December 2, 2009 - Four Met Area pros, including two past MGA champions, are currently competing in the final stage of PGA Tour Q-School at Bear Lakes Country Club in West Palm Beach, Fla. Andrew Svoboda of Larchmont, N.Y., who won the 2003 Met Open and 2004 Met Amateur, among other events, and 2004 MGA/MetLife Boys champion Sunny Kim of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., join former Long Island resident Keegan Bradley of Orlando, Fla., and Nationwide Tour player Chris Nallen of Tucson, Ariz. All four of these Met Area natives have aspirations of joining J.J. Henry, Johnson Wagner, Marc Turnesa and Jim McGovern as winners on the PGA Tour. Final Round Coverage.

In preparation for the final stage, Svoboda told Mike Dougherty of The Journal News: “I feel like my game is definitely better now than it's ever been, so I'm ready.”

The second stage, which arguably contains the most pressure of all stages, saw Svoboda make an outstanding comeback after shooting 78 in the first round. He followed it up by shooting rounds of 68-69-68 to finish tied for 12th.

Nanette Hill of Pelham Manor, N.Y., and Diana D’Alessio of New Jersey are playing in the final stage of LPGA Q-School. The final stage takes place December 2-6 at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla. “My nerves are holding up. I usually do well when the heat is on. This is something I've worked hard for. I won't be thinking about what's next, I am concentrating on doing well this week. That is going to be the biggest thing, keeping all of the emotions in check,” Hill told the The Journal News.

Jerry Courville Jr. of Westport, Conn., missed out on getting his Champions Tour card, finishing tied for 41st at Q-School. More information: Champions Tour Q-School.

Final Stage Qualifying December 2-7:

Bear Lakes Country Club, West Palm Beach, Fla.

Keegan Bradley, Orlando, Fla.

Sunny Kim, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Chris Nallen, Tucson, Ariz.

Andrew Svoboda, Larchmont, N.Y.

Second Stage Qualifying November 18-21:

Southern Hills Plantation Club, Brooksville, Fla.

Keegan Bradley, Orlando, Fla. (7th, advanced to final stage)

Sunny Kim, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. (t-9, advanced to final stage)

John Stoltz, Kiamesha Lake, N.Y. (t-28, did not advance)

Hombre Golf Club, Panama City Beach, Fla.

Jim Herman, Port St. Lucie, Fla. (t-36, did not advance)

Deerwood Golf Club, Kingwood, TX

Andrew Svoboda, Larchmont, N.Y. (t-12, advanced to final stage)

Callaway Gardens-Mountain View Golf Course, Pine Mountain, GA

Jim McGovern, Oradell, N.J. (t-38, did not advance)

Chris Nallen, Tucson, Ariz. (t-7, advanced to final stage)

Steve Sokol, Milford, Conn. (t-54, did not advance)

First Stage Qualifying October 20-23:

Results: Stonebridge Ranch CC, McKinney, Texas

Andrew Giuliani, New York, N.Y. (t25, did not advance)

First Stage Qualifying October 21-24:

Results: Florence CC, Florence, S.C.

Adam Fuchs, Plainview, N.Y. (WD, did not advance)

Results: St. Johns G&CC, St. Augustine, Fla.

Eamonn McLoughlin, Amityville, N.Y. (T-68, did not advance)

Results: PGA Golf Club, Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Sunny Kim, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. (t-10, advanced to second stage)

John Stoltz, Kiamesha Lake, N.Y. (t-13, advanced to second stage)

Michael Quagliano, White Plains, N.Y. (t-23, did not advance)

Brett Jones, Summit, N.J. (t-27, did not advance)

Daniel Balin, Rockville, Md. (t-34, did not advance)

Jimmy Hazen, Miller Place, N.Y. (t-66, did not advance)

First Stage Qualifying October 27-30:

Pinewild CC of Pinehurst, Pinehurst, N.C.

Abbie Valentine, Bayville, N.Y. (t-44, did not advance)

Charlie Meola, Mamaroneck, N.Y. (t-49, did not advance)

Andreas Huber, New York, N.Y. (WD, did not advance)

Kinderlou Forest Golf Club, Valdosta, Ga.

Keegan Bradley, Orlando, Fla. (medalist, advanced to second stage)

Andrew Svoboda, Larchmont, N.Y. (t-22, advanced to second stage)

Hoyt McGarity, Sagaponack, N.Y. (t-58, did not advance)

Michael Tulacz, Connelly, N.Y. (t-65, did not advance)

Jeff Bors, St. Simons Island, Ga. (70th, did not advance)

Grasslands Golf & Country Club, Lakeland, Fla.

Steve Sokol, Milford, Conn. (t-19, advanced to second stage)

David Schuster, New York, N.Y. (t-32, did not advance)

Joe Horowitz, Long Beach, N.Y. (t-65, did not advance)

San Juan Oaks Golf Club, Hollister Calif.

Martin Catalioto, Hilton Head, S.C. (t-32, did not advance)

~September 22, 2009~

As the golf season begins to wind down for most Met Area golfers, a number of local professionals hope to be at the peak of their games this fall as Tour qualifying schools are held in the U.S. and Europe. These players are looking to achieve one of the most difficult and mentally demanding feats in sports: earning a spot on one of the top tours. For some, this is their first taste of the highly competitive atmosphere of Tour qualifying.

The Met Area has players vying for spots on the 2010 PGA Tour, as well as the LPGA and European Tours. Below is a list of local players who are looking to make the jump to the big leagues of professional golf.

Nanette Hill, Pelham Manor, N.Y. Advanced to the final stage of LPGA Q-School after shooting even par for four rounds at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

Andrew Giuliani, New York, N.Y. The 2009 Met Open champion made it through pre-qualifying and will play in the first stage of PGA Tour Q-School for the first time. Giuliani did not make it through the first round of qualifying for the European PGA Tour.

Michael Quagliano, White Plains, N.Y. The 2003 Met Junior champion played in the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines and is exempt into the first stage of PGA Tour Q-School.

Andrew Svoboda, Larchmont, N.Y., The 2004 Met Amateur & 2003 Met Open champion, who has qualified for three of the last four U.S. Opens, is exempt into the first stage of PGA Tour Q-School.

Brett Jones, Summit, N.J. Third-place finisher in 2009 Met Open made it through pre-qualifying and into the first stage of PGA Tour Q-School.

Michael Tulacz, Connelly, N.Y. Advanced through pre-qualifying and into the first stage of PGA Tour Q-School.

Abbie Valentine, Bayville, N.Y. Advanced through pre-qualifying and into the first stage of PGA Tour Q-School.

Martin Catalioto, Hilton Head Island, S.C. The New Jersey native and 2000 Met Junior champion advanced through pre-qualifying and into the first stage of PGA Tour Q-School.

Adam Fuchs, Plainview, N.Y. Advanced through pre-qualifying and into the first stage of PGA Tour Q-School.

Andreas Huber, New York, N.Y. Huber did not make it through the first round of qualifying for the European PGA Tour.

~Remaining Schedules~

PGA Tour Q-School: First Stage conducted October 21-24 and 27-30 at 11 different sites.

Second Stage conducted November 18-21 at 6 different sites.

Final Stage conducted December 2-7 at Bear Lakes Country Club in West Palm Beach, Fla.

European Tour Q-School: First Stage conducted from September 22-25 at 8 different sites.

Second Stage conducted from November 20-23 at 4 different sites.

Final Stage from November 28 - December 3 at PGA Golf Catalunya in Girona, Spain.

LPGA Q-School: Final Stage conducted December 2-6 at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Champions Tour Q-School: Scheduled for November 18-21 in Coral Springs, Fla.