Riley Wheeldon came up just short at the PGA Tour qualifying tournament, held Oct. 18-21 at Kannapolis, North Carolina.
The Crown Isle golfer shot a two-under 282 to finish in a three-way tie for 26th place. The top 22 and ties qualified for the second stage. Wheeldon shot 69-74-70-69.
“My first attempt at PGA Tour Qualifying School has come to an end. Unfortunately, I came up two shots short of the number needed to advance. However, I played well enough to know that I am capable of moving on and I will be back to try again, with another year of professional golf under my belt and I plan for a different result," Wheeldon reported.
"I am grateful that I was able to participate in the PGA Tour Qualifying School. The (Club at Irish Creek) was a quality course and a good test. There were some scoreable holes, but there were many holes 'with teeth.' Experiencing the stress and competition of Q-School is valuable for me moving forward," Wheeldon said.
"I will be competing on the NGA Hooters Tour, Winter Series, based in Orlando, Fla. This is a long-running and well-established developmental tour that holds a winter series of 12 tournaments between November 2011 and February 2012. I plan to take lessons learned from this past summer on the Canadian Tour, as well as from this past week at Q-School, along with me this winter and I look forward to seeing some progressive results."
The Hooters Tour lists among its alumni PGA players Lee Janzen, Tom Lehman, Jim Furyk and David Toms.
"I would like to thank the following sponsors for helping make this week possible. Firstly, my major Wheeldon Golf Partners, who are my original investment sponsors and who have been instrumental in helping me kick-start my professional career. As well, the following businesses have stepped up in the past few weeks to add much needed further financial assistance: First Insurance Services, Toscanoes Ristorante, H. Michael Berman Law Firm, A.W. McGarvey Law Firm, Gordon White Law Firm, and Oceanways Agency Ltd.
""My progress can continue to be followed via my website at www.wheeldongolf.ca throughout the winter. Once again, a huge thank you to my investors, sponsors, family, and friends for helping to make this journey possible," Wheeldon said.