By Mike Blum

Warner Robins native and former Savannah club professional Kris Blanks led the Georgia contingent in the finals of PGA Tour qualifying, tying for 12^th to retain his PGA Tour card for the 2010 season.

Also finishing in the top 25 to earn spots on the PGA Tour for the upcoming season were recent Georgia Tech standout Cameron Tringale, and former Clemson golfer Brent Delahoussaye, who grew up in Alpharetta.

Earning exempt spots on the 2010 Nationwide Tour were ex-Georgia Bulldogs Kevin Kisner and Chris Kirk, Albany’s Josh Broadaway, Ringgold’s Luke List, Clarkesville’s Major Manning, former Georgia State golfer Ty Harris and Scott Brown, like Kisner an Augusta area South Carolina resident.

Augusta’s Emmett Turner, a college teammate of Manning at Augusta State, Athens’ Jay McLuen and Sandersville’s David Robinson will all have conditional status on the 2010 Nationwide Tour.

Blanks, who won several Georgia PGA tournaments while working as an assistant at The Landings in Savannah, finished 170^th on the money list in his rookie season on the PGA Tour in 2009, sending him back to Q school.

After an opening 77 in the finals of qualifying in West Palm Beach, Fl., Blanks was tied for 127^th, but jumped more than 100 places thanks to a second round 65. He followed with scores of 67-69-68 to move into a tie for 4^th going to the final day, and advanced despite a closing 74 that included no birdies on his scorecard. Blanks was 12-under for the week, 19-under for the middle 72 holes.

Tringale, who was a member of the victorious 2009 U.S. Walker Cup team, qualified for the PGA Tour in his first attempt. He was tied for 57^th with two rounds to go, but closed with scores of 69 and 67 to tie for 19^th at 10-under 422.  Tringale was outside the top 25 early on the back nine in the final round, but went 5-under in a 6-hole stretch including an eagle to jump into the final top 20.

Delahoussaye, a Greenville, S.C. resident, has Nationwide Tour experience, but like Tringale, will be a PGA Tour rookie in 2010. He finished 79^th on the Nationwide Tour money list this past season, including a 3^rd place finish in Omaha. He advanced on the number, shooting a final round 69 in Q school to tie for 23^rd at 423. Scores of 66-68 in the third and fourth rounds put Delahoussaye in the top 20 with two days to go, but he fell back with a 75 in the fifth round before carding a 69 the final day, including a clutch birdie at the 16^th hole.

Kisner, an Aiken, S.C. resident who has primarily played on the e-Golf (formerly Tar Heel) and Hooters Tours, came up one shot short of a PGA Tour card, finishing at 8-under 424. Despite shooting under par in each of his final five rounds, Kisner was never in the top 25 throughout the week, just missing despite playing his last seven holes in 3-under.

Broadaway, who was in the top 20 at the conclusion of each of the first five rounds, shot 78 the final day to finish at 6-under 426, three strokes too high to qualify for the PGA Tour. He was under par in each of his first five rounds, including a 68 that moved him into a tie for 11^th with 18 holes to play. An early triple bogey in the final round and a double bogey later in the day killed his hopes of a spot on the PGA Tour in 2010. Broadaway was 72^nd on the Nationwide Tour in ’09 after a career best finish of 36^th the previous season.

List, whose amateur career including a runner-up finish in the U.S. Amateur and a strong showing in the Masters, will have status on the Nationwide Tour for the first time. He made eight starts in 2009, including three finishes between 17^th and 21^st. List, who was 2^nd in the 2008 Georgia Open, played the last 12 holes of the final round at Q school in 4-under to move from outside the top 75, the cutoff for exempt status on the 2010 Nationwide Tour, into a tie for 42^nd.

Kirk, who grew up in Woodstock and now lives on St. Simons Island, will be exempt on the Nationwide Tour for the first time after playing the last two years on conditional status. After placing 77^th on the tour as a rookie, he slipped to 170^th in ’09. Kirk tied for 48^th at 428, moving up from 81^st after five rounds with a 67 the final day. Kirk was in contention for a PGA Tour card midway through the fifth round, but played his final 10 holes in 6-over after being 3-under after 8.

Manning will be back on the Nationwide Tour for a second straight season after also tying for 48^th. He shot three rounds in the 60s, including back-to-back 69s that had within range of a PGA Tour card with one round to go. But he managed just one birdie the final day and came up five strokes short after a 73.

Brown also tied for 48^th at 428, recovering from a tough start the first day, when he triple-bogeyed his second hole and shot 77. Brown, a North Augusta, S.C. resident, did not shoot higher than 73 the rest of the tournament, including a 67 in the fifth round Brown was the leading money winner on the 2009 eGolf Professional Tour, winning three times on the season.

Harris was in position for a top 25 finish with six holes to play in the final round, but played his next four holes in 5-over and ended up tied for 64^th at 429 after a closing 75.

Turner, McLuen and Robinson all finished outside the top 100 in the finals of qualifying, and will be able to play limited schedules in 2010.

Turner, who has enjoyed some success on the Hooters Tour, was 2-under for his last 72 holes, but could not overcome a pair of 75s the first two days and finished with a 4-over 436 total.

McLuen, a frequent contender in the Georgia Open who plays primarily on the eGolf Tour, made double bogeys on two of his first six holes and was never a factor, with a second round 71 his lowest score.

Robinson was in a similar situation this season after reaching the finals of qualifying in 2008 but finishing well down the list. He made just five starts in ’09, making two cuts. Robinson, the leading money winner on the Tar Heel Tour in 2008, rebounded from an opening 78 with a 69 in the second round, but was 9-over the rest of the way.

Former Georgia Tech golfers David Duval and Matt Weibring both came up short in their efforts to earn exempt status on the PGA Tour, but both have conditional status in 2010.

Duval, who finished 130^th on the money list after being 125 coming into the final tournament, was close to the top 25 at Q school before shooting 79 in the fourth round. He closed with a 69 that included seven birdies, but missed by 10 shots at 433, tying for 90^th.

Weibring finished 138 on the money list as a PGA Tour rookie, and will likely split his playing time between the Nationwide and PGA Tours in 2010. He was 8-under over his final five rounds, including four scores of 70, but was done in by an opening 76. He tied for 48^th at 428.

Read more Atlanta golf news