WFGT quartet make second stage

WFGT golfers moved past the PGA Tour's Q-School First Stage at Grasslands Golf & Country Club in Lakeland.

The first stage featured five venues last week and wraps up this week at eight other sites.

Lakeland's Travis Perkins and Sarasota's Brian Ward caught fire early in the four-day, 72-hole tournament.

They then held on to qualify for the second stage.

Meanwhile, Sarasota's Joey Lamielle and Fort Myers' Josh McCumber struggled in the opening round.

Both players posted 75s in round one.

But Lamielle, the WFGT's Order of Merit leader, and McCumber each ran off three consecutive rounds in the 60s to qualify.

The top 23 and ties made it among the original 78-player field.

Four players were disqualified or withdrew from the tournament.

For Lamielle, he got back into the tournament with a second-round 69.

Lamielle, a Sarasota Booker and Florida Gulf Coast University product, shaved off a stroke with a third-round 68 and followed that up with a 67 to gain a tie for 16th and a spot in the second stage.

McCumber carded 69s on days two and three. Then he dug deep and went low, with a final round 65 that gave him a berth in the second stage after a tie for 12th at the bomber's paradise known as the Grasslands.

The second stage runs in mid-November at various courses.

Following that, qualifiers make it to the final stage - the last hurdle for aspiring PGA Tour players have to jump to gain a PGA Tour card for 2011.