Littleton native/former DU golfer Chris Korte advances to final stage of PGA Tour Q-school for first time by placing 4th in stage 2 tourney; Neal Shipley, 2023 U.S. Am runner-up at Cherry Hills, falls 1 shot shy of moving on
By Gary Baines – 12/6/2024
This fall continues to be a memorable one on the golf course for Chris Korte, who was born and raised in Littleton and played at the University of Denver.
In October, he Monday qualified and competed in his first PGA Tour event, the Black Desert Championship in Utah, though he missed the 36-hole cut.
Then on Friday, Korte guaranteed himself at least conditional status on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour, and remained in the running for a PGA Tour card. He did that by advancing to the final stage of Q-school, placing fourth out of a field of 74 at a second-stage tournament in Valdosta, Ga.
In this, his fifth straight year of making it to the second stage of Q-school, Korte will advance to the final stage for the first time.
The final tournament of Q-school is set for Dec. 12-15 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., where the top five finishers and ties will land 2025 PGA Tour cards. The next 40 placers will earn some exempt status on the Korn Ferry Tour, with the remainder of finishers being conditional on the 2025 KFT. Assuming he finishes the final stage, Korte will also be exempt through the Latin America swing of the 2025 PGA Tour Americas season.
The 28-year-old, whose lone Korn Ferry Tour start was the 2021 Ascendant presented by Blue at TPC Colorado, played 16 events on PGA Tour Americas in 2024, made 11 cuts, with four top-20 finishes and a best showing of 12th place.
In Valdosta — one of five stage 2 sites — the former CGA Amateur and Match Play champion posted rounds of 68-73-73-69 for a 5-under-par total, which left him seven strokes behind medalist Samuel Anderson of Ponte Vedra Beach. Over the four rounds, Korte carded 3 eagles, 12 birdies, 9 bogeys and 2 double bogeys. He eagled the par-5 11th hole twice and the par-5 14th hole once.
Not so fortunate in Valdosta was Neal Shipley, the runner-up in the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club who went on to earn low-amateur honors at the 2024 Masters and U.S. Open. The top 16 finishers and ties advanced to the final stage, but Shipley missed by a stroke, ending up at even par as an opening-round 79 put him behind the 8 ball.
Also falling short at the site were Coloradans Jake Staiano (44th place) and AJ Ott (53rd).
At other second-stage locations, five other players with strong Colorado connections likewise failed to advance: Griffin Barela, Dillon Stewart, one-time PGA Tour winner Kevin Stadler, and former DU golfers Carson Griggs and Chris Gilman.
Scores for players with significant Colorado ties in stage 2 of PGA Tour Q-school.
Valdosta, Ga. Dec. 3-6 (Top 16 & Ties Advance to Final Stage)
Advances to Final Stage
4. Former Littleton resident Chris Korte 68-73-73-69–283
Failed to Advance
44. Jake Staiano, Englewood 75-79-69-73-–296
53. AJ Ott, Fort Collins 81-74-71-73—299
Palm Coast, Fla. Dec. 3-6 (Top 15 & Ties Advance to Final Stage)
Failed to Advance
24. Griffin Barela, Lakewood 71-74-69-73–287
Valencia, Calif. Dec. 3-6 (Top 15 & Ties Advance to Final Stage)
Failed to Advance
53. Dillon Stewart, Fort Collins 76-75–76-72–299
Part-time Denver resident Kevin Stadler 76-72-WD
Dothan, Ala. Dec. 3-6 (Top 17 & Ties Advance to Final Stage)
Failed to Advance
49. Former DU golfer Carson Griggs 77-74-67-70—288
73. Former DU golfer Chris Gilman 72-79-75-75—301
Savannah, Ga. Nov. 19-22 (Top 18 and Ties Advance to Final Stage)
Failed to Advance
54. Former DU golfer John Sand 71-68-71-74–284
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com