Cameron Tringale took an intelligent approach to the final stage of the PGA Tour Q-School. Instead of worrying about the number of strokes it would require to regain his Tour card for 2011, the former Georgia Tech All-America was able to mentally break the six-day qualifying tournament into a series of daily events.
Tringale convinced himself that if he finished among the top 25 for each round that it would be good enough to put him in the top 25 overall for the week. The top 25 and ties at Q-School earn an exemption for the upcoming PGA Tour season.
"I'd be lying if I said it was easy," Tringale said. "You can start thinking, ‘What's the number going to be if I par in?' I had a few of those thoughts in the second and third rounds."
But Tringale was able to stick to his game plan and played well enough to place fourth among the 155 players who finished. He never finished above par and shot rounds of 69-67-69-69-71-68 to finish 16-under at the Orange County National Golf Center in Orlando.
Ben Martin, a native of Rome who played at Clemson, tied for second at 17 under and earned his PGA Tour privileges for 2011. The tournament was won by five-time PGA Tour winner Billy Mayfair, who broke a three-way tie with a birdie on the next-to-last hole and finished 18 under.
Nicholas Thompson, Tringale's former Georgia Tech teammate, tied for 36th after a final-round 72. Thompson failed to keep his PGA Tour card, but he will be fully exempt for the Nationwide Tour. Veteran Briny Baird of Valdosta State tied for 52nd and will likely be forced to split time between the PGA, where he'll have a partial exemption, and the Nationwide Tour.
Tringale, who earned his card at Q-School a year ago, was hurt in his rookie season by missing the cut in nine consecutive events in the summer. He started to play well in the fall series, including ties for 11th at the Viking Classic and the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. But it was too late to save him from a return trip to Q-School. He earned $302,618 in 21 starts, leaving him 176th on the money list.
Tringale arrived in Orlando with plenty of confidence. "I felt like I had a good strategy for the courses and was able to execute that strategy," he said. "My ball control was good, and I felt good with the putter."
Tringale played consistently all week and made a run for medalist on Monday. He eagled the first hole, added three straight birdies and made the turn in 30. "I didn't miss a shot on the front side," he said. "I rolled in a few putts, and when I got to 9-under, I told myself to keep the pedal to the floor."
His momentum was broken with a double-bogey at the 13th, but he finished with five consecutive pars to secure his place.
"I had finished putting out on the 18th green, and I asked the scorer what the number was at," Tringale said. "I didn't really need to know. It wasn't going to change anything."
Told he was safe, Tringale was able to take a deep breath. "It's a little bit of a relief and I'm happy I played well. It was a tough last couple of days, and I'm proud I was able to hang in there."
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