After winning his first PGA tournament last season, Bedford’s Nick Cunningham has now moved on to bigger and better things in the world of golf after a superb score in the PGA Tour Canada Q-School event at Soboba Springs Golf Club in California.
After many seasons on the PGA EuroPro Tour, Cunningham was forced to rethink after the Tour was disbanded last season due to financial cuts, but the Wixams golfer has wasted no time in gaining his latest tour card in a very solid seventh-placed finish in the USA.
A final round 67 secured a score of -10 for Cunningham who has now secured an exemption in the first half of the coming season in PGA Tour Canada.
Read: Bedford golfer Nick Cunningham wins maiden PGA EuroPro Tour event
Final round 67 enough for PGA spot
PGA Tour Canada, along with PGA Tour Latinoamérica, are international PGA sanctioned tours that provide access to the Korn Ferry Tour and are part of the pathway to the prestigious PGA Tour.
The winner of the latest qualifying event, America’s Charlie Reiter, has earnt a full-season exemption to PGA Tour Canada but Cunningham, along with six others, earnt a half-season exemption due to their high finishes.
A +3 first round of 75 left Cunningham with a lot of work to do but a -7 under round of 65 in the second propelled him up the leaderboard with further rounds of 71 and 67 enough to see him squeeze through to the prizes.
A one shot victory in the World Snooker and Jessie May Championship in Berkshire in June gave Cunningham his first professional victory but despite occupying one of the top 5 spots at that point, he couldn’t make it on to the Challenger Tour.
However, this new international opportunity could open many doors for Nick who is excited at the prospect of playing professional golf in Canada.
Speaking exclusively to Bedford Independent from America, Nick told how he kept his head after a disappointing opening round of 75.
“I stayed patient. In my opinion flat out attack doesn’t work in golf.
“It’s like a game of chess, picking your moments and learning when to do so is the key. Firing at every flag is usually not an efficient way to do it.”
One of 132
With only ten tour cards available from a field of 132 players, the competition is fierce with the added difficulty of the qualifying events for PGA Tour Canada filled with strong American collegiate players.
“The qualifying here is definitely a higher standard than qualifying at home, as there are only 10 cards available out of 132”, said Nick.
“I’m expecting the standard to be strong with the US collegiate system producing a much higher volume of players but the UK standard is high even with how small we are in comparison.”
“I’ll be home for four of five weeks, then heading to Canada. I’m going to try play an event to stay sharp but I’m looking forward to the challenges ahead.”
Nick also has an excellent support network around him, with management company Gravity joining him on his professional journey as well as ISSI who have recently joined Nick’s team.
Cunningham’s success in California was the fifth of six PGA Tour Canada qualifying events, with players from fifteen different countries all battling it out for a prestigious tour card.
There is one final chance for players to join Nick on the Tour in the last qualifying event at the beginning of June in British Columbia, Canada before the Tour kicks off with it’s first event at the Royal Beach Victoria Open.
But for now, Nick is spending some well earnt time off in California before the cut and thrust world of tournament golf kicks off once more, with Cunningham hoping for success to keep hold of his exemption.
You can follow Nick’s journey on his Instagram page here.
