Former CU golfers Dylan McDermott & Josh Creel advance to stage 2 of PGA Tour school — on the number; former Ram Gunnar Broin also makes the grade at stage 1
By Gary Baines – 10/30/2026
It’s no news flash that at the professional tour level, a single stroke over the course of an entire tournament can make a tremendous amount of difference.
In the case of Q-school, that can include keeping a player’s hopes alive for a PGA Tour card — or not.
That was certainly true this week at PGA Tour Q-school for three players with significant connections to Colorado. To wit:
— Former University of Colorado golfer Dylan McDermott remained in the running for PGA Tour or Korn Ferry Tour status in 2027 — thanks to a single stroke difference at the first stage of Q-school in Bermuda Run, N.C. With the top 17 finishers and ties at the site advancing to stage 2, McDermott made it on the number by tying for 16th place. One stroke higher and McDermott’s 2026 PGA Tour/KFT Q-school would have ended on Friday.
McDermott — a four-year CU teammate of Justin Biwer, who has already earned his 2026 Korn Ferry Tour card — went 71-67-68-72 for a 6-under-par total in North Carolina, where he finished 12 strokes behind medalist Jake Hall of Knoxville, Tenn.
— Another former CU golfer — Cheyenne native Josh Creel, who spent his first two college seasons in Boulder before finishing up and winning an individual NCAA Division II national title at Central Oklahoma — was in the same situation at a first-stage tournament in Abilene, Texas.
Creel, who had a PGA Tour card in the 2021-22 season, tied for 16th place at another site where the top 17 finishers and ties advanced to stage 2. He ended up at 11 under par (72-69-69-67), and just one more stroke would have ended his 2026 Q-school hopes.
— At that same site, former University of Denver golfer John Sand was a stroke on the outside looking in — at 10 under par (73-68-69-68) — as his Q-school run came to a halt with a share of 23rd place.
Also advancing to stage 2 of Q-school, but with a couple of strokes to spare, was Gunnar Broin, who spent one season at Colorado State before concluding his college golf at the University of Kansas. Broin posted rounds of 70-70-75-65 in Newton, Kan., to tie for 13th place.
McDermott, Creel and Broin will tee it up in the second stage of Q-school on 1-4 for the right to go to the Q-school finals. At the finals — Dec. 10-13 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. — five 2027 PGA Tour cards will be awarded, with the next 40 players and ties landing preferred Korn Ferry Tour status. The remaining final-stage finishers will earn conditional status on the KFT.
This week marks the second of three straight weeks of first-stage tournaments. Last week, Coloradans Connor Jones and AJ Ott and former part-time Coloradan Dan Erickson punched their tickets into stage 2.
Here are the results and schedule from the first-stage tournaments that feature players with significant Colorado connections:
Newton, Kan., Oct. 27-29 (Top 17 finishers and ties advance)
Advances to Second Stage
13. Former CSU golfer Gunnar Broin 70-70-75-65—280
Failed to Advance
60. Rhett Johnson, Littleton 72-79-74-73—298
Bermuda Run, N.C., Oct. 27-30 (Top 17 finishers and ties advance)
Advances to Second Stage
16. Former CU golfer Dylan McDermott 71-67-68-72–278
Abilene, Texas Oct. 27-30 (Top 17 finishers and ties advance)
Advances to Second Stage
16. Cheyenne native and former CU golfer Josh Creel 72-69-69-67—277
Failed to Advance
23. Former DU golfer John Sand 73-68-69-68–278
27. Former Colorado Christian University golfer Xavier Bighaus 71-70-68-72–281
Tucson, Ariz., Nov. 3-6
Former CU golfer Tucker Clark
Former Fort Collins resident Matt Liringis
Lakewood Ranch, Fla., Nov. 3-6
Dillon Stewart, Fort Collins
Bo Wardynski, Berthoud
San Jacinto, Calif., Nov. 3-6
Griffin Barela, Lakewood
Former CU golfer Michael Feuerstein
Roberto Lebrija, Vail
PREVIOUSLY
Lincoln, Neb. Oct. 20-23 (Top 17 finishers and ties advance)
Advance to Second Stage
8. Connor Jones, Westminster 70-67-68-69—274
12. AJ Ott, Denver 67-69-67-73–276
Albuquerque, N.M. Oct. 20-23 (Top 17 finishers and ties advance)
Advances to Second Stage
14. Former part-time Coloradan Dan Erickson 71-70-72-66—279
Failed to Advance
27. Former CU golfer Adam Matteson 69-72-70-71–282
27. Former CU golfer Yannik Paul 75-68-72-67–282
33. Jake Staiano, Englewood 74-65-69-75—283
59. Derek Fribbs, Aurora 74-64-77-81–296
59. Hunter Swanson, Superior 75-70-73-78–296
For results from all 2026 PGA Tour Q-school tournaments, CLICK HERE.
