Georgia head coach Chris Haack is aware of PGA Tour expertise when he sees it.
Or so he thought.
The legendary Bulldog has seemingly deployed a military to the PGA Tour over the a long time, together with almost a dozen winners, main champions amongst them. However till final Sunday, Haack’s disciples who’d arrived within the huge leagues had all the time accomplished so with at the least one All-America placard hanging on their wall.
The person who simply bucked that pattern is Will Chandler.
Chandler didn’t even sniff All-America honors in 5 years buried on Georgia’s depth chart, and but the 27-year-old Atlanta native shocked the world – nowhere greater than Athens, Georgia – by incomes his PGA Tour card on Sunday on the ultimate stage of PGA Tour Q-Faculty, the place he was one in all six graduates to advance by the grueling qualifying match.
“He’s essentially the most unlikely man I’ve ever had make it to the Tour,” Haack stated. “There’s little question about it.”
That stated, Haack wasn’t completely shocked, including of Chandler: “Most likely additionally one of many hardest staff I’ve ever had.”
Haack’s telephone is crammed with pictures taken by others of Chandler within the wild – or, in Chandler’s case, on a driving vary someplace. Haack remembers one summer time whereas Chandler was nonetheless on the workforce, a buddy was enjoying Cherokee Nation Membership, Chandler’s residence course, and on the way in which to the primary tee, he noticed Chandler on the far facet of the vary, beating balls, and snapped an image to textual content Haack.
When the group putted out on No. 18 some 4 hours later, Haack acquired one other textual content.
Chandler hadn’t moved.
The truth that Chandler acquired so little out of that dedication in school dumbfounded these round him, particularly Haack, who would usually surprise what occurred to that athletic recruit with nice arms who gained a number of occasions on the AJGA. Chandler certified for 20 school tournaments, most as a person, and completed within the backside third of the sphere in 13 of these. He beat simply 28% of his competitors, too.
And his solely two profession top-10s got here in particular person occasions in Puerto Rico.
“I used to be not excellent, to be trustworthy,” Chandler stated. “And enjoying as unhealthy as I did, there have been plenty of occasions the place I’d get discouraged. However I additionally by no means misplaced my love for the sport.”
Chandler turned professional in 2021, the identical summer time as Georgia stars Davis Thompson and Spencer Ralston, however as an alternative of heading to the Korn Ferry Tour or PGA Tour Canada like these guys, Chandler was consigned to the mini-tours, primarily the GPro Tour, the place he’d earn simply sufficient money to maintain going. Chandler earned full standing in Canada two summers in the past, solely to overlook 5 of 9 cuts after which fail to get out of first stage later that 12 months.
However at the beginning of this 12 months, Haack’s telephone began buzzing once more. This time it was rumblings that Chandler had been taking all people’s cash in video games round St. Simons Island, Georgia, the place Chandler lives.
Not lengthy after that, Chandler went on a run, Monday-qualifying for 4 Korn Ferry Tour occasions, the primary coming in April on the Veritex Financial institution Championship. He turned that success into 10 begins, together with a T-2 at The Ascendant in July, and conditional KFT standing for subsequent 12 months by way of his No. 85 end in factors.
Chandler arrived at ultimate stage final week in Ponte Vedra Seashore, Florida, having lastly mastered, with assist from new teacher Mike Lipnick and sports activities psychologist Dr. Mo Pickens, a work-smarter-not-harder strategy. When he bogeyed his ultimate gap on Saturday at Sawgrass Nation Membership, nonetheless capturing 3-under 67 however leaving himself three photographs exterior of the highest 5 and ties, Chandler rapidly headed throughout the road to TPC Sawgrass, the place he’d play the Dye’s Valley Course for Sunday’s ultimate spherical, to stroke a couple of putts and get readjusted to the inexperienced speeds.
That explains a perplexed Chandler that subsequent morning, as he couldn’t get something to drop on the entrance 9, which he performed in 1 over and with out a birdie, his PGA Tour hopes all however dashed for one more 12 months.
Or so he thought.
“I modified balls on the flip and began holing the whole lot,” stated Chandler, who rattled off three birdies in a six-hole stretch earlier than hitting 4-iron to 60 toes on the par-5 sixteenth gap and draining the emphatic eagle putt that launched him again into the hunt.
“I didn’t even know I used to be actually in competition till I made eagle,” Chandler added.
Later that night, Chandler was nonetheless in shock as PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan handed him his bodily card, marking Chandler as one in all 10 Georgia alums who may have full-time standing subsequent season. Ever since these twilight rounds as a child, the place he and his dad, Ricky, would velocity round Cherokee, usually enjoying matches in opposition to one another, Chandler had dreamed of this second. However he admits, “It simply appeared so distant – it appeared so distant even like a month or two in the past.”
Chandler is now proof that any ‘Dawg can, in reality, have his day.
“You all the time simply thought to your self, man, that poor man, he simply works so laborious at it,” Haack stated. “However golf is humorous, and typically it simply clicks, and one thing occurs, and you’ve got that magical second on the again 9 like he did, and subsequent factor you already know you’ve acquired your PGA Tour card.”
For as soon as, Haack is joyful to be fallacious.
