Blanks, Delahoussaye earn Tour cards
Kris Blanks spent 10 years in South Carolina, mostly in the Bluffton-Hilton Head Island area, before moving in 2007 to Frederick, Md.
Monday's final round of the rain-delayed PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, aka Q-school, felt almost as long as his time inSouth Carolina.
The 2009 PGA Tour rookie wrapped up his playing exemption for a repeat in 2010, shooting a 2-over-par 74 at Bear Lakes Country Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., to tie for 12th in the 152-player field - well within the top 25 and ties who earned their Tour cards.
"It was a long grind," Blanks said of the final round of the six-day, 108-hole marathon. "I was nervous, pretty nervous the whole day. (Q-school is) everything people say it is."
Blanks, though, had the formula not only to survive, but to thrive. He overcame a horrendous, 5-over 77 first round by shooting rounds of 65-67-69-68 before Monday's finish. His middle rounds included two eagles, 18 birdies and three bogeys. He finished at 12-under.
Blanks was one of two players with S.C. ties to advance, along with Greenville native and former Clemson player Brent Delahoussaye, out of 15 who began play Wednesday. Delahoussaye, tied for 32nd at the start of the final round, shot a 3-under-par 69 for a three-way tie for 23rd at 9-under.
His success kept two other S.C.-based players from making it. Aiken native Kevin Kisner (71) and Charleston resident Bronson La'Cassie (71) were tied for 26th, one shot outside the final cut. Had Delahoussaye shot 70, he would've slipped to a tie for 25th, opening the door for eight more players.
Still, it was a storybook ending for Delahoussaye, who was planning for a January honeymoon. He called his fiancee a few moments after his round to tell her their plans had changed, and he will be playing the PGA Tour in January, starting at the Sony Open - in Hawaii.
"I've been trying for so long (to make the PGA Tour)," Delahoussaye said. "I'm pretty sure she'll be all right with going to Hawaii instead."
Blanks, whose wife worked at Hilton Head's Sea Pines Resort during their time instate, didn't have to worry about close calls. After wrapping up his fifth round, halted Sunday because of darkness, he was tied for fourth and said he contemplated "winning the whole thing.
"I hit it good enough (Monday) to shoot 66 and putted badly enough to shoot 80, so that evens out to 74," he said. "Midway through, I had missed a bunch of short putts, so I played it close to the vest on the back nine and tried not to make any mistakes. I knew I had some wiggle room."
Troy Merritt, the leader from Day One, wrapped up medalist honors with a 3-under 69 to finish at 22-under, a shot ahead of PGA Tour veteran Jeff Maggert.
Former USC player and Beaufort native Mark Anderson made a belated run, shooting a 68 Monday to tie for 34th at 7-under, two shots out of the top 25.
The rest of the S.C. contingent finished well off the pace. Former Clemson player Stephen Poole and ex-USC Aiken All-American Scott Brown shot 73 and 72, respectively, to tie for 48th at 4-under. Both earned exempt status on the 2010 Nationwide Tour, as did Bishopville native and two-time PGA Tour player Tommy "Two Gloves" Gainey, who shot a 69 to tie for 64th (3-under).
Other state players were ex-Wofford player William McGirt (T-90th, 1-over), Greenwood native Emmett Turner (T-108th, 4-over), former USC player Alex Hamilton (T-116th, 5-over), Mount Pleasant's Brian Duncan (T-130th, 7-over) and former Furman player Matt Davidson (T-146th, 14-over).
Eighteen of the original field of 170 withdrew before Monday's play, among them former Clemson star Charles Warren and former USC player Kyle Thompson, both of Greenville.
PGA Q-School
At Bear Lakes Country Club
West Palm Beach, Fla.
Lake Course: 7,439 yards, Par-72
Links Course: 7,392 yards, Par-72
Fully Exempt-PGA Tour
Troy Merritt 67-69-68-67-70-69-410
Jeff Maggert 71-67-68-68-70-67-411
Matt Jones 71-73-66-67-70-66-413
Martin Flores 72-68-69-68-72-65-414
Neal Lancaster 71-68-72-68-69-67-415
Brendon de Jonge 70-68-71-69-71-66-415
Billy Horschel 69-70-67-69-72-69-416
David Lutterus 75-71-68-69-70-64-417
J.P. Hayes 74-67-63-73-69-71-417
Graham Delaet 70-71-64-69-70-73-417
Jay Williamson 68-69-68-69-75-69-418
Chris Wilson 72-74-67-67-71-69-420
Brenden Pappas 72-68-65-73-68-74-420
Kris Blanks 77-65-67-69-68-74-420
Omar Uresti 74-72-65-71-69-70-421
Rickie Fowler 74-68-66-73-70-70-421
Shane Bertsch 71-71-69-75-70-65-421
Joe Ogilvie 73-69-64-72-70-73-421
Brian Stuard 72-73-66-71-68-72-422
Cameron Tringale 70-74-69-73-69-67-422
Michael Connell 71-67-69-71-71-73-422
Chris Riley 71-71-65-71-68-76-422
Spencer Levin 76-68-69-69-70-71-423
Brent Delahoussaye 74-71-66-68-75-69-423
Andrew McLardy 71-67-68-69-71-77-423
Fully Exempt-Nationwide Tour
Julien Trudeau 71-68-73-71-71-70-424
Kevin Kisner 74-70-69-71-69-71-424
Bronson La'Cassie 73-70-70-70-70-71-424
Glen Day 77-69-68-70-71-69-424
Gary Christian 75-69-69-69-69-73-424
Tom Pernice, Jr. 71-71-68-70-70-74-424
Scott Stallings 73-69-66-72-74-70-424
Ken Duke 76-71-70-69-69-69-424
Keegan Bradley 75-74-68-67-69-72-425
Jonathan Kaye 73-69-70-71-69-73-425
Jeff Brehaut 73-69-69-73-72-69-425
Andrew Buckle 69-73-69-69-70-75-425
James Hahn 74-75-68-70-69-69-425
Mark D. Anderson 75-74-69-69-70-68-425
Josh Broadaway 70-69-70-71-68-78-426
Adam Meyer 70-74-67-69-74-72-426
Rick Price 74-69-71-71-69-73-427
Todd Fischer 77-67-67-74-72-70-427
Luke List 74-71-68-72-71-71-427
Ted Brown 71-67-71-70-72-76-427
Chris Baryla 76-69-70-72-70-70-427
Robert Gates 74-72-68-74-67-72-427
Stephen Poole 75-71-68-69-72-73-428
Casey Wittenberg 74-70-68-72-72-72-428
David McKenzie 73-74-68-69-70-74-428
Garrett Osborn 77-70-69-66-73-73-428
J.J. Killeen 76-72-66-71-69-74-428
Andrew Svoboda 74-73-69-69-71-72-428
Chris Kirk 73-71-69-73-75-67-428
Major Manning 74-68-75-69-69-73-428
Jason Gore 74-71-71-70-68-74-428
Dan Buchner 74-74-69-73-71-67-428
Steve Wheatcroft 74-69-73-72-72-68-428
Jess Daley 76-70-74-69-70-69-428
Scott Brown 77-71-68-73-67-72-428
Scott Gutschewski 81-67-72-69-69-70-428
Brendan Steele 79-72-69-69-69-70-428
Matt Weibring 76-70-72-70-70-70-428
Shaun Micheel 76-69-68-70-73-73-429
Ty Harris 69-71-70-74-70-75-429
Rob Oppenheim 72-73-69-67-75-73-429
Barrett Jarosch 73-66-68-72-76-74-429
Dicky Pride 74-71-71-71-71-71-429
Brandt Jobe 73-70-69-76-69-72-429
Mark Hensby 75-70-74-69-70-71-429
Tommy Gainey 75-77-63-73-72-69-429
Nathan Smith 75-72-67-68-72-76-430
Tim Herron 74-70-69-72-74-71-430
Dave Schultz 72-73-68-72-74-71-430
Bobby MacWhinnie 76-74-71-70-70-69-430
Matthew Borchert 76-70-70-73-74-67-430
Joe Affrunti 74-72-71-71-69-73-430
Conditionally Exempt-Nationwide Tour
John Douma 74-75-72-72-71-67-431
Brice Garnett 74-72-68-70-73-74-431
Jesse Hutchins 73-71-70-71-71-75-431
Trevor Murphy 77-72-70-73-73-66-431
Kelly Grunewald 76-70-73-72-70-70-431
David Hearn 78-72-71-70-71-69-431
Jin Park 71-71-74-74-69-72-431
Chris Nallen 78-72-69-71-72-69-431
Mathias Gronberg 74-71-70-74-71-71-431
Kyle Reifers 75-76-71-70-70-70-432
Brady Schnell 73-70-72-73-73-71-432
Patrick Sheehan 75-74-68-71-73-71-432
Phil Tataurangi 78-70-71-73-73-68-433
David Duval 71-73-69-79-72-69-433
William McGirt 78-71-73-70-71-70-433
Hunter Haas 72-72-75-68-73-73-433
Zack Miller 75-71-72-72-73-70-433
Esteban Toledo 76-69-69-73-73-73-433
Travis Bertoni 72-74-70-73-74-70-433
Marco Dawson 72-70-71-75-76-69-433
Jon Mills 78-71-71-72-71-71-434
Martin Piller 73-74-71-73-74-69-434
Arjun Atwal 75-78-68-73-75-65-434
Alan Morin 77-78-68-71-70-70-434
Sung-hoon Kang 81-73-67-69-74-70-434
Chris Kamin 76-75-68-71-72-72-434
Jamie Arnold 79-73-70-70-72-71-435
Dustin Risdon 74-72-71-68-75-75-435
Ted Potter, Jr. 78-73-75-74-71-64-435
Won Joon Lee 75-74-73-67-75-71-435
Nick Beach 75-74-72-71-74-70-436
Emmett Turner 75-75-70-73-72-71-436
Dustin White 74-74-69-76-73-70-436
Hugo Leon 74-70-73-75-74-70-436
Cliff Kresge 78-74-70-73-72-69-436
Darron Stiles 74-69-72-73-76-72-436
Ray Beaufils 79-67-68-75-75-72-436
Tyrone van Aswegen 73-74-69-73-78-69-436
Nick Malinowski 77-73-68-74-74-71-437
Alex Hamilton 78-72-70-73-75-69-437
Bradley Iles 76-72-71-72-75-71-437
Tyler Aldridge 72-71-72-76-71-75-437
Colt Knost 76-75-74-70-73-69-437
Troy Kelly 75-72-69-74-75-72-437
Chris Sessler 76-78-78-64-73-68-437
D.J. Brigman 73-74-72-71-73-74-437
Mark Walker 76-74-70-70-73-74-437
Bret Guetz 73-72-74-73-74-72-438
Ben Bates 74-75-71-76-72-70-438
Rafael Gomez 76-73-73-75-73-68-438
Keoke Cotner 77-76-71-73-74-67-438
Justin Peters 79-77-70-71-71-70-438
Tom Scherrer 75-73-68-76-75-72-439
Blaine Peffley 78-74-69-72-77-69-439
Brian Duncan 73-77-71-73-72-73-439
Skip Kendall 74-75-70-74-74-73-440
Chris Rogers 80-74-72-69-74-71-440
Madalitso Muthiya 78-68-71-75-77-72-441
Steve Holmes 78-72-67-75-77-72-441
Jay McLuen 76-71-72-75-73-74-441
Robert Gwin 76-75-76-71-75-69-442
Nathan Tyler 79-68-76-76-76-68-443
David Robinson 78-69-75-72-77-73-444
Paul Stankowski 82-72-69-74-74-73-444
Aaron Watkins 75-77-72-77-74-69-444
Chris Mundorf 76-74-69-76-76-74-445
Andrew Dresser 78-70-69-78-78-72-445
Jarett Hamamoto 78-71-78-70-77-71-445
Matt Davidson 77-71-70-78-76-74-446
Kevin Fortin-Simard 76-74-81-73-71-72-447
Brett Lederer 78-76-74-71-77-73-449
Grant Leaver 75-81-74-73-82-66-451
Scott Gordon 78-77-73-77-71-75-451
Sunny Kim 72-80-68-79-80-73-452
Daniel Barbetti 77-69-74-79-79-77-455
-------------------
LPGA Q-School
At LPGA International
Daytona Beach, Fla.
Legends Course: 6,452 yards; Par-72
Champions Course: 6,389 yards; Par-72
a-amateur;
x-won playoff for final fully-exempt spot
Fully Exempt
Amanda Blumenherst 72-71-73-67-68-351
Katie Kempter 70-69-73-73-68-353
Marianne Skarpnord 76-66-70-70-71-353
Julieta Granada 72-69-76-70-67-354
Azahara Munoz 69-72-73-72-69-355
Maria Hernandez 73-70-70-72-70-355
Lisa Meldrum 71-70-75-68-71-355
Nicole Jeray 70-70-76-67-72-355
Nicole Hage 74-71-71-72-68-356
Beatriz Recari 79-71-68-68-70-356
Leah Wigger 69-73-70-72-72-356
Mariajo Uribe 75-71-74-68-69-357
Tamie Durdin 75-70-73-69-70-357
Lucy Kim 73-73-73-67-71-357
Iben Tinning 70-74-72-69-73-358
Gwladys Nocera 68-74-79-69-69-359
Tania Elosegui 76-70-70-72-71-359
Liz Janangelo 74-70-74-68-73-359
Pernilla Lindberg 73-73-71-69-73-359
Il Hee Lee 69-76-75-67-73-360
x-Christi Cano 72-74-78-66-70-360
Conditionally Exempt
Sarah-Jane Smith 73-72-77-69-70-361
Paola Moreno 72-73-77-69-70-361
Jamie Hullett 74-71-77-68-71-361
Nanette Hill 73-78-70-69-71-361
Diana D'Alessio 73-72-76-69-71-361
a-Cathryn Bristow 73-71-76-69-72-361
Tanya Dergal 73-70-75-69-74-361
Adrienne White 72-71-71-72-75-361
Gerina Mendoza 77-72-72-70-71-362
Libby Smith 76-71-72-71-72-362
Jessica Shepley 77-70-75-72-69-363
Jeehae Lee 74-71-78-70-70-363
Cindy Lacrosse 77-74-71-70-71-363
Pornanong Phatlum 75-71-73-73-71-363
Jane Chin 73-65-78-76-71-363
Meredith Duncan 72-72-76-71-72-363
Mallory Blackwelder 74-72-74-72-72-364
Lisa Ferrero 74-71-76-70-73-364
Kim Welch 72-75-74-68-75-364
Non-exempt
Kitty Hwang 73-74-75-74-69-365
Aimee Cho 74-75-71-74-71-365
Esther Choe 71-76-76-74-69-366
Briana Vega 80-73-69-75-69-366
Emma Cabrera-Bello 71-72-78-74-71-366
Lauren Doughtie 77-73-72-72-72-366
Ashley Knoll 77-72-72-73-72-366
Angela Oh 79-71-69-75-72-366
Kirby Dreher 74-69-76-75-72-366
Lisa Strom 71-75-74-73-73-366
Kris Tschetter 77-72-69-75-73-366
Dewi Claire Schreefel 71-73-78-70-74-366
Nikki Garrett 67-71-78-71-79-366
Alison Walshe 74-73-78-72-70-367
Yuko Mitsuka 69-75-77-76-70-367
Danah Ford 75-69-76-73-74-367
Sung Ah Yim 71-71-78-71-76-367
Ayaka Kaneko 77-73-73-74-71-368
Christine Song 71-73-79-73-72-368
Ashleigh Simon 75-73-73-74-73-368
Carolina Llano 72-70-82-70-74-368
Nontaya Srisawang 72-74-82-65-75-368
Izzy Beisiegel 74-76-67-73-78-368
Mollie Fankhauser 76-76-71-74-72-369
Charlotte Mayorkas 77-74-72-73-73-369
Virada Nirapathpongporn 74-71-77-71-76-369
Lehua Wise 73-72-77-70-77-369
Carling Coffing 78-72-72-75-73-370
Miriam Nagl 77-72-75-71-75-370
Tiffany Joh 78-75-71-73-74-371
Young-A Yang 75-68-76-75-77-371
Stephanie Connelly 73-75-78-69-77-372
This story was originally published December 7, 2009 at 4:58 PM with the headline "Blanks, Delahoussaye earn Tour cards."