2025 PGA TOUR Champions Qualifying Tournament notebook: See who's advanced through First Stage

The final site of three First Stage sites for 2025 PGA TOUR Champions Q-School concluded play on Friday afternoon, with top finishers advancing to Final Stage.

Final Stage is set for Dec. 3-6 at TPC Scottsdale’s Champions Course in Scottsdale, Arizona. The top five finishers at Q-School Final Stage will earn 2025 PGA TOUR Champions membership.

Nov. 19-22 site

Soboba Springs Golf Club
San Jacinto, California
Full leaderboard

Who advances: The top 16 spots advanced to Final Stage.

Australian Matthew Goggin tallied a final-round 68 to earn medalist honors with a one-stroke margin over 54-hole leader Stephen Gallacher. A five-time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour, Goggin made 279 career starts on the PGA TOUR, most notably earning a T5 finish at the 2009 Open Championship. Goggin, who turned 50 in June, made two starts on PGA TOUR Champions in 2024 – the U.S. Senior Open and Sanford International.

Notables to advance:

• Jim Carter (-3/T13): 63-year old with 461 PGA TOUR starts, winner of 2000 Touchstone Energy Tucson Open; holds 78 career PGA TOUR Champions starts, three in 2024, most recently U.S. Senior Open (MC).
• Stephen Gallacher (-13/second): Scottish golfer with four career wins on the DP World Tour, most recently winning the 2019 Hero Indian Open. Turned 50 on Nov. 1; member of the 2014 European Ryder Cup team.
• Jay Jurecic (-4/T10): Former middle-school math teacher at West Iron County Public Schools in Iron County, Michigan; has played in three PGA TOUR Champions events since 2021.
• Brad Kennedy (-6/T6): Australian golfer with three career wins on the Japan Golf Tour and five wins on the PGA TOUR of Australasia.

Notables to miss: Todd Fischer, the 55-year old who was full-time TOUR member from 2003-06 with 135 starts made and four third-place finishes, finished at +2 (T23) … Raphaël Jacquelin, the French golfer with four career wins on the DP World Tour, finished -1 (T17) and is the first alternate … 56-year old Bob May, who lost the 2000 PGA Championship to Tiger Woods, missed the cut … David McKenzie, the 57-year old Australian with 131 career starts on PGA TOUR Champions, finished even (T19).

Nov. 12-15 sites

Buckhorn Springs Golf & Country Club
Valrico, Florida
Full leaderboard

Who advances: The top 20 spots advanced to Final Stage.

Felipe Aguilar,54-hole leader, carded the low round of the day with a bogey-free 7-under 65 to earn medalist honors by an eight-stroke margin. His 19-under total also included rounds of 68-70-66. The Chilean, who turned 50 on Nov. 7, made four starts on PGA TOUR Latinoamerica from 2018 to 2023, with his best finish a T2 at the Volvo Abierto de Chile.

Notables to advance: The 52-year-old Andrew Johnson (T2/-11) advanced to Final Stage for the third consecutive year. The Columbus, Indiana, native has made four starts on PGA TOUR Champions since 2022. He closed with 6-under 66 at Buckhorn Springs to finish T2 ... Craig Bowden (T2/-11) is a three-time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour, capturing the 1998 NIKE Miami Valley Open, 2003 Miccosukee Championship and 2006 Northeast Pennsylvania Classic. He made 152 starts on the PGA TOUR, most recently in 2019. The Bloomington, Indiana, native has played in eight events on PGA TOUR Champions since 2018. He previously advanced to Final Stage in 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023. ... Cliff Kresge (fourth/-9) has made 30 starts on PGA TOUR Champions, including 19 in 2019 after he earned full membership via a T2 finish at 2018 Q-School Final Stage. Kresge made 212 starts on the PGA TOUR from 1994 to 2019, earning a pair of third-place finishes ... Englishman Matthew Cort (T5/-8) who turned 50 in September, made 79 starts on the DP World Tour from 2001 to 2021, earning two top-10 finishes ... Japan native Katsumasa Miyamoto (T5/-8) advances to Final Stage for the second consecutive year, finishing T37 in 2023. The 52-year-old has made three starts on PGA TOUR Champions, with his best finish a T10 at the 2023 Senior PGA Championship ... Scot David Drysdale (T7/-7), who turns 50 next March, has made 473 starts on the DP World Tour, dating back to 1999. His best finish is runner-up, which he has done three times, most recently at the 2020 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters ... David Branshaw (T9/-6) has made 50 starts on PGA TOUR Champions. He previously earned full membership for the 2022 season after finishing T2 at Final Stage in December 2021 ... Canadian Danny King (T11/-5) advances to Final Stage for the fourth time (2017, 2018, 2021, 2024). The 56-year-old’s lone start on PGA TOUR Champions was a missed cut at the 2023 U.S. Senior Open ... Roger Rowland (T15/-1) previously had status on PGA TOUR Champions in 2022 after finishing fourth at Q-School Final Stage in December 2021.

Notables to miss: Major League Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz, who has made nine starts on PGA TOUR Champions, withdrew after three rounds ... Two-time PGA TOUR winner Frank Lickliter II missed the 54-hole cut after rounds of 80-77-73.

Grand Bear Golf Club
Saucier, Mississippi
Full leaderboard

Who advances: The top 15 spots advanced to Final Stage.

Denmark’s Søren Kjeldsen carded the lowest round of the day, with a final-round 68 to earn medalist honors with a one-stroke margin over 54-hole leader Tag Ridings. The 49-year-old Kjeldsen (pronounced keld-sen) spent the majority of his career competing on the DP World Tour, where he won four times, including the 2008 Volvo Masters. He also posted top-10 finishes at the Masters and The Open Championship in 2016. He turns 50 next May.

Notables to advance: Founder of the DECADE Course Management System, Scott Fawcett (eighth/-1) played collegiately at Texas A&M and competed in the 1999 U.S. Open ... Three-time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour Brad Elder (T9/+1) made 150 starts on the PGA TOUR, with his best finish coming at the 2000 SEI Pennsylvania Classic (T2). Played collegiately at the University of Texas, where he won the 1997 Haskins Award. That same year, Elder won the Northeast Amateur was part of the United States teams that won the Palmer Cup and Walker Cup ... Two-time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour David Mathis (T12/+2) made two starts on PGA TOUR Champions this season, qualifying into the Mitsubishi Electric Classic and the Principal Charity Classic. Mathis made 105 starts on PGA TOUR from 2009-2013, highlighted by four top-10 finishes, including a career-best T5 at the 2013 Barracuda Championship ... Two-time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour Tag Ridings (second/-10) made 239 starts in his PGA TOUR career, with his best finish coming in a T2 at the 2004 Shriner’s Children’s Open ... Jason Schultz (T6/-3) has made four starts on PGA TOUR Champions over the last two seasons, highlighted by a T9 finish at the Principal Charity Classic ... Bob Sowards (third/-7) serves as the PGA Director of Instruction at Kinsdale Golf & Fitness Club in Powell, Ohio. The 56-year old has competed in the Senior PGA Championship every year it’s been contested since 2019, including the 2021 event, where he shared the 18-hole lead (finished T5). Sowards held a PGA TOUR card in the 2008 season, making 22 starts, with one top-10 ... Omar Uresti (T9/+1) has played in 11 PGA TOUR Champions events in his career, most recently in the 2024 Senior Open presented by Rolex. A two-time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour, Uresti made 390 starts on the PGA TOUR, with his best finishes coming in 1997 (T3/Arnold Palmer Invitational) and 2006 (T3/THE CJ Cup Byron Nelson). Uresti also won two PGA Professional Championships and has wins on the Sunshine Tour and the Canadian Tour.

Notables to miss: Kent Jones (19th/+8) has made 99 career starts on PGA TOUR Champions ... Brennan Little (T16/+6) currently caddies for Gary Woodland and previously worked with Mike Weir. Little is second alternate for Final Stage.

Upcoming site

Final Stage

• Dec. 3-6: TPC Scottsdale (Champions); Scottsdale, Arizona