Met Trio Competes in Final Stage of Champions Tour Q-School
UPDATE (December 4, 2015) - Despite finishing under-par, the Met Area's trio of competitors in the Final Stage of Champions Tour Qualifying School came up just short of earning exemptions for the upcoming 2016 season, as the 72-hole event took place on TPC Scottsdale's Champions Course.
RELATED: Final Results
Frank Esposito, who won last year's event and competed on the Champions Tour this season, and Mark Mielke both finished at 4-under-par for the event, tying for 53rd. Both Esposito and Mielke's low round for the event was 69, Esposito doing so in the second round and Mielke in the third.
Charles Bolling opened with back-to-back rounds of 72, before registering two rounds of 69 to close the event. He finished 2-under and tied for 59th.
The top five finishers earn fully-exempt status for 2016, while those finishing 6th-12th are conditionally exempt. The top 30 finishers and ties are eligible to compete for spots in open qualifiers at all co-sponsored events on the Champions Tour next season.
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ELMSFORD, N.Y. (November 28, 2015) – The Final Stage of Champions Tour Qualifying School is set to take place on TPC Scottsdale’s Champions Course, December 1-4, and the Met Area’s Frank Esposito, Mark Mielke and Charles Bolling are among those looking to earn status for the 2016 season.
Related: National Qualifying Tournament Information
Esposito, of Monroe, N.J., is seeking a repeat performance from a year ago, when he won the National Qualifying Tournament—then played at Panther Lake Golf Club in Winter Garden, Florida—by four shots. With his year exemption on the Champions Tour in 2015, Esposito played in 12 events and finished 70th on the money list. Esposito’s best finish was a tie for seventh, coming at the Boeing Classic. Shortly after that finish, he competed in the MGA Senior Open at Engineers, were he tied for fourth in the 36-hole event.
Mielke, who walked away with the title at the MGA Senior Open as the only player to finish under-par, is also in the field. His victory in the Senior Open came immediately after a tie for seventh at the 100th Met Open, an event he’s won on two occasions. From Oyster Bay, N.Y., Mielke has made five starts on the Champions Tour, his best finish being a tie for 28th at the 2013 Senior PGA Championship. He tied for 12th in the Regional Qualifying Stage in Reunion, Florida, to advance to the finals.
Bolling, an instructor from Glen Cove, N.Y., will be competing in the finals for the second straight year. He has previously competed in four Champions Tour events, including the 2014 U.S. Senior Open, and earned his spot in the finals after tying for 14th in the Regional Qualifying Stage in Montgomery, Texas.
The standings for each player will be updated below at the conclusion of each round.
Champions Tour Q-School - TPC Scottsdale (Champions) | |
Final Results: | Frank Esposito -4, T-53 |
Mark Mielke -4, T-53 | |
Charles Bolling -2, T-59 |