Unranked amateur Anders Larson Monday qualifies for PGA Tour John Deere Classic

7/3/2023 | by Pete Wlodkowski of AmateurGolf.com

Anders Larson (Minnesota Golf photo)

The Minnesota native who attends Tennessee Tech birdied his last five holes for a 7-under 65 at Pinnacle CC

Getting into PGA Tour events via Monday qualifying is a tough way to make a living. But if you're a sophomore in college that has yet to finish high enough in an amateur tournament to earn world rankings points, just give it a go and see what happens. What happened, in the case of Anders Larson of Minnesota, is that he drew the first tee time at Pinnacle Country Club in Illinois and put his hard-earned amateur entry fee to work by making birdies on his last five holes. Larson had to wait through lunch, and maybe another meal, to see what the final groups posted in the two-wave field that saw the last tee time go off just shy of 1:00 pm. He was well finished by then. "Those were the longest six or six-and-a-half hours of my life,” Larson told the Post Bulletin. “I was hitting balls, putting, sitting around, eating. But it was all worth the wait.” As the players bunched at 6-under hoped for a 4-for-1 playoff, Larson sat T2 and that's where he finished, even when one more player came in and knocked all the 6 -under players out. That's right, you need a 7-under round to get into the event. 6-under looked like the number where another one of the legendary playoffs documented by the Twitter page Monday Q Info (give them a follow if you don't already) would take place. But in this case, no playoff. But one of the players at 6-under could take consolation from a rarely seen occurrence in the game - an Albatross. Aldrich Potgieter of South Africa, the second-youngest champion in the 127-year history of the British Amateur at 17, is known for his prodigious length. Today's drive for an ace on the 345-yard dogleg right Par 4 17th will only add to the lore, as most players in the field wouldn't 't think of pulling off such a shot. (It almost got him in, but he needed a birdie on No. 18, as it turned out.) Potgieter made the cut at last month’s U.S. Open, where he was exempt from his British Amateur win. There he averaged more than 190 mph ball speed, leading the field most, if not all, days. Gordon Sargent of Vanderbilt got all the "long ball" talk, but Potgieter outdid him. The following week, Potgieter quietly turned pro, and competed on a sponsor's exemption at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Compliance Solutions Championship, finishing T35.

About the PGA Tour John Deere Classic Monday Q

18-hole stroke play qualifier open to PGA Tour, Korn Ferry Tour, Champions Tour, and PGA Tour Canada/China/Latinoamerica professionals, as well as professionals and amateurs who have advanced through 18-hole pre-qualifying held the week prior.

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