Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship

Here is a look at the four players who qualified for the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship. The qualifier was held on March 9 before the COVID break. The last two spots determined in a six-for-two playoff.

QUALIFIERS

Luke Graboyes (68)
Age: 25
College: Cornell
Turned pro: 2017
PGA TOUR starts: 0
Twitter: @lukegraboyes
Notes: Led Cornell in scoring average for three consecutive seasons … Won the Ivy League Championship as a Junior … Won the New Jersey State Open as an amateur in 2017 … Finished in the top five four times as a senior at Cornell … Loves bucket hats … Younger brother Mike attended Cornell with Luke and is also a pro golfer … They teamed up to win the Par 3 Team Championship on the Minor League Golf Tour (MLGT) … Has won nine times on the MLGT … Shot back to back 63’s to win by eight for one of those wins … Finished ninth at the Met Open in New York last month … This will be his first start on any PGA TOUR-sanctioned tour.

Michael Kartrude (69)
Age: 30
College: Palm Beach State University
Turned pro: 2013
PGA TOUR starts: 0
Twitter: N/A
Notes: Didn’t start playing golf until he was in eighth grade … Averaged 54 for nine holes as a high school freshman before breaking par for nine holes in his final High School match for the first time … Started his college career at Warner University and shot 67-70 in his first college start … Made eight career starts on the Mackenzie Tour- PGA TOUR Canada, making two cuts … Successfully Monday qualified for two of those starts … Taught by Golf Channel teaching pro Martin Hall … Currently works as an assistant pro at Bear’s Club in Florida … Birdied the last three holes to win the New Hampshire Open in 2019 … In June won the South Florida Open for the second time (2016) … Won the Fort Lauderdale Open this summer, along with multiple section events … Won five times on the MLGT.

Q & A with Katrude

PGATOUR.COM: You didn’t really pick up the game until the eighth grade, averaged 108 your freshman year but broke par in your last high school match as a senior, what changed?

Kartrude: My dad had basically just taught me the basics before that. You know “keep your head down” stuff like that. I just really worked hard on it after that. I went from a 54 (nine hole) average my freshman year, to a 48 average my sophomore year, to a 42 average my junior year to a 38 my senior year. And in my last match I broke par. My senior year I started working with Martin Hall (Golf Channel teaching pro) and I just really worked hard at it. I still get lessons from him; he is so great.

PGATOUR.COM: You didn’t have many colleges recruiting you. How did you find a school to play for?

Kartrude: I got one offer, from a really small school in Lake Wales, Florida, Warner University. I played there for a year-and-a-half. I had a really good year-and-a-half I shot 67-70 in my first ever college event. Then there were some problems with the program, coach was let go, and the program was in flux, so I came back home to West Palm. I played as many amateur events as I could back home and really just tried to get better that way. I graduated from Palm Beach State University, but they didn’t have a golf team.

PGATOUR.COM: You don’t have a traditional background when it comes to amateur golf, when you turned pro in 2013 what were your goals?

Kartrude: My goal was to get to the PGA TOUR. I knew I did not have the resume some other players did.  Most of those guys have played good junior golf, then went to a big school and went on from there. I did not take that route, but I knew I could do it. In my last amateur event I shot 70-62. That 62 gave me so much confidence. I knew I could shoot a low number and I knew I could compete out there. And I have won some mini-tour events, I’ve won some state opens. I think I have proven I belong; I am fighting just like a lot of those guys for an opportunity. This week might by mine. I just keep practicing and playing. I have put myself in position to have a chance, a lot of players would kill for this opportunity, so I am going to try to take advantage of it.  I love to play tournaments, whether it is a state open, a local event, or mini-tour event. This just happens to be a PGA TOUR event. To have a chance to support a family playing golf is a dream come true.

PGATOUR.COM: You work as an assistant pro. What does a typical week look like for you?  How much are you able to practice?

Kartrude: I work about 45 hours a week at the Nicklaus Academy and do whatever the members need. I fit people with clubs, help with their golf game, support other teaching pros and whatever else our members need. I work between usually eight to four or eight to five. I try to get to the golf course really early and try to get an hour of practice in before I start my day. If I can grab maybe an hour after, then I will do that. If I have some time during the day I might try to sneak in a few putts or a few quick chips. I probably get 15 to 20 hours a week of dedicated practice time, but our head pro has been very supportive, and I couldn’t be happier.

PGATOUR.COM: I assume when the event got delayed it was frustrating, but did it work out in your advantage in the long run as it seems you are playing well right now?

Katrude: I was frustrated at first, I thought I wasn’t going to get my chance to play. I just tried to stay patient as best I could. When they put the schedule out and it was back on, I was thrilled. Then the section called me and told me they were going to honor our spots I was really excited. In March, it’s really busy at the club so I work a ton and wasn’t going to spend a lot of time practicing. So now I’ve had all summer to practice and play events. It’s hard to get ready for your first PGA TOUR event but I’m playing well and really looking forward to it.

Matt Oshrine (70, via 6 for 2 playoff)
Age: 25
College: Duke University
Turned Pro: 2017
PGA TOUR starts: 0
Twitter: @mattoshrine
Notes: Started his college career at Loyola (Maryland) … Named the Patriot League Player of the Year as a sophomore before transferring to Duke … As a senior, he shot eight rounds in the 60s, fifth most in Duke history … Once held the course record for the par-3 course at Pinehurst (The Cradle) with a 21 … In 2017, as an amateur, he shot 61 at second stage of Korn Ferry Q-School.  It was the best round of the week by five strokes and beat the field average by 11 … A Korn Ferry Tour member this year after finishing 113th at Final Stage … Has one win on the MLGT … Birdied nine of 10 holes at a mini tour event last month to finish second.

Gavin Hall (70, via 6 for 2 playoff)
Age: 26
College: University of Texas
Turned Pro: 2017
PGA TOUR starts: 0
Twitter: N/A
Notes: Played in Turning Stone Resort Championship on the PGA TOUR at age 15 and shot 78-71 to miss the cut … Qualified for the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion and was the youngest person in the field at age 18.  He shot 74-77 to miss the cut by three … Had a very successful career at University of Texas, where his career scoring average was 71.89 … Had two career wins while at Texas … Ranked as high as 15th in World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) before turning pro … Has battled numerous injuries since turning pro, including missing several months in 2019 … Has 13 wins on the MLGT in the last 18 months, including a stretch of winning three of four events.

NOTES

NOTABLE MISSES: Sean Jacklin 70, Nick Mason 71, Eric Cole 73, Chase Koepka 74, Ben Silverman 74

STRENGTH OF CORALES PUNTACANA CHAMPIONSHIP MONDAY QUALIFIER
Combined number of PGA TOUR starts: Over 250
Number of players with at least 1 PGA TOUR wins: Zero
Combined number of PGA TOUR wins: Zero
Combined PGA TOUR earnings:  Over 5.7 Million
Combined Korn Ferry Tour wins: Four
Player with most PGA TOUR wins in the field: N/A

COURSE INFO
The Preserve at Ironhorse 6,983 yards 74.4 rating 144 slope

2020-2021 SEASON MONDAY QUALIFIER STATS
Average Medalist score: 64.5
Average last qualifying spot score: 67.5
Total number of cuts made: 2 of 4 (50%)
Most recent results (Safeway Open): Andy Zhang 71st, MJ Daffue 72nd, Shintaro Ban MC, Luke Schniederjans MC
Money earned: $26,664
Best Finish: Andy Zhang 71st, Safeway Open

NEXT MONDAY QUALIFIER
September 28th: Sanderson Farms Championship, Deerfield Golf Club

NOTES FROM OTHER TOURS
19-year-old Canadian Amateur Laurent Desmarchais shot 62-67-67 to win on the Canada Life Series. … MJ Daffue who Monday qualified for the Safeway Open two weeks ago, has made it through eight of his last 13 attempts at Mondays.