Major Manning, Craig Kanada and Joey Lamielle
each fired rounds of seven-under 65 on Wednesday to share the opening-round
lead of the Final Stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School.
Mark Brooks, the 1996 PGA Champion, Bryan DeCorso, Jeff Gallagher, Troy Kelly,
Steve LeBrun and Jason Dufner are knotted in fourth place after first-round
66s.
Each player competes on the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course and Stadium Course
at PGA West three times.
The low-25 scores and ties will earn PGA Tour cards for 2009. The next number
of finishers nearest 50 after the Qualifying Tournament graduates will earn
fully exempt Nationwide Tour cards for 2009 and the remainder of the field
will receive conditional Nationwide Tour status.
Manning, who played college golf at Augusta State, played on the Stadium
Course Wednesday and recorded four birdies and a bogey on the front nine.
He birdied his first four holes on the second nine to get to seven-under par
for the championship. Manning parred his last five for a share of the lead.
Kanada teed it up on the Nicklaus Course and parred his first hole. He caught
fire from there with six consecutive birdies from the second, but dropped a
shot at the par-three eighth.
Kanada, who has been a PGA Tour member, mixed three birdies, including one at
18, and a bogey on the back nine for his 65.
Lamielle, who almost gave up the game before playing in this year's U.S. Open,
was only two-under par through 10 holes, but an eagle at the par-five 11th
vaulted him up the leaderboard.
He closed with three birdies in his last five holes for a share of first.
Oskar Bergman, Matthew Richardson, Brian Stuard, Ted Oh, Jay Williamson, Ryan
Hietala, Erick Justesen, Kent Jones and Bob Heintz are knotted in 10th place
at five-under 67.
Joe Durant (68), Chris Riley (71), Carlos Franco (71), Tommy Gainey (71), Bob
May (72), Notah Begay III (72), Olin Browne (73), John Huston (74) and Jason
Gore (74) highlight the field.
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