PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Ever since his grandfather Arnold Palmer died in 2016, Sam Saunders hasn’t found a replacement to be his swing coach. But anytime his game does go a bit haywire, his first call is to his pal Eric Cole, who had a breakthrough season on the PGA Tour in 2022-23 and has climbed to No. 41 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
“He still likes me to reach out to him and I do,” Saunders said. “He gets me back on track.”
Saunders had Cole as a caddie on the PGA Tour when he played in the big leagues previously and Cole was still battling to find his game on the mini-tours. It’s a role that Cole likely would have reprised this week as Saunders attempts to earn a promotion to the promised land via PGA Tour Qualifying School.
“If he wasn’t on his honeymoon he would’ve done it,” Saunders said. “I was like, ‘Dude, you can’t get divorced two days after you get married.’ He told me at his wedding, ‘Go get one of the five cards this week. My life will be so much better if you are out there with me. Just get it done.’ And, yeah, it would be a dream come true for the two of us to play on the PGA Tour together.”
After a decade of solely awarding varying levels of Korn Ferry Tour membership, final stage of PGA Tour Q-School marks the first time since 2012 that there are PGA Tour cards on the line. Upon conclusion of the 72-hole tournament, which begins on Thursday and will see the field play two 18-hole rounds – at both Dye’s Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass and Sawgrass Country Club – the top five finishers and ties will earn PGA Tour membership for 2024. Once again, the opportunity exists for a player in the field of 165 to go from obscurity to passing “Go” and collecting way more than $200 on the PGA Tour.
“Everyone and his brother are here to give it a try,” said veteran pro Rob Oppenheim, who first played in Q-School in 2001.
“Even if there was one card you’d come because it’s such a cool opportunity,” said Saunders.
Heartache and jubilation will both make an appearance on Sunday. Paul Azinger, the 1984 medalist, once described Q-School as “climbing up a cactus backwards, naked.” Erik Compton, who is in the field this week, said, “It was no place for women or children,” and retired pro Joe Ogilvie may have said it best when he mused, “Shakespeare would have written one hell of a tragedy here.”
It’s a competitive field with 19 Tour winners, veterans trying to improve or regain…
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