Kris Blanks didn’t make the PGA Tour until age 37. It didn’t take him long to play his way off. Missing the cut in 11 of 20 events this year and earning $307,130, the Robert E. Lee High graduate finished 170th on the money list, far from the top-125 ranking required to retain playing privileges.
The PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament (Dec. 2-7), more commonly known as Q School, was Blanks’ last chance to stay in the big leagues. When he opened with a 77 at Bear Lakes Country Club in Palm Beach, Blanks was mired in the bottom quarter of a field of 152.
Recommended Stories
But Blanks had plenty of time to recover in the six-round tournament. Firing in the 60s in his next four rounds, Blanks finished with a 12-under-par 420 (77-65-67-69-68-74), good enough to quality for the 2010 tour with a three-stroke cushion.
As a struggling player on the Hooters Tour two years ago, Blanks was ready to give up pro golf, but at the 2006 Melwood Prince George’s County Open — which he played only because it was close to his home in Frederick — Blanks finished 25th, earning a trip to the following Nationwide Tournament, where he placed third, winning $43,500.
The following year, Blanks earned enough on the Nationwide Tour to join the PGA. Now Blanks will return, hopefully to stay.
Other big names who got through Q School were former PGA Tour players Jeff Maggert, Neal Lancaster, Joe Ogilvie, Jay Williamson, Chris Riley and J.P. Hayes, who missed the cut at the 2008 Q School after calling a penalty on himself for using the wrong golf ball.
