Former Georgia State golfer Joel Sjoholm finished tied for 39th at the second stage of European PGA Tour Q-School at Montenmedio Golf Club in Cadiz, Spain. Sjoholm shot a final round 1-under 71 to move up 11 places.
Sjoholm's finish was not good enough to advance to the final stage of Q-School this week which will take place this week at PGA Golf de Catalunya in Spain. The top 20 players in the field of 78 will advance to the final round of Q-School. Former Panther Mark Haastrup will however be in the field after being exempt from the first two stages of qualifying.
Haastrup (2005-07) just missed automatically earning his European Tour card as he finished 26th on the Challenge Tour money list. Earlier this season, Haastrup won The Dubliner Challenge and had a chance going into the final event to skip Q-School completely.
Sjoholm opened the tournament with a 79, but followed that with rounds of 72, 70 and 71. The advancement cut to the final stage came at 2-under par.
Former Georgia State golfer Kasper Jorgenson, who was also competing in the field, had to withdraw during the final round have a several hour delay to the start of play. He was tied for 59th entering the final round.
Two former Panthers have already qualified for the second stage of PGA Tour Q-School which will start this week as well. Ty Harris advanced after finishing among the top 23 and ties at St. John's Golf and Country Club in St. Augustine, Fla. last month. Two weeks ago, Jonathan Fricke finished 5-under and in eleventh place at Martin Downs Country Club in Palm City, Florida to advance to the second stage.
Fricke played the 2008 season on the Nationwide Tour and fell just three spots short of being able to skip the first stage of Q-School completely.
Harris will get to stay relatively close to his home in Tampa and play the Southern Hills Plantation Club. Fricke, a Covington native, will play at Callaway Gardens, site of the 2009 CAA Golf Championships. The 72-hole events are scheduled for November 12-15.
Continue to check back daily at www.georgiastatesports.com as we follow all of these former Panthers in their quest to reach the PGA and European Tour.
