Corey Shaun just put together one of the most incredible rounds in PGA Tour Q-School history, shooting a jaw-dropping 61 at TPC Sawgrass’ Dye’s Valley course on Thursday.
That’s not just any good score – it tied the course record and gave him a massive five-shot lead, the biggest first-round advantage anyone’s held at Q-School finals since at least 1992.
Tour veteran Richy Werenski sits alone in second place. A group of players including Lanto Griffin and Callum Tarren are tied at 3-under, even further back.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. By Sunday evening, the top five finishers will earn their PGA Tour cards, while the top 40 get guaranteed starts on the Korn Ferry Tour next year.
Just how good was Shaun’s round? He beat the day’s average score by more than 10 shots.
“I made five birdies in a row on my back nine today,” Shaun said. “I was just walking in 20-footers like it was nothing. It felt pretty amazing.”
But getting here wasn’t easy. The 28-year-old has been on an absolutely wild ride these past few months.
Since October, he’s been everywhere. First, he played some mini-tour events to warm up for Q-School’s first stage in California. Then he immediately flew to Spain for European tour qualifying, where he barely got in as an alternate but ended up earning his DP World Tour card.
The crazy part? He flew home to California, not knowing he needed to be in Australia the next week for the season opener. So he jumped right back on a plane.
“I was really tired,” Shaun admitted. “Usually at Q-School you’ve got nervous energy keeping you going. But I was nearly falling asleep between rounds.”
You’d never know it from Thursday’s performance – it was his best competitive round ever. That’s pretty surprising for someone who struggled in college, averaging over 74 at UCLA and barely playing his senior year.
But now Shaun might end up with something really special: full playing privileges on both the PGA Tour and DP World Tour.
There’s still plenty of golf left to play. But after Thursday’s incredible opening round, Shaun’s definitely got everyone’s attention.
