Earning a slot on the Champions Tour via Q-School is one of the most difficult achievements in golf. The deck is heavily stacked against lesser knowns. The senior circuit was established for Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus and remains heavily dependent upon recognizable names and faces.
So it was with high hopes, but reasonable expectations, that Bethesda amateur Terry Burke took his shot at the Champions Tour last week, hoping to be one of the top five in a field of 78.
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Playing in the Champions Tour National Qualifying Tournament at TPC Scottsdale, Burke, 50, fired an opening-round 65 to tie for the lead, then followed with a 68 to stay close. But on Thursday and Friday, Burke shot 71 and 72 to drop out of contention.
Burke’s 8-under-par 276 was nine strokes behind medalist Peter Senior (Australia) and four strokes shy of qualifying for a playoff for the final slot.
As a result of his 20th place finish, Burke, a member at Burning Tree, will be eligible to compete for spots in open qualifiers at all co-sponsored Champions Tour events. Players who finished in positions 6-12 are conditionally exempt.
Other qualifiers included former PGA Tour players Ronnie Black and Joe Ozaki. Steve Haskins, son of legendary basketball coach Don Haskins (UTEP), also qualified. In a span of 17 years, Haskins failed to qualify for the PGA Tour 14 times.
