David Carey’s hopes of a dream week and becoming one of five players from the 174-man field to earn a full PGA Tour card at Q-School Final Stage were on life support after an opening round of 77 at Dye’s Valley Course in Ponte Vedra, Florida, and a second-round 74 at the adjacent Sawgrass Country Club leaves him in 167th place.
The highlight of the day for the Dubliner came on the par-5 fourth where he made an eagle-three, but a bogey, double bogey finish leaves him on 11-over-par after the first 36 holes.
With two more rounds to complete, even a top 40 finish that would bring elevated Korn Ferry Tour status appears out of reach, but he’ll still start 2026 with conditional status on the PGA Tour’s official feeder tour and will have PGA Tour Americas – the third tier – status as well, so he will still reap benefits from getting to Final Stage.
Five players – Americans Trevor Cone, John Pak, and Michael Feagles, along with Canadian A.J. Ewart and Japan’s Kota Kaneko – share the lead at -7, with a further eight that includes longtime PGA Tour stalwart Camilo Villegas and former PGA Tour winner Adam Svensson one shot off the lead at -6.
Carey will return to Dye’s Valley for round three with nothing to lose and, though it’s an extreme longshot, with everything to gain.
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