The second stage of KFT\/PGA Tour Q-School tees off Tuesday at five different sites around the country \u2013 and honestly, it\u2019s the stage everyone dreads the most. The pressure is real: advance and you\u2019ve got at least conditional KFT status locked up no matter what happens at Final Stage; come up short and you\u2019re staring at another year grinding on the mini-tours.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s changed a little this year with a few exempt KFT guys and some conditional PGA Tour players starting at Second Stage, but for most of the field, the old reality still applies.<\/p>\n
Below is a quick breakdown of each site, along with the leaderboards.<\/p>\n
Savannah, Georgia<\/p>\n
Course: The Landings \u2013 Deer Creek
Par: 72
Yards: 7,185
Rating: 75.2
Slope: 243<\/p>\n
PGA Tour winners in the field:<\/p>\n
Jim Herman \u2013 The 48-year-old, three-time PGA Tour winner played three Tour events last season.<\/p>\n
Austin Cook \u2013 When Cook turned pro in 2014, he basically lived at Monday Q\u2019s \u2014 and crushed them. In \u201914 he Monday Q\u2019d and finished T13. In \u201915 he Monday Q\u2019d his way to a T11, then a T6, which got him into the next week, where he finished T7. That run earned him status, and in 2017 he picked up his win at the RSM.<\/p>\n
SY Noh \u2013 The veteran of nearly 250 PGA Tour starts won the 2014 Zurich Classic (back when it wasn\u2019t a team event).<\/p>\n
Ted Potter Jr. \u2013 One of the wildest, most under-discussed careers out there. Potter dominated the Hooters Tour for years before having one of the strangest starts to a career you\u2019ll ever see: in his first year on the Nationwide (KFT), he missed every cut \u2014 0-for-24. Three years later he got back, made 3 of 20 cuts\u2026 then disappeared again. After another stint on mini-tours, he returned, made 3 of 14 cuts\u2026 and then Monday Q\u2019d into a Nationwide event and won. In 2012, ten years after turning pro, he finally made it to the PGA Tour. He won The Greenbrier that year, then Pebble in 2018, taking down DJ, Phil, and Jason Day.<\/p>\n
Others to keep an eye on:<\/p>\n
Luke Gutschewski \u2013 Son of longtime Tour pro Scott Gutschewski. Luke Monday Q\u2019d his way into conditional Americas Tour status this year. He turned pro, Monday Q\u2019d, finished T14, earned his way into the next week\u2026 and ended up going 5-for-5 in cuts. Pretty wild for someone who played less than a third of the season and still finished 71st in points.<\/p>\n
Jeff Overton \u2013 The former Ryder Cupper is still grinding after a scary infection during back surgery that nearly took his life.<\/p>\n
Kevin Hall \u2013 The 41-year-old OSU standout has spent years on the mini-tour circuit. Hall is deaf and travels with his mom, who helps him on the road. Easy guy to root for.<\/p>\n
Sam Bennett \u2013 The former U.S. Amateur champ missed earning his card by one spot in 2024, then struggled badly this year and lost it. Needs to get through here just to have status next season.<\/p>\n
Derek Bard \u2013 We\u2019ve written about Bard before \u2014 he lost to Bryson in the finals of the 2010 U.S. Amateur. You can find that story here.<\/a><\/p>\n Leaderboard<\/a> Alabama<\/p>\n Course: Robert Trent Jones \u2013 Highlands\/Marshwood PGA Tour winners in the field:<\/p>\n Sung Kang \u2013 The 2019 Byron Nelson champ mostly played on the Korean Tour this year. In 2024 he split time between KFT and DP World Tour but struggled and lost most of his status.<\/p>\n Others to keep an eye on:<\/p>\n Fred Biondi \u2013 I wrote about the 2023 NCAA champ last week \u2014 you can read that here.<\/a><\/p>\n Blades Brown \u2013 The teenager already has full KFT status next season after finishing 75th in points. He\u2019s here strictly chasing one of the five PGA Tour cards.<\/p>\n Cougar Collins \u2013 An all-time great name.<\/p>\n MJ Daffue \u2013 A Monday Q legend who\u2019s struggled the last few seasons and is back at second stage trying to rebuild status.<\/p>\n Spencer Levin \u2013 The GOAT. That\u2019s all.<\/p>\n Dylan Meyer \u2013 The former Illinois standout stepped away from full-time golf and now runs the course he grew up on. But he made a big late push at the first stage to get through and now he\u2019s trying to revive his playing career.<\/p>\n Marcus Plunkett \u2013 West Point grad and Army veteran who had KFT status last year but struggled. He\u2019s trying to get back to Final Stage.<\/p>\n Leaderboard<\/a>Valdosta, Georgia<\/p>\n Course: Kinderlou Forest PGA Tour winners in the field:<\/p>\n Jimmy Walker \u2013 The 48-year-old major winner played five events in 2025 and missed all five cuts. He hasn\u2019t won since the 2016 PGA and sits 73 starts away from 500 career Tour starts. If he wants any chance to get there, he needs full status again.<\/p>\n Robert Streb \u2013 Two-time PGA Tour winner who played 20 KFT events this season, making eight cuts and finishing 142nd in points.<\/p>\n Others to keep an eye on:<\/p>\n Blayne Barber \u2013 Hasn\u2019t played since the 2023 KFT season and went into the business world. Says he won\u2019t play KFT even if he gets status (we\u2019ve heard that line before), but he\u2019s playing well enough that he wanted to give it a shot.<\/p>\n Andre Chi \u2013 After Monday Q\u2019ing into the Valspar, his interview with Monday Q intern Ed Loar Tracker went viral, and people raised over $50,000 for him.<\/p>\n Great Scott \u2013 Three Scotts at this site \u2014 Alex, Calum, and Sandy (who is of course Scottish). How they didn\u2019t get paired together is beyond me.<\/p>\n Cole Hammer \u2013 Has full KFT status next year after finishing 71st in points, but he\u2019s trying to get to Final and chase a PGA Tour card.<\/p>\n Willie Mack III \u2013 The Flint, Mich., legend trying to get back to the KFT.<\/p>\n JJ Grey \u2013 We\u2019ve written about the family that sponsors him and a friend he lost too soon.<\/p>\n Curtis Thompson \u2013 Lexi\u2019s brother and a former KFT winner. He\u2019s struggled since losing his PGA Tour card in 2022.<\/p>\n Braden Thornberry \u2013 Former NCAA champ who nearly kept his PGA Tour card in Bermuda, but a final-round 80 ended that hope. He\u2019ll have full KFT status next year regardless thanks to his 2024 win.<\/p>\n Leaderboard<\/a>Arizona<\/p>\n Course: Star Pass Star Pass is unlike any other Q-school site \u2014 Mark Baldwin wrote a piece on why it\u2019s built for drama. Read it here<\/a>. <\/p>\n PGA Tour winners in the field:<\/p>\n Sang Moon Bae \u2013 Two-time PGA Tour winner who played just two PGA Tour events and four KFT events this year while focusing mostly on Korea.<\/p>\n Sean O\u2019Hair \u2013 One of golf\u2019s great grinders. Played multiple Asher Tour events this year. Now in year 26 as a pro at age 43. He needs to get back to the final stage to improve his status. He\u2019s also creeping toward 500 career starts (currently at 437).<\/p>\n Kyle Stanley \u2013 Wild career: blew a tournament with a triple on 18\u2026 then won the very next week. Lost his card, got it back, won again\u2026 then injuries derailed things. This year his only made cut came on the Mexican Tour.<\/p>\n Martin Trainer \u2013 One of the strangest r\u00e9sum\u00e9s in professional golf. Just 42-for-155 on the PGA Tour and 13-for-37 on KFT\u2026 yet he owns a PGA Tour win and two KFT wins.<\/p>\n Nick Watney \u2013 The 44-year-old just passed 500 career starts. His last season with full status came in 2023. Five-time winner but hasn\u2019t won since 2012.<\/p>\n Scott Piercy \u2013 Four-time PGA Tour winner. Made 9 of 14 KFT cuts this year but only posted one top 25.<\/p>\n Chez Reavie \u2013 A \u201cmajor\u201d champion (the Cuda) from three years ago\u2026 and yep, still has to go back to Q-school.<\/p>\n Others to keep an eye on:<\/p>\n Ryo Ishikawa \u2013 Criminally underrated career. Won on the Japan Tour at 15, cracked top 100 at 16, top 50 at 17, and won eight times as a teenager. Has 20 Japan Tour wins and is still only 34.<\/p>\n Corey Pereira \u2013 Lost his wife Leah to cancer at just 26 earlier this year. A few months later he qualified for Napa despite barely playing while he was caring for her.<\/p>\n Preston Summerhays \u2013 Former ASU standout who made 7 of 11 cuts on the KFT this year through PGA Tour U status.<\/p>\n Johnny Travale \u2013 Fresh off maybe the greatest par-3 round ever last week. Read it here<\/a>. <\/p>\n
Par: 72
Yards: 7,632
Rating: 75.5
Slope: 144<\/p>\n
Par: 72
Yards: 7,780 (!!)
Rating: 76.5
Slope: 110<\/p>\n
Par: 70
Yards: 6,951
Rating: 73.6
Slope: 141<\/p>\n