SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Scottie Scheffler is well-versed in professional golf’s fine line. Before he was world No. 1, he grinded through Final Stage of Q-School in 2018 to secure guaranteed Korn Ferry Tour starts without a shot to spare. The Texan got up-and-down for par on the final hole in what he has often described as the most pressure-packed moment of his career, kick-starting a run to 2019 Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year honors and beyond.

Scheffler has an outside chance at his third WM Phoenix Open title in four years Sunday at TPC Scottsdale. He’s at 10-under into the final round, eight strokes back of 54-hole leader Thomas Detry (who is five clear of second place). In a fitting ode to his origins in professional golf, Scheffler’s final-round grouping will include a Monday qualifier in Will Chandler, who earned one of three available spots in Monday’s qualifier – the WM Phoenix Open’s final open qualifier of a nearly eight-decade run, as the tournament field will be reduced to 120 players in 2026 and beyond (120-player events will not offer Monday qualifiers).

Chandler earned his PGA TOUR card via Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry last fall, and he did so in dramatic fashion with a back-nine 31 in the final round to earn a TOUR card without a shot to spare. He didn’t qualify for the WM Phoenix Open on his number, though, so he signed up for the Monday qualifier and shot 7-under at nearby Pinnacle Peak Country Club to earn one of three spots. After missing the cut in his first two starts as a TOUR member, Chandler knows FedExCup points are crucial this week, and he has delivered with rounds of 68-67-68 at TPC Scottsdale. He and Scheffler share 10th place at 10-under 203, one stroke ahead of their Sunday playing partner Cameron Young.

With a top-10 at the WM Phoenix Open, Chandler would guarantee a spot at the TOUR’s next Full-Field Event, the Mexico Open at Vidanta. (He might also qualify on his number.)

Chandler entered 2024 with zero status on the Korn Ferry Tour, then Monday qualified into the Veritex Bank Championship (in Scheffler’s native Dallas), his first of four successful Monday qualifiers en route to earning Special Temporary Membership. With nine holes to play at Final Stage of Q-School, it appeared likely that he’d be competing on the Korn Ferry Tour this season (and he would’ve likely been in Bogota, Colombia, for this week’s Korn Ferry Tour stop). Now he’ll play the final round of the WM Phoenix Open, one of professional golf’s most raucous events, alongside the world’s top-ranked player.

“I love it,” Chandler said Saturday of his experience this week. “I feel like I'm at a football game, which I love, and I'm playing golf, which I love to do. It's like a win-win. It's awesome.”