By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

It was one of the toughest weeks of their golfing lives, but Jared du Toit and Stu Macdonald both survived to play another day.

Another week, actually, as both players have earned the right to play in the finals of the Korn Ferry/PGA TOUR qualifying school later this month. It did not come easy.

“It was probably the hardest week for me in my career,” Vancouver native Macdonald said of surviving a second-stage qualifier in Valencia, Calif.

“Harder than any playoff, harder than any other Q-school for whatever reason. I feel like that I’ve had a good year. I have won a bunch of times and the last thing you want is to have a good year and then not parlay it by not getting through Q-school. So maybe I was putting a little extra pressure on myself, but it was really, really mentally challenging. I feel mentally and physically exhausted.”

The top 13 and ties advanced at Valencia and Macdonald made it through with one shot to spare, finishing the 72-hole pressure-cooker tied for ninth at two-under par. Kimberley native du Toit had more of a cushion, finishing tied for fourth at five-under. But that doesn’t mean his week was stress-free. Far from it.

The wind was blowing in the final round and conditions were difficult. Du Toit missed a short par putt on the fifth hole and then doubled No. 6. “Then it was like, okay, wow, there goes that cushion,” du Toit said. “But I was really proud of the way I battled. I think in prior years I might have got a little flustered by my start and maybe started pushing.

"I really tried to show some maturity this week and it was funny, even after that bad start in the middle of the front nine, you would look around at other groups and see people dropping balls and balls splashing in the water and it was like, okay this is happening to everybody. I was fortunate to stay solid coming home which was awesome.”

Advancing to the Q-school finals was especially sweet for du Toit, who has more than paid his dues since turning pro after graduating from Arizona State University in 2017. “I have played Q-school five different times and made it to second stage four times and this is the first time I have gotten through,” he said. “I am pumped. Anything can happen in the finals, especially with those five PGA TOUR cards up for grabs.”

Although both Macdonald and du Toit were ecstatic to advance, the harsh reality is that they have not yet really earned anything. “It’s a relief to get to final stage but the job is not done,” Macdonald said. “But I am excited for another opportunity.”

The Q-school finals go Dec. 14-17 at the Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass and Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. The top five players and ties will earn PGA TOUR cards for 2024 while the next 40 and ties will earn guaranteed starts next year on the Korn Ferry Tour. Everyone else will have conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour, but as Macdonald learned last year, that doesn’t mean much.

“Last year, I had a pretty awful week at the Q-school finals and didn’t get any Korn Ferry starts out of it,” Macdonald said. “Hopefully, this year is a little different.”

TOUGH SET-UP: There were plenty of complaints about the difficulty of the course setup at Valencia Country Club, particularly for the final round. A number of players withdrew during the round. “It was one of the most difficult courses I have probably ever played with how it was set up,” Macdonald said. “You are hitting shots where if you are three paces long or left or right of the target you are off the green or in the water or in a spot where it is just impossible to get up and down. So there was danger lurking on pretty much every shot. One bad swing and you are making double, easy. And then wind obviously made it even more challenging.”

Du Toit echoed those sentiments. “Apparently a bunch of guys walked off in the final round and were complaining that they were going to call the Tour and this and that,” du Toit said. “Whoever set it up the final day must not have taken a very good look at the forecast because some of the greasiest pins were on some of the most exposed greens. Guys were making some pretty big numbers, including myself on that stretch on the front nine. It was just really hard.”

TOUGH START: Coquitlam’s A.J. Ewart could not overcome a shaky start and failed to advance at another second-stage site in Valdosta, Ga. Ewart opened with a four-over 76. He played the remaining 54 holes five-under par but his total of one-under par left him tied for 24th. That was four shots shy of the five-under score that was needed to finish among the top 12 and ties who advanced. Ewart has no status for 2024 and will likely attend the new PGA Tour Americas Q-school in the new year. Two other Canadians, Ontario natives Thomas Giroux and Sudarshan Yellamaraju, did advance at the Valdosta site.

NCAA HEADS NORTH: It is called the Canadian Collegiate Invitational, but sadly it will feature only one Canadian team. Golf Canada announced last week that the inaugural men’s event will be played Sept. 15-17 next year at Ôviinbyrd Golf Club in MacTier, Ont. It will be the first NCAA Division I tourney to be held in Canada. The event will be conducted by Golf Canada and co-hosted by Kent State University and Penn State University, which both have Canadian head coaches.

Other American schools confirmed for the event include Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Michigan State, Missouri, Notre Dame, Rutgers and Washington State. The lone Canadian entry will go to the winner of next spring’s Canadian University/College Championship. “I feel like it would have been great to have at least one Canadian team represented from the east and one team from the west,” said University of B.C. head coach Chris Macdonald, who said his players are excited about trying to play their way into the event. “That’s a really big opportunity for them.”

Simon Fraser University coach Matt Steinbach welcomed the new event, but noted his team currently has no way to try and play its way into the field. As a NCAA Division II team, SFU is not permitted to play in the Canadian University/College Championship. Steinbach said he hopes to have discussions with Golf Canada about getting his team into the event. “With the current criteria, SFU Golf, Canada’s only NCAA team, is the only Canadian golf program not eligible to earn entry into the event,” Steinbach said in a statement.

“I trust that Golf Canada’s intention is to help support all golf programs connected with Canadian University Golf and I believe we will find a way to ensure Canada’s only NCAA team is included with Canada’s first NCAA Division I event.” Golf Canada says its NextGen selection camp will be held concurrently with the Canadian Collegiate Invitational to give coaches the opportunity to see some of Canada’s best junior players. The individual winner of the Canadian Collegiate Invitational will receive an exemption into the 2025 RBC Canadian Open.

NEW FAMILY MEMBER: The Pacific Northwest Golf Association is welcoming a fifth member. The Montana State Golf Association is joining the PNGA effective Jan. 1. The current member associations of the PNGA include British Columbia Golf, Idaho Golf Association, Oregon Golf Association and Washington Golf. “We are thrilled to welcome the Montana State Golf Association into the Pacific Northwest Golf Association family,” said Troy Andrew, PNGA executive director. “This expansion not only strengthens the bonds of the golfing community in our region, but also enhances the ongoing collaborative efforts amongst the member golf associations of the PNGA.” The PNGA was founded in 1899 and is the fifth oldest golf association in North America.

CHIP SHOTS: Abbotsford’s Nick Taylor will partner with China’s Ruoning Yin at this week’s Grant Thornton Invitational in Naples, Fla. Fellow Canadians Corey Conners and Brooke Henderson will play together as another team in the event. . .Richmond’s Ziggy Nathu tied for 15th at the Asher Tour’s Legacy Classic in Phoenix.