King Kekaulike High School graduate Sam Cyr advanced to the second stage of the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament for the third time on Saturday, finishing in a tie for seventh place in his event at Oak Valley Golf Club in Beaumont, Calif.
Cyr closed with a second consecutive 1-over-par 73, finishing with a four-round total of 2-under 286. He was 3 over on the front nine Saturday after three-putt bogeys on his final two holes before the turn, but ended his round with two birdies and seven pars.
"It wasn't quite perfect, but the back nine, I just tried to take it one shot at a time, and God gave me a lot of grace," the 26-year-old said.
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SAM CYR, advanced to second stage
"I was managing really well. It's Q-School, you have to hit a lot of quality shots. I felt like I struck it really well. It was one of my better weeks of ballstriking. I did a lot of good things. I putted pretty solidly - not exactly up to what I wanted, but for the most part, I'm pretty happy with it."
The top 18 players and ties from Oak Valley, one of 14 first-stage sites, advanced to next month's second stage - that ended up being 19 players, with scores of 290 and better. The top finisher was Seong Lee of Grapevine, Texas, who had a 275 total after closing with a 65, the best score of the week.
Cyr will find out on Tuesday which of the six second-stage locations will be his. Players submit their preferences, and higher first-stage finishes earn priority. Cyr is hoping for Bear Creek Golf Club in Murrieta, Calif., about 65 miles from his San Diego home.
Approximately 156 players will advance from the second stage to the final stage, scheduled for Nov. 28-Dec. 3 at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif. The top 25 players and ties in the last stage will be eligible for PGA Tour membership, and the next 25 and ties will be eligible for membership on the Web.com Tour.
Cyr was eliminated from Q-School in the first stage last year after reaching the second round in 2009 and 2010.
Ranked 995th in the world, he has played in 11 Asian Tour events this year, making nine cuts. His best finish was a tie for ninth in September's Taiwan Masters, and he has earned $39,473, 68th on the tour.
"I feel like I have matured a lot and my golf game has matured a lot," Cyr said.
"I think the whole experience has been great. Traveling to a different county every week, the grasses are different every week, the green speeds are different every week, the courses are different every week."
