Five players earned PGA Tour cards in the final stage of PGA Tour Q-school on Monday, including Hayden Springer, who played with the memories of his 3-year-old daughter, Sage, who died last month.
Springer finished in a tie for fourth place at 8 under par, which earned him one of five PGA Tour cards handed out in the nerve-racking four-day event that was postponed until Monday due to rain in north Florida.
What a moment for Hayden Springer ❤️
On Nov. 13, his 3-year-old daughter, Sage, passed away after battling Trisomy 18.
Just a month later, Springer is headed to the PGA TOUR. https://t.co/QcdmHajA33 pic.twitter.com/lNObh2M2lk
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 18, 2023
Harrison Endycott was the medalist with a 15-under total of 265, earning $50,000. Trace Crowe (11 under), Blaine Hale Jr. (9 under) and Raul Pereda (8 under) also earned promotions to the PGA Tour.
Springer’s daughter was diagnosed with Trisomy 18, a developmental disorder stemming from an extra chromosome. Sage wasn’t expected to leave the hospital after being born but survived for three years before dying on Nov. 13. Springer and his wife, Emma, also have a 1-year-old daughter.
Springer, who was the No. 1 finisher in the PGA Tour Canada’s Fortinet Cup standings, already had earned a Korn Ferry Tour card. After shooting 69 on Monday on the TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley course, the 26-year-old who played collegiately at Texas Christian University now will be fully exempt on the PGA Tour.
“I thought of her a handful of times,” Springer said of Sage, according to NBC Sports. “It’s an interesting kind of thing mentally thinking about her when you’re trying to play and there’s pressure and all of that because it is emotional. But it’s happy thoughts. It’s kind of one of those things that I think about her, and I just think about her smile. Like that’s the thing that I can just close my eyes and think about her smiling, and it’s kind of a grounding, kind of gets you back to neutral.
“Not thinking about golf, not thinking about the last shot, the next shot, just thinking about her and her smile.”
Endycott, from Australia, has played in 33 PGA Tour events, including one top-10 finish (2022 Butterfield Bermuda Championship). He was 129th in last year’s FedExCup standings. He shot 67 on Monday.
Crowe is 234th in the world rankings and has played in three PGA Tour events. He also shot 67 on Monday.
Hale, who played at Oklahoma, has played in one PGA Tour event in his career. He shot 71.
Pereda, from Mexico and Jacksonville State, shot 69. He has also played in one PGA Tour event.
The PGA Tour restored Q-school this year for the first time since 2012. It had gone away from the meritocratic system when it switched to a wraparound season in 2013, and the only direct path to the big leagues had been through the Korn Ferry Tour.
