| PGA TOUR Canada Q-School |
| Pos. | Name | Scores |
| 1 | Steven Setterstrom (U.S.) | 34-32—66 (-6) |
| T2 | Chandler Eaton (U.S.) | 33-34—67 (-5) |
| T2 | a-Mark Goetz (U.S.) | 33-34—67 (-5) |
| T4 | Guillaume Fanonnel (France) | 35-33—68 (-4) |
| T4 | Ian Martin (U.S.) | 33-35—68 (-4) |
| T4 | Nolan Ray (U.S.) | 35-33—68 (-4) |
| T7 | a-Hunter Wolcott (U.S.) | 35-34—69 (-3) |
| T7 | Wilson Furr (U.S.) | 33-36—69 (-3) |
| T7 | Chip McDaniel (U.S.) | 36-33—69 (-3) |
| T7 | Kyle Mueller (U.S.) | 34-35—69 (-3) |
| T7 | Ben Wong (China) | 35-34—69 (-3) |
| T7 | Eric Flockhart (Canada) | 35-34—69 (-3) |
| T7 | a-Blain Turner (U.S.) | 34-35—69 (-3) |
| T7 | Matthew Short (U.S.) | 33-36—69 (-3) |
DOTHAN, Alabama — Among the players who finished their first rounds at the PGA TOUR Canada Qualifying Tournament East No. 3, Steven Setterstrom was the star of the day, firing a 6-under 66 in something of a home game at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Highland Oaks. The former Alabama golfer grew up and continues to live in Mobile, Alabama, 200 miles from where he put together his bogey-free afternoon. Setterstrom holds a one-shot lead over amateur Mark Goetz and Chandler Eaton, with a trio of players two strokes behind.
Play ended for the day at 5:46 due to darkness. Twenty-seven players were unable to complete their first rounds. First-round play will resume Wednesday morning at 6:30.
“It was probably the best ball-striking round I’ve had in a long time. I only had a couple of putts outside 15 feet,” said Setterstrom with a smile. “It could have been lower. I burned the edge a lot, but I’ll take 6-under because my history here has not been very good.
“It was a simple day, really. Very easy,” he continued.
Setterstrom made his birdies on Nos. 6, 7, 11, 13, 14 and 16. He spread his birdies out, with two on par-3s (6 and 13), two on par-4s (14 and 16) and two on par-5s (7 and 11).
A week ago, Goetz, who is winding up his college career, set a West Virginia scoring record with his 54-hole total of 15-under as the Mountaineer senior won the individual title and helped WVU to the team title at the Lake Las Vegas Intercollegiate in Nevada.
Tuesday, Goetz kept the low scores coming, shooting his 5-under 67.
“It’s a really solid golf course. The greens really held up throughout the day. It softened up a little bit, but I was lucky to get the good draw and not have to play in the rain,” said Goetz, currently 26th in the PGA TOUR University Rankings.
“My distance control through the bag has been really solid pretty much in Vegas last week and again today,” Goetz noted. “From 150 yards has been really good.”
One of the highlights of his round was his birdie at the par-3 17th when he hit his tee shot to four feet.
The weather delay came at an inopportune time for Fanonnel. After making par on his opening hole, No. 10, he rattled off three consecutive birdies before he had to stop for the heavy downpour that fell on the course while he was on the 14th fairway.
“It stopped my birdie streak, but I kept on playing pretty well after that. I made a few mistakes but made some good up and downs. I had a lack of commitment on my shots on the back nine,” said the Lyon, France, native who played collegiately at Louisiana-Monroe.
Ian Martin and Nolan Ray both finished their rounds right before officials blew the horn, leaving them tied with Fanonnel.
- Did you know Ben Wong, currently tied for seventh, was born in Hong Kong but grew up in Texas? Prior to attending Southern Methodist University, Wong won the 2017 Junior Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. Wong finished regulation tied with Logan McAllister and Jake Beber-Frankel then defeated them in a three-hole aggregate playoff held at Nos. 16, 17 and 18 at the fabled Stadium Course—home of the PGA TOUR’s PLAYERS Championship this week.
Key Information
How the Tournament Works
There are 109 players in this field. There are 108 currently still playing. Below is a breakdown of the various PGA TOUR Canada membership statuses available this week.
| Finish Position | Status |
| Medalist | Exempt membership for the 2022 season |
| 2nd through 9th (no ties)
|
Exempt through the reshuffle, which will occur approximately halfway through the season |
| 10th through 30th (plus ties) | Conditional membership |
- There are 20 amateurs playing this week. Leading the way is University of West Virginia senior Mark Goetz, tied for second place, a shot off the lead on the incomplete scoreboard. Here is how all 20 fared in the first round.
| Player | Score |
| Mark Goetz (U.S.) | 67 |
| Hunter Wolcott (U.S.) | 69 |
| Ben Wong (China) | 69 |
| Blain Turner (U.S.) | 69 |
| Griffin Barela (U.S.) | 71 |
| Harrison Ott (U.S.) | 71 |
| Parker Coody (U.S.) | 71 |
| Jordan Doull (Australia) | 71 |
| Ben Rebne (U.S.) | 72 |
| MarJake Lane (Canada) | 73 |
| Dylan Vanderveer (U.S.) | 74 |
| Michael Sakane (Japan) | 76 |
| Michael Slesinksi (U.S.) | 77 |
| Devin Horne (U.S.) | 79 |
| Sean Wilcox (U.S.) | 82 |
| Parker Haynes (U.S.) | 83 |
| Jacob Bridgeman (U.S.) | -3 through 9 |
| Charlie Nikitas (U.S.) | +2 through 9 |
| Andrew Gianoros (U.S.) | +6 through 9 |
| Qiwen Wong (Singapore) | +7 through 9 |
- Players in this week’s field come from 13 different countries and territories. There are five Canadians playing this week: Eric Flockhart (69), Calvin Ross (72), Henry Lee (73), and amateur Jake Lane (73). Shaun Margeson was unable to finish his opening round. The low international player through 18 holes is France’s Guillaume Fanonnel, tied for fourth.
- Steven Setterstrom has twice played in PGA TOUR Canada Qualifying Tournaments. He earned conditional status in 2019 (tying for 28th) but didn’t see any action. He tied for 21st a year ago but was unable to play in any Forme Tour tournaments. The Forme Tour was the Tour put together for PGA TOUR Canada members who couldn’t get into Canada due to the global pandemic. Setterstrom has never played in an official PGA TOUR-affiliated Tour tournament.
- Mark Goetz’s victory at the Lake Las Vegas Intercollegiate last week was his third college title. He previously won the Mountaineer Invitational in both April and October of 2021.
- Guillaume Fanonnel had a couple of good opportunities at the end of his round to go a little lower than the 4-under 68 he eventually shot. After making a six-foot eagle putt on No. 7, his 16th hole, Fanonnel lipped out back-to-back birdie putts from eight feet and 12 feet, respectively, on the final two holes of his round. “I played good. I would have liked to have seen a few more putts go in to make the round better,” he said.
- Chandler Eaton played collegiate golf at Duke, winning twice during his career in Durham, North Carolina. He reached as high as No. 64 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Both of his college wins came in 2018, at the Nike Collegiate Invite and at the D.A. Weibring Intercollegiate. He shared the latter title with Adam Wood and GriffinBarela, who is playing in this week’s tournament as an amateur.
- Chandler Eaton played RTJ Golf Trail at Highland Oaks for the second stage of the Korn Ferry Tour’s 2019 Qualifying Tournament, getting through here in Dothan and earning his Korn Ferry Tour membership at the finals in Winter Garden, Florida, outside Orlando, where he tied for 41st.
- Chandler Eaton had played five holes in his opening round when the horn blew to announce the stoppage of play. He returned to the par-5 15th hole when action resumed to find his ball in the rough. “I was kind of nervous about it,” Eaton said of the lie caused by saturated grass. “I was able to get a good layup, I hit it on the green right next to the pin, and it spun back 20 feet. I thought, Whoa, it’s way softer.”
- Officials disqualified Australia’s William Harrison following his round after he signed an incorrect scorecard.
The Players say…
“Three weeks ago, I was hitting it really good, but the past few weeks it’s been kind of a struggle.” –Steven Setterstrom on the state of his play
“I’m glad to get off to this start. I just have to be in the right mindset (Wednesday) going into the morning when you have no idea what the weather will do.” –Steven Setterstrom on preparing for anticipated stormy weather in the second round
“It was a really interesting week. It was the first time I had been in Vegas, and we managed to keep everybody out of the Clark County Jail.” –Mark Goetz on his West Virginia team’s visit to Las Vegas last week for the Mountaineers’ college tournament
“It’s a different feel. I knew I was going to get some really good experience this week. I was fortunate to get this site. This is the one weekend we have off, really.” –Mark Goetz on juggling his amateur schedule with his plans to turn pro
“There’s definitely a different feel vs. college and amateur golf. I’m glad I’m playing this week, and I’ll take a lot from it, for sure.” –Mark Goetz
“It was quite important for me to get a good start in this event, especially since the weather the next few days is not going to be great. I’m pleased with having a strong start.” –Guillaume Fanonnel
“I had a lack of commitment on my shots on the back nine.” – Guillaume Fanonnel
“It feels good. It’s a long tournament, and I know there’s some weather coming in. But I’m playing good.” – Chandler Eaton
“With rain and wind, it makes me want to play conservative. I know I don’t want to be aggressive and make stupid mistakes.” – Chandler Eaton on the anticipated bad weather for Wednesday’s second round
“We all want to play on the PGA TOUR, and you have to have steppingstones to get there. This is one of those stepping stones.” – Chandler Eaton
First-Round Weather: Overcast and rainy in the morning. Heavy showers forced officials to halt play at 8:25 a.m. Play resumed at 10 a.m., for a total delay of 1:35. Partly cloudy in the afternoon, with a high of 77. Wind NW at 5-8 mph.
