Hunter Eichhorn, right, pictured with girlfriend Sarah Busey, captured medalist honors at the Second Stage Q-School qualifier in Savannah
photo by Contributed
The Second Stage of Q-School is an experience unlike any other for those professional golfers hoping to secure their playing privileges for the upcoming year. The event evolves into a crucible of nerves and pressure with their future aspirations so tantalizingly within reach.
Advancing to Final Stage means guaranteed status for 2026, ranging from PGA Tour cards for the top five finishers next week or else the right to compete on either the Korn Ferry Tour or PGA Tour Americas.
Finishing outside of the top 14 to 17 spots moving on from the five various Second Stage sites this week means forging one’s path next year through Monday qualifiers, sponsor exemptions or via one of the other developmental tours.
Four golfers with Tennessee ties took a major step in sealing their fate for ’26 by earning their way into the Final Stage. Nashville resident Hunter Eichhorn captured medalist honors at the Savannah, Ga. qualifier, shooting 21-under par to automatically earn membership for the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour season with his victory.
Two other qualifiers were shortened to 54-holes due to persistent rains with Dickson’s Hunter Wolcott finishing second at 12-under par at the Valdosta event, while Spring Hill’s Dawson Armstrong won his third straight trip to Final Stage with a fourth-place tie at 8-under par.
Kingsport native William Nottingham was the lone golfer to emerge from the Dothan, Ala. qualifier, finishing at 6-under par to earn a tie for tenth with seven other golfers to get in on the number.
Final Stage scheduled for Dec.11-14 at TPC Sawgrass’ Dye’s Valley course as well as neighboring Sawgrass Country Club.
Savannah Qualifier
Hunter Eichhorn was basking in the afterglow of claiming medalist honors at the Second Stage qualifier in Savannah, Ga. But the magnitude of the moment suddenly hit home when he spoke to his mother back in Michigan on the phone.
“Once I got in my car, I checked my phone and started responding to texts,” Eichhorn said. “But when I talked to my mom on the phone, we could hardly speak. It was a pretty emotional 30 minutes, especially after the round, because once she starts saying stuff and crying, and then I start crying.”
That family connection runs deep with Eichhorn and his relationship with golf. His grandfather, Steve Pipkorn, first introduced him to the game at the local nine-hole course in the small hamlet of Carney on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Little did either realize at the time how that would lead to an All-American career at Marquette and now with exempt status on the Korn Ferry Tour.
“I probably would not be playing golf if it wasn’t for him, truthfully,” Eichhorn said. “I played basketball growing up when I was young, and then he got me into golf. I owe him a lot for teaching me the game.”
Eichhorn moved Tennessee for the warmer climate to pursue his golf career. He picked up his first professional win in North Carolina earlier this year on the GPro developmental tour, and is looking forward to hopefully improving his status at Final Stage by nabbing one of the five PGA Tour cards.
“This is huge for me,” Eichhorn said. “Not having status can be it can be stressful. It’s obviously been a long year. Even if you do Monday qualifiers you have to play well multiple times. I’ve had some chances, and I’ve had some good finishes and some not so good ones. I’ve kind of seen it all at this point, I feel like.”
Eichhorn followed up his blistering third round 62 with a steady 69 on Friday, his total of 21-under 267 two shots clear of second. He amassed a tournament-best 27 birdies over his four days of competition.
Others who missed qualifying were Spencer Cross of Knoxville (11-under 277, T29), Harrison Ott of Franklin (5-under 283, 55), Nicklaus Sutton of Nashville (2-over 290, T67) and Tyler Johnson of Knoxville (9-over 297, 73).
Valdosta Qualifier
Hunter Wolcott has enjoyed a magical year in professional golf. He won his first tournament on the PGA Tour Americas in Peru back in May, made the cut in his first PGA Tour start in Bermuda last month, and has now advanced to the Final Stage of Q-School for the first time in three tries.
Despite all of that success, one thing has not changed – he’s yet to reach his ultimate goal.
“I mean, the goal from the start of this deal is to get a PGA Tour card, and that hasn’t changed,” Wolcott said. “I’m just one step closer now.”
After owning at least a share of the lead after the first two rounds, Wolcott finished in solo second at 12-under 204 when Friday’s final round was washed out after seven holes, reverting the final totals to the completion of the third round.
The former All-SEC performer at Tennessee opened play with a sparkling 65 that featured nine birdies, then carded rounds of 69 and 70 to secure his Final Stage berth.
“Getting off to a good start was very relieving in a way,” Wolcott said. “You’re obviously not going to let your guard down with three more rounds to play, but just not playing from behind in this deal is huge. You don’t feel like you’re running out of holes, and you don’t feel like you’ve got to chase the golf course. You can kind of just keep playing your game. I just knew I had to go out there and hit great golf shots and don’t try to do anything heroic.”
Wolcott’s upward trend over the course of the year has provided some needed confidence in knowing he can compete among the best in golf.
“I feel like when I get enough opportunities to play golf, my great golf shows, and that’s kind of what I’m seeing,” Wolcott said. “The more I tee it up, the more I just see that my golf is really, really good. I saw that in Bermuda, where I didn’t play incredible but made the cut. Just to know that above average golf is good enough to make cuts on the PGA Tour, what is my great golf going to be like on the PGA Tour? So, yeah, that’s really encouraging.”
Being back in his birthplace of Valdosta for the third straight year in making it to Final Stage is becoming old hat for Dawson Armstong. The former Lipscomb star who has 126 Korn Ferry Tour starts under his belt posted an 8-under par 208 this week to finish in a five-way tie for fourth.
“I grew up in South Georgia, so I’m down here at my grandmother’s house so it’s like coming home every year,” Armstrong said.
The 30-year-old Armstrong is somewhat philosophical when it comes to embracing the opportunity in front of him for the third straight year in Final Stage.
“This is what I do – I play golf for a living,” Armstrong said. “It’s hard to play golf for a living on any other tour than Korn Ferry or PGA. It’s the pro life, right? And the goal for everyone is to get on the PGA Tour. If you told me at the beginning of June of this year, ‘Hey, you’re going back to Final Stage, and you get a chance to get your Tour card, just like last year’, I wouldn’t have necessarily believed you with where I was at. But now I’m not surprised by it at all, and I feel ready for this.”
Those who missed out from advancing from Valdosta included former Vanderbilt All-American Matthew Riedel, whose 4-under 212 was one shot outside the cut line. Others included Walker Crosby of Memphis (2-under 214, T28), Ryan Hall of Knoxville (1-under 215, T34), Gregory Odom Jr. of Memphis (1-under 215, T34) and Grant Leaver of Murfreesboro (5-over 221, T63).
Dothan Qualifier
William Nottingham was focused on the road ahead of him, traversing through rural south Alabama over into Georgia, headed home to Greenville, S.C. wondering if he had done enough this week to secure his career path in professional golf.
The former Clemson star had finished playing in the Second Stage at RTJ Golf Trail at Highland Oaks in Dothan, an event shortened to 54 holes due to annoying rains that pelted the Wiregrass this week as Thursday’s suspended round wrapped up Friday morning with another delay.
Nottingham felt good about his chances of joining the top 14 plus ties that advance to next week’s Final Stage. He had birdied five straight holes before darkness interrupted play on Thursday, and that momentum continued on Friday when he returned to the golf course.
“It was crazy because it was raining and blowing pretty hard when I made those five birdies in a row,” Nottingham said. “It was definitely the best golf I’ve played for that big of a stretch considering what was at stake.”
With four holes remaining on his third round, Nottingham promptly birdied the par 5 15th – his sixth in a row – to move to 7-under for the tournament. Pars on the next two holes were followed by a bogey at No. 18, leaving his chances of advancing in a precarious position.
Nottingham was among the first groups to complete play, so he opted to hit the road for his return home rather than enduring the uncertainty of watching the remaining golfers finish, hoping his score would hold up.
An hour of so into his journey, he finally picked up his phone to check the scores. It was then that he realized he was one of eight golfers who finished tied for 10th at 6-under 210 as his final round 68 spread across two days earned him his first trip to
“There’s no playoff in Second Stage, so I went ahead and got on the road,” Nottingham said. “I put my phone on ‘do not disturb’ and wasn’t listening to anything. I was just praying that it would work out, and it was pretty special when I found out I was advancing. I probably refreshed my browser 100 times in the last hour.”
Finally making it to Final Stage in his fifth attempt makes the journey all-the-more satisfying for Nottingham.
“Yeah, it feels great,” said Nottingham, who won back-to-back Tennessee Junior Amateur crowns in 2015-16. “It’s not been fun over the last four years, just trying to travel around for 18-hole qualifiers, driving all over the country for that. Knowing that I have a place to play for the year is a good feeling, but obviously I want to play well at final stage. I mean, there’s still a chance on a Tour card, so you never know.”
The outcome wasn’t as favorable for the other four golfers with Tennessee connections in Dothan. Former Middle Tennessee State golfer Owen Stamper missed by one shot of returning to Final Stage by closing at 5-under 211. Nashville’s Blades Brown followed an opening round 68 with a pair of 72s to finish another shot back at 4-under 212, while former Chattanooga Moc John Houk carded a 71 to miss out on a return trip to Final Stage with a total of 3-under 213.
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com
William Nottingham advanced to Q-School Final Stage for the first time
photo by Contributed