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 November 28, 2007 (UPDATED NOV 29) --There are eight pro golfers with Las Vegas golf ties (and one amateur) teeing it up over the next several days in the annual PGA Tour Qualifying School in Florida, and each has a varying degree of experience and status. Combined, the group has four PGA Tour wins and earned well more than $27 million in career PGA Tour earnings (that number climbs to about $30 million if other earnings are factored). Five are former All-Americans at UNLV (Jeremy Anderson, Chris Riley, Skip Kendall, Bill Lunde and Andres Gonzales), two are former Las Vegas high school golf superstars (Scott Piercy and Robert Gamez), and one (Bob May--pictured) is a resident who is still remembered for his duel with Tiger Woods at the PGA Championsip where he lost in a playoff. But all of them are looking to gain status on the 2008 PGA Tour, or improve the status they currently have. Also, current UNLV Rebel sophomore golfer Seung Su-Han is using new rules to attempt to make it through to the PGA Tour. LIVE Q-SCHOOL SCORING ... NOW The event is six rounds and culminates Monday, December 3. For more ...
Robert Gamez, a Clark High School graduate, has three PGA Tour wins and more than $8 million in career earnings including $693,464 in 2007, good for 132nd on the money list. Then there's Skip Kendall who has earned more than $7.6 million in his career, but never won on the PGA Tour, but has a Nationwide Tour win in 2007. And there's Bob May, who has battled back injuries for the last several years, but through it all has earned more than $3.5 million. May has been issued a minor medical exemption for 2008 that will allow him to play in a few tournaments in order to earn enough to continue should he not be successful in Q School. Click now for official Las Vegas golf courses websites  And there is former Ryder Cup player and PGA Tour winner Chris Riley, who has earned more than $8.8 million on the PGA Tour plus won a Nationwide Tour event in 2007. Jeremy Anderson was a member of the 1998 UNLV Golf National Championship team and finished 29th on the 2007 Nationwide Tour money list. He has earned more than $400,000 between the PGA Tour and Nationwide Tour.
On the flip side of the experience level are Andres Gonzales, Bill Lunde and Scott Piercy, players who haven't tasted much success on the biggest tours but have put together solid careers on the mini tours. Lunde dominated the 2007 Butch Harmon Vegas Tour season winning six times and collecting more than $95,000 in total earnings. Piercy has played in several PGA Tour events and also won the Ultimate Game at Las Vegas golf course Wynn Golf and Country Club this past summer, good for a record prize of $2 million that he split with his investment partners. Gonzales has bounced around the lower tours as well. He has earned more than $15,000 in the Nationwide Tour and also finished tied for 8th at the 2006 FRYS.com Open played at Las Vegas golf courses TPC Summerlin and TPC Canyons. The following is a look at the status of Las Vegas golfers on the PGA Tour (PGA) or Nationwide Tour (NT) for 2008. In parentheses is the tour where full exempt status is enjoyed no matter what success occurs at Q School for those players teeing it up there. The players are Michael Putnam (NT), Riley (NT), Craig Barlow (PGA, minor medical exemptions for 2008), Kendall (NT), Anderson (NT), Gamez (NT), Adam Scott (PGA), Chad Campbell (PGA), Ryan Moore (PGA), Charley Hoffman (PGA), Alex Cejka (PGA), Dean WIlson (PGA), and Nick Watney (PGA). According to the Las Vegas Sun, current Rebel Han is using new rules that allow amateurs to attempt to qualify without losing their amateur standing. UNLV Head Coach Dwaine Knight told Las Vegas Sun golf writer Brian Hildebrand that he thinks many college golfers will now try this while still playing college golf.
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