'Unbelievable Decision' - Controversial Weather Ruling Ends PGA Tour Dreams For Players At Second Stage Of Q-School

For any player competing in one of the five events comprising the second stage of PGA Tour Q-School, the goal is clear-cut – finish high enough up the leaderboard to reach the final stage and the chance to earn a PGA Tour card.

One of the five events in the second stage was held at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club in Valdosta, Georgia.

There, the challenge was to finish in the top 15 and ties to make it to the final stage, which will take place between December 11^th and 14^th in Florida.

The event was due to feature 72 holes of stroke play, until poor weather intervened on Friday, suspending play soon after midday.

Such delays are to be expected, particularly as we head into winter; however, rather than resume play once it had passed, it was instead abandoned because of a bylaw, with the leaderboard reverting to the 54-hole score.

Of course, events being reduced to 54 holes from 72 because of inclement weather is hardly unheard of, with recent examples being the 2024 Pebble Beach Pro-Am and this year’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

However, typically, every effort is made to play all four rounds, while the stakes are rarely as potentially life-changing as for those competing at Q-School.

Indeed, the decision to revert to the 54-hole scoreline in Georgia means that the few who had played themselves into contention on the final day instead saw their dreams of ultimately earning a PGA Tour card – or at least securing Korn Ferry Tour status – dashed.

Among them was James Nicholas who, thankfully, had already secured Korn Ferry Tour status for 2026. He had completed 13 holes of his final round before play was suspended, scrambling above the cut line before agonizingly missing out by one once the decision to abandon play had been made.

He aired his frustrations on Instagram, writing: “Well this sucks… Going into Q school you plan for 4 rounds. You play as if you’re going to play 4 rounds and then this happens…The tour cancels round 4 event though most people have played 10+ holes and would easily finish the round that day.”

So, why couldn’t the final round conclude once the inclement weather passed?

That’s down to the aforementioned bylaw. The Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine summarized its verbiage on X, writing: “Play cannot extend an extra day unless at least half the field had finished their rounds – the first group was on the 17th hole, the last on eighth hole.

“Also, play didn't resume after a weather delay to try and get half the field done because those same bylaws prohibit it.”

As far as Nicholas is concerned, that’s not good enough. He continued: “If we knew it would have been 3 rounds we could have played a bit more aggressive down the stretch yesterday. The by laws state that 3 rounds is enough, which to be honest needs to change. I know there’s no perfect system, but surely we can do a better job.”

Others agreed with Nicholas, one being Korn Ferry Tour player Cooper Dossey, who wrote on X: “Unbelievable decision to cancel the 4th round at Dothan 2nd Stage Q School site. Guys pay thousands of dollars to play for their careers and we can’t find a way to fit in 72 holes?”

PGA Tour star Michael Kim also weighed in on the controversy, explaining he’d once been a victim of a similar decision.

He wrote: “I was a rookie on kft with conditional status, at Midland, TX. On a crazy windy Sunday, I went from 27th to 3rd with 2 holes to go. They at first suspended play due to high winds… 2hrs later, the entire day got cancelled and I finished 27th when 25th got you into next week.”

According to Romine, along with Nicholas, Gunnar Broin and Jonathan Brightwell were also above the cut line when play was suspended, before falling beneath it when no further play was allowed.

While there will be disappointment for those players, for others, there is ecstasy.

As Monday Q Info pointed out on X: “Obviously there are couple players in the reverse situation and they are ecstatic.”