Charlotte, NC – October 19, 2012 – The first week of the first stage of the PGA TOUR’s annual Qualifying Tournament is in the books at six sites across the United States. Of those six sites, three were won by eGolf Tour players, with Harold Varner, Sihwan Kim and Trevor Murphy all notching medalist honors to advance to second stage. Fifty-seven eGolf Tour players successfully navigated first stage at the six sites. For complete results from each stage, please click here.

KANNAPOLIS, NC

In May of this year, East Carolina University star Harold Varner of Gastonia, NC finished his college career and began playing the eGolf Tour. At The Club at Irish Creek just north of Charlotte in Kannapolis, NC, the former Pirate standout took another step toward achieving his goal of playing the PGA TOUR, notching rounds of 73-65-64-69—271 (13-under) to take medalist honors by one shot over eGolf Tour members Sebastian MaClean and Ryan Sullivan. Varner entered Friday’s final round as the site’s 54-hole leader, bogeyed his opening hole, then added five birdies on the day to close out a final-round 68 in his first trip to the TOUR’s Qualifying Tournament. Sullivan, who played the eGolf Tour full time in 2012, was returning to comfortable territory at Irish Creek. In July, the former UNC Wilmington golfer carded a course-record 61 in the second round of the eGolf Tour’s Southern Open on his way to a T38 finish. Sullivan was one of just six players in the field to card all four rounds under par, joining fellow Seahawks teammate Josh Brock, who advanced via a T16 finish. Current eGolf Tour members Stefan Wiedergruen of Germany and Chip Lynn of Lillington, NC posted T4 finishes with 72-hole totals of 9-under 275. Lynn, an eGolf Tour member over the last three years, began his final round with a double-bogey at the docile par-4 first, but rebounded quickly with four consecutive birdies on Nos. 3-6 to move back to 2-under par. Two late bogeys left Lynn with a final-round 70 – more than enough to advance through to second stage. The round of the day came from 2011 El Jadida Classic winner and former Clemson star Phillip Mollica, who birdied five of his first six holes on Friday to vault from outside the cut into a tie for eighth, thanks in part to a final-round 65 and an 8-under 276 total. The Anderson, SC native struggled early in 2012, missing his first seven cuts – but righted the ship late, posting three top-25 finishes entering first stage of Q-School, including a runner-up effort at last week’s NorthStone Open. eGolf members Chris Epperson and Jonas Enander Hedin finished T11 at 7-under 277. Epperson, currently third on the tour’s money list, was a veritable ATM this past season, making 17 of 17 cuts and posting 11 top-10 finishes to go alongside an astounding 16 top-25 finishes. California native Matt Ryan, a 2011 eGolf Tour winner, entered the final round inside the number at 4-under par, but quickly played his way out with three bogeys in his first 13 holes to fall to 1-over on the day. The former Fresno State golfer, who now lives in Charlotte, rallied with birdies on 14, 16 and 18 to close out a final-round 69 and move to 6-under for the week, good for a T13 finish. A total of 18 eGolf Tour players made it through at The Club at Irish Creek, taking an impressive 18 of the 20 available spots. Thirteen of those 18 players were 2012 members of the eGolf Tour.

The Club at Irish Creek
Kannapolis, NC

Sihwan Kim

LAKELAND, FL

At Grasslands Golf & Country Club in Lakeland, FL, former U.S. Junior Amateur champion Sihwan Kim of Orlando, FL paced nine successful eGolf Tour qualifiers with rounds of 64-65-68-71—268 to share medalist honors alongside Brandon Brown. Kim, who starred in college as a member of the Stanford Cardinal golf team, played bogey-free golf for the first 65 holes of his week prior to posting a double-bogey on the par-4 12th in Friday’s final round. Kim nearly won the eGolf Tour’s season-opening Palmetto Hall Championship this past February, but hit his approach to the 72nd hole in a greenside pond en route to a closing bogey that left him in solo-third, two shots shy of winner Brent Delahoussaye. Seven other eGolf Tour players joined Kim inside the site’s top 10, including recent competitors Randall Hutchison and James Vargas, who finished T7 and T10, respectively. The story of the day may have been that of former eGolf Tour player Justin Martinson of Avondale, PA. Playing in Friday’s final threesome on the heels of a 67-65-68 start to his week, Martinson was even par through 11 holes and sailing through to second stage, but suffered back-to-back double bogeys on 12 and 13 to plummet down to the cut line at 12-under. A follow-up bogey at No. 14 dropped him to minus-11, but Martinson recouped the lost shot with a late birdie at the par-5 17th that took him back to 12-under, where he finished to make it through on the number in a tie for 17th place, with a final-round 76.

Grasslands Golf & Country Club
Lakeland, FL

MADISON, MS

Eight eGolf Tour players advanced from Q-School’s overflow site, staged this year at Lake Caroline Golf Club in Madison, MS. Leading the way was Daniel Bowden of Easley, SC, who finished tied for fourth with a 72-hole score of 9-under 271. Ryan Dillon, a member of the eGolf Tour in 2009-2010, opened his week with rounds of 70-72 to sit outside the number, but roared back in stellar form with rounds of 62-68 to notch a T6 finish. The third-round 62 marked the low score of the week at the Madison site. Former eGolf Tour member and Delaware native Eric Onesi bounced back nicely on Friday. After falling to 4-under on the week with a 2-over 37 on his front nine, Onesi birdied Nos. 10, 12 and 15 for a back-nine 32 that left him at 7-under 273, safely in with a T8 finish. Current eGolf Tour member Marcus Manley of the Washington D.C. area overcame an early double-bogey in his final round to post a closing 70 and a 4-under 276 total that put him one clear of the cut number. The best story from Mississippi came from that of three-time eGolf Tour winner Ted Brown of Glen Allen, VA. Brown, a former Web.com Tour member, began the final round in solid position at 6-under par, was still looking good at even-par through 11, but struggled mightily down the stretch. Four bogeys over his final six holes, including two in his last three, left the former VCU star on the outside looking in, with a final-round 73 and a four-day total of 3-under 277. Forced to wait and find out his fate, Brown snuck in to grab one of the last spots when fellow eGolf Tour player Brent Witcher bogeyed three of his last four holes to fall from inside the number to 2-under for the week.

Lake Caroline Golf Club
Madison, MS

Chris Kamin

DAYTON, NV

At Dayton Valley Golf Club in Dayton, NV, seven eGolf Tour players made it through to Q-School’s second stage, including 2012 tour members Gregor Main (T3), Chris Kamin (T6) and Matt Schall (T17). Main, a former Western Amateur champion and UCLA star, spent the vast majority of his week inside the cut number, posting rounds of 68-72-66-72—278 to finish five shots clear of the cut line at 10-under par – just two shots shy of medalist honors. Kamin, a two-time eGolf Tour winner and recent recipient of the tour’s annual Q-School bonus (paid annually to the top 20 players on the money list), opened his week with rounds of 71-71, but failed to record a single bogey over his final 30 holes en route to closing rounds of 67-70 and a T6 finish. Kamin, a former Web.com Tour member and Phoenix, AZ resident, won the eGolf Tour’s Grand Harbor Open in August of 2011, then claimed win No. 2 earlier this year at the River Hills Classic in May. Schall, a former University of Maryland golfer and Web.com Tour caddie, came from no-man’s-land on Friday to card the day’s low round (8-under 64) and make it through on the number at 5-under 283. The Williamsport, PA native began his final-round charge on the back nine at Dayton Valley, carding four birdies for an outward nine of 4-under 32. The early surge gained steam on his closing nine, as birdies at Nos. 2 and 3 took the former Terrapin to 6-under for the day, while closing birdies on Nos. 8 and 9 vaulted him into second stage with a final-round 64.

Dayton Valley Golf Club
Dayton, NV

Michael Sims

LANTANA, TX

Ten eGolf Tour players advanced through to second stage in Lantana, TX at Lantana Golf Club. Leading the way were former players Drew Stoltz and Jeremy Alcorn, who each notched T5 finishes with 72-hole totals of 9-under 279. Dan McCarthy, Roger Sloan and 2012 eGolf Tour member Dustin Garza each finished T9 on the week at 6-under 282. Sloan, who had to overcome three bogeys in his first 12 holes with two birdies over his last six to post a final-round 73, finished runner-up at the eGolf Tour’s season-opening Palmetto Hall Championship, falling one shot shy of winner Brent Delahoussaye. Current eGolf Tour members Jamie Bowen, Ryan Gildersleeve and Michael Sims rounded out the tour’s representation in Lantana, posting T15, T15 and T18 finishes, respectively. Like Chris Kamin in Nevada, Gildersleeve also had his Q-School entry paid for by eGolf following a top-20 finish on the tour’s money list. The former South Alabama golfer played his way back into the event on Thursday with a 7-under 65 to move up the leaderboard, then nearly gave it right back with two late bogeys on Friday, but recovered with pars on 17 and 18 to clear the number by a shot with a final-round 70 and a 5-under 273 total. Longtime eGolf Tour member and past champion Michael Sims of Bermuda earned one of the last spots via a T18 finish at 4-under 284. Sims garnered national attention when he set an eGolf Tour record with a 12-under 59 in the second round of the Southern Open in July. Playing at tournament co-host Country Club of Salisbury, he birdied the first eight holes en route to reaching golf’s magical number, which left him with the nickname of “Mr. 59” for the remainder of the year. That round led to a playoff loss to Weaver in the event – one of six top-10s for Sims on the year.

Lantana Golf Club
Lantana, TX

PALM DESERT, CA

Former UNC Charlotte golfer and eGolf Tour member Trevor Murphy of Scottsdale, AZ grabbed medalist honors at the Classic Club in Palm Desert, CA with rounds of 69-67-67-68—271. Murphy’s 17-under total netted a four-shot win over Donald Constable, and sent the former 49er on to second stage, eyeing perhaps a return to the Web.com Tour, where he has competed over the past few seasons. Current eGolf Tour member Brandon Crick finished at 12-under 276, five shots back of Murphy in a tie for third. The McCook, NE native began the final round in need of a move, and delivered on all fronts with seven birdies in his first nine holes to turn at 29. A bogey at the par-4 10th slowed his momentum somewhat, but the former Nebraska Cornhusker bounced back with birdies on 13 and 14 en route to a final-round 64. All told, five eGolf Tour players advanced to second stage at the Palm Desert site, including six-time West Virginia Open champion David Bradshaw (T5) and 2011 Salisbury Classic runner-up Brad Hopfinger (T8).

Classic Club
Palm Desert, CA