Bangor native Jesse Speirs will have to do it the hard way on the golf course this year.
Speirs qualified to play a full season on the Web.com Tour last year but finished 160th in the money winnings, so he had to attempt to requalify in three tournaments over the past four months.
He made it through two stages, but a triple bogey and two bogeys during a four-hole stretch on the back nine of the final qualifying stage on Sunday prevented him from earning a spot on the Web.com Tour this coming season.
There were 155 golfers at the final four-day qualifying tournament over two courses in Winter Garden, Florida, and Speirs tied for 105th. Only the top 45 finishers, including ties, earned their Web.com Tour cards.
Speirs finished with a 3-over-par 289, six shots adrift of the 283 required to earn a card.
He tied for 14th in last year’s final stage tournament to earn his card.
“I was right there. I was 2 under par after eight holes on Sunday,” said the 30-year-old Speirs. “It was disappointing to finish like that. But this is the second year in a row I made it to the finals, so I think I can still build off that.”
Speirs said the triple-bogey 7 on the par-4 13th hole resulted from a drive into a fairway bunker and a shot out of the bunker into some trees that made his ball unplayable and resulted in a one-stroke penalty. He had to hit out of the bunker again.
“It was a bad swing. It came at a horrible time,” said Speirs. “I felt good about my game last weekend. I just didn’t get it done.”
So Speirs will now have to play in weekly Monday qualifying tournaments beginning in January to earn a spot in a PGA Tour or Web.com Tour event.
“It’s tough, but I made it to the final stage for the second straight year. I’m in a better spot than I was two years ago,” said the resilient Speirs, who hadn’t made it to the final stage in four previous attempts.
“I feel my game has gotten better over the past six months,” he said. “I have constantly improved. I learned a lot last year.”
He played in 17 tournaments on the Web.com Tour and made seven cuts. A 20th-place finish at the News Sentinel Open in Knoxville, Tennessee, was his best finish. He earned $19,464 on the tour.
He made the cut in three of his last five tournaments.
Speirs said to return to the Web.com Tour he will need to get into tournaments through the Monday qualifiers and then finish in the top 25 in the tournaments so his money winnings will provide him with the opportunity to earn exemptions.