A “tough-grinding” rookie year on the PGA Tour in 2023 didn’t deliver the results Sydneysider Harrison Endycott hoped for.
But the 27-year-old will get a second chance to better meet his expectations after gaining full playing status for 2024 by winning the final event of the cut-throat qualifying school in Florida.
Endycott, who only made 13 cuts in 33 events in his maiden season on the toughest tour in the world and had retained limited playing status for next year, stormed to a four-shot win at the TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley course in Florida to seal one of five cards on offer.
“It was a tough-grinding year, rookie year on Tour, and you learn a lot out there,” he said after securing his status for next year.
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“Sometimes it’s good to take a step back, and we went through all our stats after RSM (in November) and managed to really point out and pick out why we were in that category, whether it’s wedge dispersion, some course management decisions and some putting.
“It’s great that the PGA Tour can provide that information for us. We just picked up what we needed to get better, did some really good work over the last few weeks, and it’s nice to come out and get a win.”
Endycott was the only successful Australian at Q-school and will join a strong cast of his countrymen on tour next year, including breakthrough star Min Woo Lee, who also locked away his status via a raft of results that have lifted him to 33 in the world rankings.
That’s what Q-school is about a little bit. It’s about opportunity,” Endycott said.
“I think you keep giving yourself those, it lowers the stress levels down a little bit.
“Obviously, having status going into next year is a little bit less stressful than most guys, so it was a bit of an opportunity to free up, but at the same time, it’s still a golf
tournament, still four rounds.
“There’s lots of positives to draw out. I feel like I’m in a good spot. Looking forward to getting back out there next year.”
Endycott had to sleep on the third-round lead for two nights after thunderstorms and waterlogged courses forced a Monday finish and he converted a two-shot advantage into a four-stroke victory with a final-round 3-under-par 67.
He finished 139th in the FedExCup standings in his rookie PGA Tour season.
The 40 next best players and ties at Q-school earnt Korn Ferry Tour cards, but fellow Australian John Lyras missed out by one shot.