Manchester’s Langley qualifies for the PGA Tour

Manchester native Scott Langley has the day job he has always wanted — the PGA Tour.

The Parkway South and Illinois graduate qualified for the PGA Tour on Monday (Dec. 3).

Langley shoot a four-under-par 68 in the sixth and final round of the PGA Tour qualifying tournament at the 7,300-yard, par-72 TPC Stadium Course.

Langley birdied the par-4 second hole and added two more birdies on the par-5 fifth and par-3 sixth before bogeying the par-4 seventh hole. He ended up 2 under on the front nine and started the back nine strong with birdies on 11 and 12. Langley then managed to keep a steady hand, carding six straight pars to finish the round at  4 under and the tournament at 19 under.

“To get this one is extra special, knowing that next year guys won’t have this opportunity,” said Langley to the Associated Press after the tournament.
Langley is one of 25 players who earned cards in the final edition of this six-round tournament that offers a ticket to the richest tour in golf.

The PGA Tour next year will end a half-century of tradition when Q-school will only provide cards to the secondary Web.com Tour.

The PGA Tour is changing its structure to make it more competitive than ever. The players who failed to reach the FedEx Cup playoffs will meet in a series of four tournaments called “The Finals,” and the 25 players who earn the most money from those events will get their cards

That was on the mind of so many players who sweated out six days over two golf courses at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif.

Langley finished in a tie for 17th place and won $25,000. He shot 413 for his six rounds. His scores were 72-69-69-69-66-68.

In 2012, Langley played in four PGA events and made the cut in three tournaments. He earned $82,630. He played in three Web.com Tour events last summer and made the cut in two, winning $6,973.

Langley was the NCAA individual champion in 2010, Illinois’ first medalist at the NCAA Championships, and was a three-time All-American from 2009-11. He was the Big Ten Player of the Year in 2010 and the conference’s Freshman of the Year in 2008.

Langley also broke Illinois’ career stoke average record, which had been held by PGA pro Steve Stricker since 1989, with a 72.50.  Langley broke Illinois’ single-season stroke average records with a 71.37 in 2009-10, before Guthrie posted a 71.36 in 2010-11 and a 71.19 in 2011-12.

The 2013 PGA Tour schedule begins with the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, Hawaii, Dec. 31-Jan. 7. The Golf Channel will provide television coverage.