Monday qualifiers: The RSM Classic
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The FedExCup Fall has reached its final stop. The PGA TOUR has arrived in St. Simons Island, Georgia, this week for The RSM Classic. It’s the final FedExCup Fall event of the season, contested at picturesque Sea Island Golf Club, and the last PGA TOUR Monday qualifier of the year.
The final four spots for the crucial season-ending tournament were earned Monday by Drew Doyle, Marcus Byrd, Blake McShea and St. Simons Island local Reid Davenport. They advanced via a 7-for-4 playoff at Brunswick (Georgia) Country Club, which required floodlights as darkness fell. The aforementioned players outlasted Billy Kennerly, Julian Suri and Andrew Loupe in the playoff, after all seven players posted 5-under 65 in the qualifying round.
Three of the four qualifiers (Doyle, Byrd and McShea) will compete at Second Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry in early December, with The RSM Classic offering competitive reps as they prepare to chase status across PGA TOUR-sanctioned circuits. Doyle and Davenport are each set for their PGA TOUR debut, as well.
Read below for a capsule look at The RSM Classic's four Monday qualifiers:
Drew Doyle (5-under 65, advanced in playoff)
Age: 22
Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Alma mater: LSU
PGA TOUR starts: 0
Notes: Carded a 71.95 scoring average as an LSU senior in 2023-24 ... Advanced through PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry's First Stage in October and will compete at Second Stage in two weeks ... Attended St. Xavier High School in Louisville, Kentucky, the same high school as Justin Thomas ... At age 13, he became the youngest player to qualify for the Kentucky Amateur.
Marcus Byrd (5-under 65, advanced in playoff)
Age: 27
Hometown: Temple Hills, Maryland
Alma mater: Middle Tennessee State
PGA TOUR starts: 6
Cuts made: 0
Notes: Advanced through PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry's First Stage in October and will compete at Second Stage in two weeks ... Finished No. 107 on 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List; made six cuts in 19 starts and recorded two top-10 finishes ... Has found great success on the APGA Tour, including a four-win season in 2023 ... Missed the fall portion of his senior season at Middle Tennessee State (2018-19) due to a back injury suffered in a car crash; he returned to play every spring event and logged a 71.5 scoring average.
Blake McShea (5-under 65, advanced in playoff)
Age: 26
Hometown: Wendell, North Carolina
Alma mater: University of North Carolina-Wilmington
PGA TOUR starts: 1
Cuts made: 1
Best PGA TOUR finish: T76, 2022 Wyndham Championship
Notes: Advanced through PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry's First Stage in October and will compete at Second Stage in two weeks ... First PGA TOUR start came in his home state at the Wyndham Championship, also via a Monday qualifier ... Has made two cuts in six career Korn Ferry Tour starts ... Played four years at UNC-Wilmington; as a fifth-year senior in 2020-21, he recorded a 70.56 stroke average, second-best in program history. He was also named 2021 Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year ... Hobbies include fantasy football, playing basketball, listening to music and bowling.
Reid Davenport (5-under 65, advanced in playoff)
Age: 25
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Alma mater: Vanderbilt University
PGA TOUR starts: 0
Notes: Finished 13th on 2023 PGA TOUR University Ranking to earn PGA TOUR Canada status for that summer; proceeded to make six cuts in nine starts and rank No. 70 on season-long Fortinet Cup ... Played five seasons at Vanderbilt; was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll all five years ... Made two Korn Ferry Tour starts in 2024 as a conditional member but did not make a cut ... Fell short at PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry's First Stage last month.