Michigan Golf Journal January 2018

C areer amateur Tom Werkmeister turned a golfer’s pipe dream into reality when he finished tied for 23rd in the PGA Tour Champions Q-School in Scottsdale, AZ, by shooting a 5-under in the final round in early December to finish at 8-under overall. His best round of the four day tournament allowed Werkmeister, a Warren native who makes his home in Grandville, to jump up 16 spots and into the ranks of conditional status on the professional tour for age 50-plus golfers. The top-five finishers earned full-time status, while 6th-30th place earned automatic entry into all Monday qualifiers of the events on the PGA Tour Champions circuit. “Obviously I had goals and thoughts of finishing in the top 5 (at Q-School) but the reality is this is kind of an unknown,” Werkmeister said. “I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know where I fit in. I didn’t know if I was good enough. “I had a good feeling going into the back 9, but the bad thing was we finished in an hour and a half and had a 30-muinute wait to tee off on No. 1, our second nine,” Werkmeister said. “I had just birdied 17 and 18 and had the momentum going, so that wait was just a buzz- kill. I salvaged a couple pars with some good putts, so just kind of coasted in on the second nine. “It was a well-timed good round,” he added about the 5-under score. “It’s just going to build confidence for me down the road, getting backed up against a wall and forced to play good and I came through. It should do nothing but good for me.” TOM WERKMEISTER MAKES JUMP TO PRO TOUR TOM GILLIS ALSO HEADING TO PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS IN 2018 _____________________________________________ By Tom Lang Michigan News