PINE MOUNTAIN, Georgia—Two months ago, Forme Tour officials had an idea. To help save on player travel costs, what if the Tour held four “Monday” qualifiers in one site on consecutive days, only one of the qualifiers actually taking place on Monday?
After securing Callaway Gardens Resorts Mountain View Course for all four qualifiers, that idea came to fruition this week. Players teed it up in typical fashion, beginning Monday, eight spots in the inaugural Forme Tour event—the L&J Golf Championship at Jennings Mill Country Club—up for grabs. On Tuesday morning, many of the same players did the same thing, those in the field vying for the coveted eight available places. Wednesday and Thursday? Lather, rinse and repeat.
“We knew this was an unusual tack to take, but we also understand how expensive it is for players to travel, with rental cars, food and hotels. Although it’s a lot of golf over four consecutive days, we felt this would be a unique way to help the players’ wallets while providing an equitable setup on a quality golf course,” said Greg Carlson, the Forme Tour’s Executive Director who worked closely with Chief Referee Jamie Wiles to see this happen. “We were confident about the decision going into Monday’s first 18-hole qualifier, and now that our week is complete, what transpired over the last 96 hours and 72 holes only solidifies the decision the team made.”
Thirty players otherwise not in the field in the first Forme Tour tournaments qualified—with two players—University of Utah product Mitch Schow and Lipscomb University alum Nolan Ray qualifying twice. Schow had success in the last two qualifiers, earning invites to the Bolingbrook Golf Club Invitational outside Chicago (July 20-23) and the Birck Boilermaker Classic in West Lafayette, Indiana, a week later. Ray, meanwhile, bookended his successes, getting through Monday’s qualifier for next week’s L&J Golf Championship at Jennings Mill Country Club and waiting until Thursday’s shootout to get in the Birck Boilermaker Classic field.
“We witnessed some spectacular play this week, and there was a lot of great golf by players who didn’t qualify. That really shows the depth of talent we have on the Forme Tour,” Carlson added.
Here are the results from the four qualifiers: