SE: ‘I Don’t Want to Leave:’ Gandon Gets Taste of PGA Tour at Houston Open
Oct 15, 2019 | Men's Golf, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
Driving on I-45 North in Texas, recent K-State men's golf graduate Jeremy Gandon did not want to leave where he was just at. Not the location, precisely, but instead the level of golf he tasted last weekend in Houston.
Gandon made the cut in his first PGA Tour event, the Houston Open, where finished tied for 66th with a 2-over par 290. It was not the exact result the former Wildcat (2015-19) wanted, especially after firing a 4-under par 68 in the opening round. It was the type of experience he's worked hard to earn, however.
"It was great. I don't want to leave," Gandon said, laughing, while driving back to Fort Worth on Sunday. "I want to play on the PGA (Tour)."
This weekend introduced Gandon to the game's top tour. He earned the opportunity after firing a 5-under par 67 and winning a five-man playoff with a chip in for eagle in a local qualifier last Monday.
Gandon said it was a "little tough to fall asleep" that night, but he felt like he handled the emotions and pressure well when Thursday's first round arrived. He finished it with three birdies and an eagle en route to a spot inside the leaderboard's top 20.
"I definitely felt (the nerves in) the second round," Gandon said, "because I was playing the afternoon and there were more people following."
On the course's final three holes, Gandon said there were more people than he had ever played in front of before. Hole 16, he said, is set up to create an atmosphere like that of the Phoenix Open, with loud crowds that encourage caddies to race down the fairway.
"They bet on it. That was kind of funny," he said. "It was the first time playing in front of that many people, so it was definitely impressive."
While not thrilled with his finish, Gandon soaked up the opportunity to play against some of the best. His practice round partners included Roberto Castro, who's played in 178 PGA Tour events, and Bill Haas, the 2011 FedEx Cup winner.
"That kind of set me up and gave me good vibes," Gandon said.
Gandon also got the chance to chat with former Wildcat Robert Streb, who finished tied for 28th.
"We talked for like five, 10 minutes," he said. "Just kind of K-State stuff."
Both sported K-State gear during the weekend. Gandon, however, was limited in how much purple he could wear as he said all his K-State polos were dirty from earlier in the week. He joked he should have drove over to the Big 12 Match Play Tournament in nearby-Hockley, where K-State's men broke out for a third-place finish.
"I should have just went there and grabbed some stuff," Gandon laughed. "I had some headcovers that were K-State and the yardage book, so I still show off the 'Cats a little bit."
Like Streb has done, Gandon's trying to work his way up the golf circuit ladder to the top rung: the PGA Tour. And like Streb has said before, Gandon this season helped him realize how much his time at K-State prepared him for this journey.
"In terms of my game level right now, I don't see how I could be where I am without college and four years at K-State," Gandon said of K-State. "It teaches you, with school and everything going on, to manage your time and find time to practice and get better. Now that I get plenty of time, looking back at where I was a year ago, it's way easier to go out there and practice. A year ago, I was practicing and then I would go study for a test. It makes you more (disciplined)."
It's that discipline that helped Gandon earn a sample of the PGA Tour. Eight- to 10-hour days became a norm for the French native. They paid off last weekend, as Gandon made it slightly less difficult to get into more PGA Tour events.
By making the cut at the Houston Open, where Gandon finished ahead of the likes of PGA Tour notables like Henrik Stenson, Jason Dufner, Keegan Bradley and Jason Walker, he earned an exemption from pre-qualifying tournaments to get into Monday qualifiers like the one he won last week.
"It makes it a little easier," he said of future PGA Tour possibilities.
There are other avenues to the PGA Tour, too.
This summer, Gandon traveled across Canada to play in the PGA-sponsored Mackenzie Tour. It has produced several PGA Tour regulars, and Gandon found out why in his first professional season.
"It was a really good experience and a good first step into pro golf and what the PGA Tour's like. There's a lot of good players on (the Mackenzie) Tour and a lot of them make the PGA Tour in a couple years," he said. "It's very competitive. It teaches you just to play better. Obviously, there are really good players in college golf but it's just a step up from it and teaches you to be consistent for four rounds in a row.
"In that tour, it's unforgiving because if you're not shooting 10 under, you're not going to make the top 20."
Gandon made the cut in six of the 11 Mackenzie Tour events. His top two finishes were a tie for 19th at the Canada Life Open and tied for 11th at the Osprey Valley Open. Down the stretch, he made cuts in three of his last four events. Gandon finished the season 64th on the tour's money list, a disappointing placement, he said, because the top 60 players earned their Mackenzie Tour card for the 2020 season.
Still, Gandon has bigger goals and opportunities ahead this year. Namely, the Second Stage of the Korn Ferry Tour's Qualifying Tournament.
He advanced from the First Stage with a 6-under par 282 to tie for 18th at the Woodlands Country Club in Texas. Gandon, who will find out his Second Stage location this week, said he's prepared for a tough challenge to make it to the Finals in December in Florida, where the 45 top finishers (and ties) will earn starts in the 2020 Korn Ferry Tour season.
"That's definitely going to be the main goal now," Gandon said, "trying to focus on the Q school and hopefully start the season on the Korn Ferry next year."
Driving on I-45 North in Texas, recent K-State men's golf graduate Jeremy Gandon did not want to leave where he was just at. Not the location, precisely, but instead the level of golf he tasted last weekend in Houston.
Gandon made the cut in his first PGA Tour event, the Houston Open, where finished tied for 66th with a 2-over par 290. It was not the exact result the former Wildcat (2015-19) wanted, especially after firing a 4-under par 68 in the opening round. It was the type of experience he's worked hard to earn, however.
"It was great. I don't want to leave," Gandon said, laughing, while driving back to Fort Worth on Sunday. "I want to play on the PGA (Tour)."
This weekend introduced Gandon to the game's top tour. He earned the opportunity after firing a 5-under par 67 and winning a five-man playoff with a chip in for eagle in a local qualifier last Monday.
Gandon said it was a "little tough to fall asleep" that night, but he felt like he handled the emotions and pressure well when Thursday's first round arrived. He finished it with three birdies and an eagle en route to a spot inside the leaderboard's top 20.
"I definitely felt (the nerves in) the second round," Gandon said, "because I was playing the afternoon and there were more people following."
On the course's final three holes, Gandon said there were more people than he had ever played in front of before. Hole 16, he said, is set up to create an atmosphere like that of the Phoenix Open, with loud crowds that encourage caddies to race down the fairway.
"They bet on it. That was kind of funny," he said. "It was the first time playing in front of that many people, so it was definitely impressive."
While not thrilled with his finish, Gandon soaked up the opportunity to play against some of the best. His practice round partners included Roberto Castro, who's played in 178 PGA Tour events, and Bill Haas, the 2011 FedEx Cup winner.
"That kind of set me up and gave me good vibes," Gandon said.
Gandon also got the chance to chat with former Wildcat Robert Streb, who finished tied for 28th.
"We talked for like five, 10 minutes," he said. "Just kind of K-State stuff."
Both sported K-State gear during the weekend. Gandon, however, was limited in how much purple he could wear as he said all his K-State polos were dirty from earlier in the week. He joked he should have drove over to the Big 12 Match Play Tournament in nearby-Hockley, where K-State's men broke out for a third-place finish.
"I should have just went there and grabbed some stuff," Gandon laughed. "I had some headcovers that were K-State and the yardage book, so I still show off the 'Cats a little bit."
Like Streb has done, Gandon's trying to work his way up the golf circuit ladder to the top rung: the PGA Tour. And like Streb has said before, Gandon this season helped him realize how much his time at K-State prepared him for this journey.
"In terms of my game level right now, I don't see how I could be where I am without college and four years at K-State," Gandon said of K-State. "It teaches you, with school and everything going on, to manage your time and find time to practice and get better. Now that I get plenty of time, looking back at where I was a year ago, it's way easier to go out there and practice. A year ago, I was practicing and then I would go study for a test. It makes you more (disciplined)."
It's that discipline that helped Gandon earn a sample of the PGA Tour. Eight- to 10-hour days became a norm for the French native. They paid off last weekend, as Gandon made it slightly less difficult to get into more PGA Tour events.
By making the cut at the Houston Open, where Gandon finished ahead of the likes of PGA Tour notables like Henrik Stenson, Jason Dufner, Keegan Bradley and Jason Walker, he earned an exemption from pre-qualifying tournaments to get into Monday qualifiers like the one he won last week.
"It makes it a little easier," he said of future PGA Tour possibilities.
There are other avenues to the PGA Tour, too.
This summer, Gandon traveled across Canada to play in the PGA-sponsored Mackenzie Tour. It has produced several PGA Tour regulars, and Gandon found out why in his first professional season.
"It was a really good experience and a good first step into pro golf and what the PGA Tour's like. There's a lot of good players on (the Mackenzie) Tour and a lot of them make the PGA Tour in a couple years," he said. "It's very competitive. It teaches you just to play better. Obviously, there are really good players in college golf but it's just a step up from it and teaches you to be consistent for four rounds in a row.
"In that tour, it's unforgiving because if you're not shooting 10 under, you're not going to make the top 20."
Gandon made the cut in six of the 11 Mackenzie Tour events. His top two finishes were a tie for 19th at the Canada Life Open and tied for 11th at the Osprey Valley Open. Down the stretch, he made cuts in three of his last four events. Gandon finished the season 64th on the tour's money list, a disappointing placement, he said, because the top 60 players earned their Mackenzie Tour card for the 2020 season.
Still, Gandon has bigger goals and opportunities ahead this year. Namely, the Second Stage of the Korn Ferry Tour's Qualifying Tournament.
He advanced from the First Stage with a 6-under par 282 to tie for 18th at the Woodlands Country Club in Texas. Gandon, who will find out his Second Stage location this week, said he's prepared for a tough challenge to make it to the Finals in December in Florida, where the 45 top finishers (and ties) will earn starts in the 2020 Korn Ferry Tour season.
"That's definitely going to be the main goal now," Gandon said, "trying to focus on the Q school and hopefully start the season on the Korn Ferry next year."
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