Fall 1976 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates

This is a list of the Fall 1976 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates. The tournament was held at Rancho Viejo Resort and Golf Course in Brownsville, Texas. It was known for its "miserable weather."[1]

Tournament summary

A number of notable players did not graduate onto the PGA Tour. They included Curtis Strange, then considered by some the top amateur in the country. Strange finished with three consecutive bogeys to miss qualifying by a shot.[2] It was considered "the most stunning development" of the event.[3] In addition, "sure-fire bets" Phil Hancock and Wayne Levi were also unsuccessful.[4]

A number of notable players were successful, however. Strange's teammate from Wake Forest, Jay Haas, did graduate.[5] In his third attempt, Mark Lye qualified for the PGA Tour.[6] After several successful seasons abroad, Australian Graham Marsh earned his PGA Tour card for the first time.[7] Lye and Marsh tied for third place.[8] The newly turned professional Keith Fergus earned medalist honors by a sizable margin defeating Mike Sullivan by ten shots.[1]

List of graduates

# Player Notes
1 United States Keith Fergus
2 United States Mike Sullivan
T3 United States Mark Lye 1 PGA Tour of Australia win
Australia Graham Marsh 4 European Tour wins. 9 Japan Golf Tour wins
5 United States Jimmy Wittenberg
T6 Argentina Vicente Fernández 1 European Tour win.
United States Jay Haas
United States George Kunes
United States Jeff Mitchell
United States Greg Pitzer
T11 United States Dick Mast
Colombia Alberto Rivadeneira
T13 United States John Abendroth
United States Jim Barker
United States Mark Pfeil
United States Bobby Stroble
T17 United States David Canipe
United States Bruce Ford
United States Richard Friedman
Australia Jack Newton 3 European Tour wins. 1 PGA Tour of Australia win
United States Doug Schryer
United States Ray Sovik
United States Larry Webb
T24 United States Ray Arinno
United States Jim Booros
United States Peter Jacobsen
United States Don Pooley
United States Mike Reid Led 1976 U.S. Open after first round
United States Ron Streck

Source: [8]

References

  1. ^ a b "Dunaway Finds His Game..." The Charlotte Observer. 1977-01-30. p. 56. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
  2. ^ Diaz, Jaime (1990-12-10). "GOLF; Qualifying School For the PGA Tour Isn't Elementary (Published 1990)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  3. ^ "Strange Flunks PGA Tour School". The Item. 1976-12-20. p. 23. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
  4. ^ "Confident Levi Ready". The Tampa Tribune. 1977-05-06. p. 50. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
  5. ^ "Ex-Wake Forest Star Strange Scores 'F'..." The News and Observer. 1976-12-19. p. 34. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
  6. ^ "'Vagabond' can't wait for..." The Akron Beacon Journal. 1977-06-19. p. 36. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
  7. ^ "MARSH WINS CARD". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
  8. ^ a b Gould, David (1999). Q-School Confidential: Inside Golf's Cruelest Tournament. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 256–257. ISBN 978-0312203559.