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Fortune favored the patient this time around. Unfortunately, James Nicholas wasn’t one of them. He chose to be brave in the final round of the Q-School second stage event in Valdosta, Georgia. And he almost made it to the final qualifying cutoff. But bad weather and the PGA Tour’s Q-School bylaws wasted his efforts, just like a couple of others.

Monday Q Info tweeted, “Absolutely brutal situation at Q-school in Valdosta. Leaders were on 8 when bad weather came in. Because half the field didn’t finish the final round, the scores from round 4 are wiped out, and they revert back (sic!) to the scores after round 3 for the final leaderboard.”

The final round was scrapped because no group finished the entire 18 holes. However, the first groups were on the 17th and the last groups were on the 8th hole. Regardless, Nicholas and a couple of other players who had made it to the top of the table crashed out again. Their scores were reversed back to what they had managed after 54 holes. “Well, that sucks,” the 28-year-old golfer was quoted by Golf Channel as saying. “I personally think we need to change them,” he later added in an Instagram video.

For James Nicholas alone, it’s not the end of the world. He has already secured a Korn Ferry Tour card. He failed to break into the top 20 to earn a spot on the PGA Tour for 2026. But he is still safe on the KFT. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the others who missed out on the qualification spot. Reportedly, Gunnar Broin missed out on conditional KFT status, and Jonathan Brightwell also faced a similar situation.

This was the second time that the Q-School second-stage tournament was shortened to 54 holes. Previously, due to heavy storms, the final round in Alabama was scrapped without a single tee shot. The entire situation infuriated the golf community, and they spoke their mind on X. Let’s see how they expressed their anger.

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Final round chaos due to bad weather infuriates the netizens

The internet was livid to learn that players had missed out on critical opportunities due to bad weather. And one of them was a popular social media personality and PGA Tour pro, Michael Kim. Speaking from experience, he said, “I was a rookie on KFT with conditional status, at Midland, TX. On a crazy, windy Sunday, I went from 27th to 3rd with 2 holes to go. They at first suspended play due to high winds… 2 hours later, the entire day got cancelled, and I finished 27th when 25th got you into next week.”

Kim shared that he has also swallowed the bitter pill of the PGA of America’s wayward rules. Rising from the Korn Ferry Tour himself, he has seen his own ups and downs in his career. He may have secured a PGA Tour win, but he was also struggling to remain on the KFT back in 2013-14. The American pro must be surprised how the situation hasn’t changed even after 12 years.

With the LIV Golf Promotions event coming up, a fan suggested, “Maybe one of the worst stains on PGAT Q school ever. Whoever got the short end of the stick (names please) should get admitted, no questions asked, to LIV Q School & without penalty from PGAT either. Abuse like this is what creates players’ unions.”

The PGA Tour released a statement clarifying that anyone who plans to participate in the 2026 edition of the tournament will face disciplinary actions. After what occurred at Valdosta, the supporter believes that players who missed out on the opportunity should be given a free pass to earn a LIV Golf contract without any consequences.

Probably a local living in the region, someone tweeted, “Damn shame, we’ve played four balls in worse condition here in Valdosta. I’m standing outside right now, it’s playable.” Having seen how bad the situation was on the course, they believe the PGA Tour could have allowed the event to proceed to the final round. According to AccuWeather’s report, the region is experiencing only light rain. Maybe the conditions weren’t as bad as the PGA Tour seems to have made everyone believe.

Speaking of what’s at stake in the tournament, a tweet read, “Well that stinks & makes zero sense, this is a KFT qualifier not the men’s game at your local club.” That last round could have changed the trajectory of the careers of some of the players. The PGA Tour’s decision to cancel the final round robbed them of the opportunity.

Lastly, speaking about standard practices, one fan wrote, “What a farce. What’s the official explanation for these weather-shortened professional qualifiers? Couldn’t afford to reserve the course one more day?”

This is a standard rule on the PGA Tour, where the final round is rescheduled to the next day if it is washed out. It happened during The PLAYERS Championship, when bad light put the battle between Rory McIlroy and J.J. Spaun on hold. The PGA Tour could have certainly planned better for such a vital event on the calendar.