Santee, California— After 54-holes at Carlton Oaks Golf Club, Nathan Jeansonne heads into the final round of the third Mackenzie Tour Q-School of the season as the only player with three sub-60 numbers to his name, carding a third-round 69 to enter the final round tied with Preston Valder at 10-under.
“I got off to a bit of a rough start on the front,” said the Louisiana State University senior following his five-birdie, two-bogey day. “I made a 10-footer on 10 for par to get me going and hit some good shots down the stretch to play the final-four holes 3-under.”
Jeansonne, who claimed LSU’s annual collegiate event, The Tiger Classic, in 2017, is one of seven amateurs within the top-10 looking to earn membership on the Mackenzie Tour.
“Tomorrow is going to just be the same as it’s been the whole week; stay steady and when you get a good yardage, go for it,” said the No. 315 ranked amateur in the world. “If it’s windy, then pars are going to be good.”
Following Friday’s action, Jeansonne will head to Texas A&M alongside his Tiger teammates before finishing the year with the SEC Championship and the post-season which – Jeansonne hopes – will be followed by a trip northwest for the Mackenzie Tour’s opening BC Golf Swing.
Locked with Jeansonne at the top of the leaderboard, Preston Valder looks to earn Mackenzie Tour status once again after failing to retain his card in 2017.
Key Information
- Vanderbilt teammates William Gordon and Patrick Martin continue to find success in California, with Gordon pulling ahead after a Thursday 69 that hoists him into a tie for third place. Martin, meanwhile, folds into a tie for eighth after firing a 73 that included an eagle on hole No. 15.
- Alex Chiarella showed all the signs of a professional in his first season on the Mackenzie Tour in 2018, making three cuts in four events. Despite three top-30 finishes, which included an opening-round 65 at the Players Cup, Chiarella finished in spot no. 95 on the Order of Merit. The Hawaiian will be among the final players to finish on Friday, firing a third-round 68 to move into a tie for third.
- Sebastian Crampton earned himself the luxury of a pedestrian third round due to his 66-69 start to the event. Despite a third-round 74, Crampton is still within three-strokes of the lead and in sole possession of fifth place.
- Chad Cox, who participated in the AJGA’s Wyndham Cup in 2011, going 2-1 in match play, defeating Mackenzie Tour member Jonathan Garrick the final day, played his third-consecutive round under par, firing a 70 to head into the final round T13.
- Battling back from an opening-round 81, Riley Elmes, a senior at Loyola Marymount, shot 72 in round two and continued his strong play with a bogey-free 67 on Thursday to head into the final round T40.
- Ryan Ellerbrock, who made 21 starts on PGA TOUR Latinoamerica since 2013, has played the past two rounds 5-under par after opening with a 74. The Point Loma Nazarene alum heads into the final round T8.
- Oklahoma State standout Hayden Wood wasn’t having his best day on Thursday, and after making bogey on 14, was 2-over for the afternoon. The amateur then proceeded to go eagle-birdie-birdie-par to finish at 2-under, righting the ship to head into Friday tied for sixth.
Quotable
“I played some good holes on the front, but also made some sloppy errors. On the back, I just played a really clean nine and made some putts. I’ve been hitting it close all week but just got some putts to fall and limited the bogeys on the back nine today.” – William Gordon
“I think, especially this year, there is a good crop of college players coming up. You see these guys for four years and see these guys develop, everybody has a pretty good idea of where they stand and how to get better, so it’s good to see the young guys playing well.” – William Gordon
“Patrick (Martin) and I lived together our first three years of school and are best friends, we’re always pulling for each other and we’ve got one day left, so hopefully we can both get it done.” – William Gordon On teammate Patrick Martin’s position on the leaderboard
“I haven’t played my best golf yet this week, so I think it’ll be about getting better every day and making sure tomorrow is the best day of the week.” – William Gordon
“I hit the ball a lot better today and made it easy on myself, it was a clean card with six birdies and two bogeys, I just played solid today.” – Alex Chiarella
“Yesterday was really scrappy and I hit it all over the place, but I managed my short game and hit a lot of good putts to keep myself in there. Today I hit a lot more fairways and a lot more greens to make it easier on myself and then some putts dropped as well.” – Alex Chiarella
“I hit some balls after my round yesterday and it was more of a commitment and a confidence sort of deal with my full swing. I got it ironed out and hit a lot more committed shots today.” – Alex Chiarella
“I putt really well today; my caddie PJ (Samiere) plays out here a bunch, so we got the reads down well. I’d like to try to win the tournament and get the full exemption spot, but I’ll stick to my game plan, this course can get to you quickly, so I’ll try to hit a lot of greens and see what happens.” – Alex Chiarella
How the Tournament Works
There are 120 players competing this week with hopes of earning Mackenzie Tour membership for the 2019 season. Below is a breakdown of the status available at each of the six Qualifying Tournaments:
| Finish Position | Status |
| Medalist | Exempt for the 2019 season |
| 2nd through 14th (no ties) | Fully exempt for the first six tournaments and subject to the re-shuffle |
| 15th through 40th (plus ties) | Conditionally exempt |
First-Round Weather: Sunny. High of 22. Wind at 15 KPH.