PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Raul Pereda wasn’t just playing for himself in the final round of PGA Tour Q-School, presented by Korn Ferry.
It was Para Mexico.
And por la familia.
Pereda, a 27-year-old Jacksonville University graduate, may win some tournaments on the PGA Tour. He may realize every kid’s dream of winning a major or a Players Championship.
But he’d be hard-pressed to come up with another back-nine rally like Monday’s finish at the TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley.
Pereda came from one shot outside the threshold to earn a PGA Tour card for the 2024 season to be able to absorb a closing bogey and still proudly hold one of five cards awarded at the end of the 72-hole qualifier in which the players were hit with everything Mother Nature had to offer, further exacerbating the jangled nerves and rumbling stomachs that come with the pressure of trying to reach the Tour.
Pereda chipped in twice for birdie at Nos. 10 and 13, then birdied the par-5 16th hole and willed a gutty 5-foot putt into the hole for par at the beastly par-4 17th hole to finish with a 69 and a four-round total of 8-under 272, tying for fourth with Hayden Springer (69) to hit the exact number they needed to finish among the top-five and earn a Tour card.
Pereda brings Mexico back to the Tour
Harrison Endycott of Australia is the medalist at 15-under 265, former Auburn golfer Trace Crowe (67) finished second at 11-under and former Oklahoma golfer Blaine Hale Jr. (71) finished third at 9-under. It was just those five who earned Tour cards.
But Pereda carried more banners than a Medieval festival: he became the third JU player to reach the PGA Tour, following Donnie Hammond and Russell Knox, and he realized a goal of once again giving Mexico representation on the PGA Tour.
After Pereda shot 66 in the third round at Sawgrass to get within the top five, he spoke of what Mexican professionals Abrahan Ancer and Carlos Ortiz, now playing for LIV Golf, meant to him.
Pereda didn’t question their LIV decisions and he appreciated the help they had given him.
But he said his primary motivation during the qualifying process has been all about country and knew he had the right stuff for the PGA Tour since last season when he contended in the early rounds of the World Golf Championship Mexico Open and holed a 249-yard shot for an eagle, the longest hole-out of the PGA Tour season.
“I need to get Mexico back on the PGA Tour,”…
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