Quebecer Étienne Papineau played the most important rounds of golf of his life this weekend, ensuring he will play at least eight tournaments in 2024 on the Korn Ferry Tour, the antechamber of the PGA.
The Final Stage tournament in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida had several golfers dreaming of the best golf course in the world, but only five of them were able to qualify automatically.
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The 27-year-old Papineau was well off target with 279 total shots fired (-1) on Monday, good for 38th place, except his presence in the top 45 gave him a nice Christmas present. The native of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu received access to the first eight tournaments of the season in the PGA's “school club”. This means he can apply for more attractive scholarships and fight to reach the next level.
If he has a good season, Papineau could aim for a PGA card. To do this, he has to finish in the top 30 in the final rankings of the Korn Ferry Tour.
The player, who has been playing professionally since 2022, notably won the Royal Beach Open in Victoria on the Canadian PGA Tour last June. It was his first career win.
The fourth round of the qualifying tournament was scheduled to take place on Sunday, but heavy rain forced organizers to postpone it until Monday.