Two former UNR golfers advance to second stage of PGA Tour qualifying tourney in Dayton

DAYTON - James Watt and Justin Peters, two former University of Nevada standout golfers, advanced to the second stage of PGA Tour qualifying on Friday at Dayton Valley Country Club after they both finished with an even-par 288.

The two ex-Wolf Pack players, though, didn't make it easy on themselves. Out of 75 golfers, only 23 would advance to the second stage of the Tour qualifying process. 18 players had already made it by turning in scores of a 1-under 287 or better. But there were seven golfers, including Watt and Peters, who ended the four-day event at even par and had to play a sudden death playoff to see which five golfers would join the others in the next stage.

Peters, a resident of Coral Gables, Fla., became the first to qualify after sinking a 10-foot birdie putt on the first hole of the playoff.

"I didn't play that well today," said Peters, who fired a final round 73, "But my plan was to get the playoff over early. I had the same putt on No. 17 and 18 today but missed them. Before the playoff putt, I just asked myself, how many chances am I going to get?"

Watt then was the next player from the group to qualify after his birdie on the second playoff hole. He shot a 1-under 71 on Thursday and Friday to get into the playoff.

"You're so nervous, that you don't even know what's going on." Watt said. "But I was in a playoff here (Dayton Valley) two years ago and won, so that made it a little easier on me."

Watt has made it to the second stage the past two years but has yet to advance to the final stage.

"That's my goal this year," Watt said.

Dayton Valley has hosted the event for the past six years and is one of 10 venues from around the country that host the first stage of qualifying. The Arnold Palmer designed course will again host the event next year. The second stage is then held at six different sites. And from there looms the final stage, which determines which players get an exempt PGA Tour card for the upcoming year.

Current Tour players Casey Martin, Notay Begay III, and Bob May have gone through the first stage at Dayton Valley, offering proof that some golfers do make it. To get started, each golfer pays a $4,000 entrance fee. If they fail to qualify at any stage, their money is gone and must pay another $4,000 the following year, if they want another shot at making the Tour.

"Getting your Tour card is probably the hardest thing to do in professional sports," said Jim Kepler, the director of golf at Dayton Valley. "You have some really great players that might not ever make it."

Jeremy Anderson, a former three-time All-American at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, posted the week's best score with a 14-under 274. Stephen Allan, a current pro on the European Tour, and Bobby Elliot both finished with an 11-under 277.

Bob Leist, the head pro at Sierra Sage G.C. in Reno, finished with an 11-over 299 and failed to qualify.