Big day for Lawless, Whalen at PGA qualifying

DAYTON " Marc Lawless and Billy Whalen are batting 1.000.

Both made their first-ever appearance this week at the PGA Stage I Qualifying at Dayton Valley Golf & Country Club, and both played well enough to move on to the next stage.

Twenty-four players advanced to the next stage which is scheduled for November 12-15 and 19-22. It took 7-under-par to advance.

Lawless, who took control of the tournament with a 6-under-par 66 on Wednesday, finished with a 4-under-par 68 Friday for a 22-under-par 266, which tied Jim Rutledge (2003) for the course record at Dayton Valley.

Lawless, who was playing a PGA Qualifier for the first time at Dayton Valley and fourth time overall, carded an eagle, three birdies and a bogey.

"I feel great; ecstatic," said Lawless, who claimed a five-shot victory over James Drew (66-271) and Andres Gonzales (65-271). "It was a great week and I played well. I putted real well. The breaks went my way. It all came together.

"I was a little tentative putting. I was leaving putts short that would have gone in if I'd hit them."

Clayton Rask and Gary Woodland tied for fourth at 16-under 272. Woodland shot a 5-under 67 and Rask carded an even par 72 in the final round. 

Lawless opened with a birdie at No. 3, a par-5. He chipped up close and tapped in after hitting his 6-iron over the green. After a par at No. 4, Lawless chipped in again from about 10 yards to go 2-under for the day. He finished the front side with a 3-under-par 33.

Lawless parred No. 10, and then eagled the par-5 11th to go 4-under-par. A 7-foot birdie putt on the par-4 14th got him to 5-under. A bogey on the par-3 16th dropped him back to 4-under.

While Lawless cruised into the second stage, Whalen needed a 7-under-par 65 to barely squeeze in. He finished at 8-under 280. The 65 tied for the lowest round of the day and tied for second-lowest in the tournament this week.

Whalen, fresh out of Vanderbilt University, had seven birdies and no bogeys.

"I hit it good," Whalen said. "On No. 3, I missed a 5-footer for eagle. I was hitting it good and I tried to stay really positive.

"It (the course) is perfect for me. It set up really well. If you drive it well you can shoot good numbers. You can hit wedge into a lot of holes. It's great to get to the second stage, but my goal is to get to the final stage."

Whalen made the biggest move, jumping from a tie for 32nd into a four-way tie for the 19th.

Whalen wasn't the only golfer to sneak in. Seung-su Han, a senior at UNLV and the defending champion, shot a 1-under-par 71 to finish at 281 along with Corey Prugh, who shot a final-round 68.

Han, who attained partial Nationwide Tour status after reaching the final stage, Qualifying School, last season, chose to come back to school.

Han birdied the 18th thanks to a chip that left him with an easy 5-foot putt.

"I hit a 5-iron (on 18) that I thought went into the water because it kept going," he said. "I was grinding on the back nine. I wanted to go out and play good here. The course fits me."

Veteran Eric Meeks, who has played in qualifiers since 1989 and was at Dayton Valley for the third time, shot a final-round 65 to tie for seventh place at 276.

Meeks has made it to Q school five times, and hopes this will be the year that he makes it all the way. The last time he reached Q school was 2002.

The veteran Las Vegas golfer said improved iron play was the difference in his round. He said his longest birdie putt was 20 feet.

"It's tough to get down in two when you are 40 feet away," Meeks said. "I had a lot of three putts the first few days. I got the ball a little closer and that made it easier."

Former Nevada Wolf Pack and Reno High golfer Carlos Concha shot a final-round 71 and did not advance, finishing in a tie for 48th with a 4-over total of 291

Notes: Forty-two players had rounds under par in the final round and 41 players in the field finished under par for the 72-hole tournament. The field shot a collective average score of 71.85 for the 72-hole tournament... The par 4, 450-yard 9th hole was the most difficult averaging 4.51 strokes. The par 3, 234-yard 16th hole was the second- most difficult averaging 3.26 strokes. The easiest hole was the par 5, 505-yard 3rd hole that yielded 19 eagles, 172 birdies and averaged 4.35 strokes.