Donohue Rallies -- 8 under for His Last 38 Holes -- to Advance in Q-School

OCALA, Fla. -- Q-School has to be one of the most stressful events in all of sports. Basically, you're playing for a year of your life.

On the other hand, a player can make it a little less stressful by playing really well right from the start of a Q-School tournament. That was what Muzzy Donohue did in the Preliminary Stage of the 2024 PGA Tour/Korn Ferry Q-School. Playing in Brunswick, Ga., the 23-year-old former St. Thomas Academy hockey and golf star started with a bogey-free 66 at Brunswick CC and added a 67 and another 66 for a 54-hole total of 199. The top 33 fiinishers advanced, and Donohue made it with 14 shots to spare, tying for third.

On Friday, he made it through the First Stage at the Country Club of Ocala, but this time it wasn't nearly so stress free. For one thing, this qualifier wasn't played as scheduled. It was pushed back by Florida's hurricane season, and was the last of the 13 First Stage qualifiers to be completed. So Dononhue had some extra time to think about, and that's rarely a good thing.

When the tournament finally got going, Donohue got off to a pretty good start. He was 4 under through 16 holes at the CC of Ocala, but then he bogeyed the 438-yard, par-4 17th hole -- and doubled the 538-yard, par-5 18th! Not a great way to finish any round, and especially not a round in a qualifier. Dononhue, who played four years at Boston College before playing a fifth year as a grad student at Santa Clara University (where he got a Master's Degree in Finance and Analytics) this spring, birdied his first hole in Round 2 on Wednesday (No. 10), but then bogeyed the 11th and 16th, and started the front nine by bogeying 1 and 2.

So he had gone from 4 under through 16 holes to 2 over through 29. Things didn't look too promising at that point.

But Dononhue began to right the ship with five pars in a row, and he birdied the last two holes of the round, Nos. 8 and 9. That got him back to even par, 71-73--144. But only the top 21 finishers and ties were going to move on to the Second Stage of Q-School, and he was on the outside looking in.

The third through sixth holes would prove crucial to Donohue during the last two rounds as he dug himself out of the hole he had put himself in. On Thursday, he birdied the 393-yard, par-3 third, the 514-yard, par-5 fifth and the 390-yard, par-4 sixth. He bogeyed the ninth and the 12th, but got those two lost shots back with birdies at the 15th and 18th. That gave him a 69, which got him into the top 21, but barely. He was on the number at 213.

So Friday's fourth round would determine his fate, and he started off with two pars and a birdie at the third. A bogey at the 189-yard, par-3 fourth didn't help the cause, but he birdied the fifth and sixth holes for the second day in a row. He probably didn't know it, but he needed one more birdie, and he got it at the 408-yard, par- 4 12th. Dononhue parred out from there foir a second straight 69. Having been 2 over for the tournament through 34 holes, he was 8 under for the next 38 and at finished at 282 (-6), good enough for a six-way tie for 18th place -- and a spot in the Second Stage of Q-School.

That will start Nov. 19, but four of the five Second Stage qualifiers won't begin until Dec. 3.

The medalist at Ocala was Ricardo Celia, 32, a former Nova Southeastern University star from Colombia who is now an assistant coach there. A week earlier, Celia shot a final-round 63 at Westchester CC to win a Minor League Golf Tour event there, and he opened with a 65 at Ocala on Tuesday. He followed that with a 72, and was one stroke off the lead at that point. A 67 in the third round put him back on top, and he closed with a 68. The resulting 272 was three shots better than the runner-up total of 275 by Spencer Ralston.

The Final Stage of Q-School will be played Dec. 12-15 in Ponte Vedra, Fla., at the TPC Sawgrass Valley Course and the East/West Course at Sawgrass CC. From there, the top five finishers and ties will get PGA Tour status for 2025, and everyone else will have status, ranging from full to limited, on the Korn Ferry Tour.


PGA TOUR/KORN FERRY Q-SCHOOL


FIRST STAGE (72-hole tournaments)

Ocala, Fla.

At Country Club of Ocala

Par 72, 6,920

Oct. 29-Nov. 1

The top 21 finishers and ties advance to the Second Stage of Q-School

(There are four stages to Q-School -- Preliminary, First Stage, Second Stage and Final Stage. The Final Stage will be Dec. 12-15 at TPC Sawgrass Country Club and Sawgrass CC in Ponte Vedra, Fla., and from there the top five fiinishers -- and ties -- will receive PGA Tour Cards for 2025. After that, those finishing at No. 6 through No. 40 will have varying degrees of exempt status for the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour.)

T18. Muzzy Donohue, North Oaks 71-73-69-69--282

What it took: 282 (6-way tie for 18th)

T47. Evan Long, New Castle, Pa. 75-74-74-68--291


Henryville, Ind.

At Champions Pointe GC

Par 72, 7,174 yards

Oct. 22-25

The top 21 finishers and ties advance

T7. Derek Hitchner, Minneapolis 67-67-69-71--274

What it took -- 277 (3-way tie for 20th)

T39. Brady Madsen, Raymond, Minn. 69-74-66-74--283


Madison, Miss.

At Lake Caroline GC

Par 70, 6,835 yards

Oct. 15-18

The top 21 finishers and ties advance

What it took -- 273 (5-way tie for 21st)

T37. Van Holmgren, Wayzata 68-68-73-68--277 (-3)


Albequerque, New Mexico

At The University of New Mexico Championship Course

Par 71, 7, 555 yards

Oct. 15-18

The top 21 and ties advance

What it took -- 286 (3-way tie for 21st)

T52. Andrew McCain, Mpls./Nashville 74-72-73-76--295

WD -- Austin Vukovits, Fishers, Ind. 79-WD


Maricopa, Ariz.

At Ak-Chin Southern Dunes

Par 72, 7,546 yards

Oct. 8-11

The top 21 and ties advance

Final results

T4. Ben Warian, Stillwater 66-73-69-70--278

What it took -- 281 (7-way tie for 19th)

T55. Andrew Israelson, Staples 74-69-72-76--291


Lincoln, Neb.

At Wilderness Ridge CC

Par 71, 7,107 yards

Oct. 8-11

The top 25 and ties advance

Final results

T19. Ben Sigel, Minnetonka 72-64-69-72--277

What it took -- 277 (7-way tie for 19th)

T41. Nate Deziel, East Grand Forks 75-67-69-72--283

T49. Nate Adams, Maple Grove 71-71-71-73--286

T56. Thomas Lehman, Scottsdale, Ariz. 72-74-74-68--288

WD -- Jack Ebner, Edina


Broken Arrow, Okla.

At Indian Springs - River Course

Par 71, 6,917 yards

Oct. 8-11

The top 20 and ties will advance

Final results

T9. Caleb VanArragon, Blaine 71-69-67-70--277

T16. Angus Flanagan, Surey, England 64-75-70-70--279

What it took -- 280 (2-way tie for 19th)

T51. Will Grevlos, Sioux Falls 77-71-68-74--290



PRELIMINARY STAGE (54-hole tournaments)


Brunswick, Ga.

At Brunswidk GC

Par 70, 6,802 yards

Sept. 18-20

The top 33 and ties advanced

T3. Muzzy Donohue, St. Paul 66-67-66--199

What it took -- 212 (3-way tie for 33rd)


Newton, Kansas

At Sand Creek Station TC

Par 72, 7337 yards

Sapt. 18-20

The top 33 and ties advanced

T4. Nate Adams, Maple Grove 72-70-71--213

T12. Nate Deziel, East Grand Forks 75-73-68--216

What it took -- 222 (3-way tie for 33rd)


Chardon, Ohio

At Mayfield SRC - Sand Ridge

Par 72, 7277 yards

Sept. 18-20

The top 35 and tties advanced

What it took -- 219 (4-way tie for 33rd)

Failed to advance

T66. Zach Sklebar, Fargo 77-80-73--230


Woodstock, Ill.

At Bull Valley GC

Par 72, 7,190 yards

Sept. 11-13

The top 33 and ties advanced

T28. Jack Hiemenz, Blaine 75-77-76--228

What it took -- 228 (6-way tie for 28th)

Failed to advance

T43. Aaron Wilson,k Chaska 80-72-81--233


Kannapolis, N.C.

At Thr Club @ Irish Creek

Par 71, 7,144 yards

Sept. 11-13

The top 34 fiinishers and ties advanced

What it took -- 213 (6-way tie for 31st

Failed to advance

T40. Hentry May, Edina 72-70-73--215