot.
Short, Jr., 59, has long professed a goal of playing 10 seasons on PGA TOUR Champions. Short, a two-time PGA TOUR Champions winner, achieved his goal with a 14-under effort at TPC Scottsdale. The Texas native spent time as a club pro early in his career before gaining status on the Korn Ferry Tour and then the PGA TOUR, on which he won the 2005 Shriners Children’s Open. Now his journey in professional golf continues.
Drama existed around the all-important top-five number, with a playoff looking inevitable at several points throughout the day. The cut line stood 12-under into the final round, but at one point drifted back to 10-under as the tension built. Players turned on the jets on the back nine, though, led by veteran pro Tim O’Neal, who began the day at 7-under but carded 6-under 65 to post 13-under in the clubhouse. Australian pro David McKenzie matched 13-under one group later, followed by Pittsburgh native Brian Cooper in the subsequent group.
Several players had a chance to post 13-under and force a playoff – including England’s Simon Griffiths, Colombia’s Jesus Rivas and Massachusetts’ Fran Quinn – but none managed to do so.
The Q-School success marks an appreciative change in narrative for O’Neal, who narrowly missed at PGA TOUR Q-School on multiple occasions and never earned a TOUR card. Now he’s set to compete against some of the game’s greats on a season-long basis. O’Neal joins two additional APGA Tour members who earned their cards this year – Willie Mack on the Korn Ferry Tour and Kamaiu Johnson on PGA TOUR Latinoamerica.
“On no. 18…I never looked at the leaderboard, so I didn’t know where I was,” O’Neal said. “The main focus was on the tee shot because that’s not an easy hole at all. ‘Hit a good tee shot and then the next shot, hit it on the green.’ I didn’t care where on the green just get it there because the pin was all the way left and you have to take on that water. When I was walking up, I thought I was closer than it was, but just hit a solid putt, try not to three-putt. If it goes in great, but if not, just get my par and get out of there. I’m very happy.”
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McKenzie and Cooper both earned their PGA TOUR Champions cards in emotional fashion – McKenzie in tribute to his younger brother Justin, who passed away last fall, and Cooper after a public battle with depression earlier this year.
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The top five at Final Stage (no ties) gain access into all open, full-field events on PGA TOUR Champions next season. Finishers 6-30 and ties earn PGA TOUR Champions Associate Membership, gaining access into weekly event qualifiers.
