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This incredible graphic shows just how hard it is to Monday qualify on the PGA Tour
Have you ever thought about trying to Monday qualify for a PGA Tour event? You might want to think again after seeing this incredible graphic that shows just how difficult it is.
Twitter handle @MondayQualifier tracks these mini-events every week and with the 2016-17 regular season in the books, it crunched the numbers for a recap. And the stats are pretty staggering.
Of course, the most eye-popping number is the scoring average of the 95 players that earned spots in a PGA Tour event via Monday qualifiers this season. 65.88?! Are you kidding?!
As you can see, four guys shot 62 to earn spots and only four guys finished in the top 25, with Keith Mitchell's T-11 at the Valspar Championship -- in his PGA Tour debut, no less -- being the best. Props to Y.E. Yang, Ted Purdy and Chase Seiffert for making it through three Monday qualifiers. And those 95 qualifiers made a combined $757,302.69, which sounds like a lot until you do the math and realize they made less than $8,000 on average in those starts.
So what exactly is a Monday qualifier? Here's how "The Undercover Tour Pro" described them in the April 2014 edition of Golf Digest:
"Imagine if there were a pick-up basketball game in the parking lot of the Staples Center to decide who gets the last spot on the Lakers' bench that night. Make 10 three-point shots in a row, and you're on the team. This is essentially what Monday qualifying is."
The mystery tour pro was upset after shooting 66 on "a solid course" and not making it through -- something backed up by that 65.88 scoring average. He felt the tour should limit the 18-hole events that typically offer four spots to a field of 140 to PGA Tour pros and not allow "anybody with $450 and a USGA Handicap Index of 2 or better" to enter. But only a few exit with a smile on their face. At the Monday Qualifier for the Shell Houston Open earlier this year, 34 players shot 67 or better and five guys who shot 64 didn't qualify.
So maybe you're a scratch golfer and trying to Monday qualify is a bucket-list experience you're willing to pay for. But the numbers make it clear: You're better off saving your money.