PGA Tour Q-School starts rough for area pros

Ty Tryon circa 2002 at Genuity Championship at the Doral Resort and Spa/ provided by McClatchy News-Service

Here's the scoop from the final stage of PGA Tour Q-School in Winter Garden:

Players faced windy conditions in Wednesday's opening round (scores can be found in that day's Bradenton Herald sports section).

And the cool temperatures hit the field for Thursday's second round.

The top 25 and ties earn a PGA Tour card for the 2011 season and there's a few players with area connections in the six-round tournament at Orange County National's Crooked Cat and Panther Lake courses.

Here's how they stand after Thursday's second round:

Ty Tryon, former IMG Academies' prodigy, is faring the best among the locals thus far.

Tryon had four birdies to offset three bogeys in a second-round 70 on the Panther Lake course that puts him in a tie for 53rd at even par.

Tyler Leon, former Saint Stephen's standout, posted his second straight 74 - this time on the Crooked Cat track - to tie for 128th through 36 holes.

Leon had just three birdies in the round and is 5-over par for the tourney.

Seath Lauer, former Lakewood Ranch High standout, is struggling through two rounds.

That's a bit of a surprise given how his former Florida State teammate Tommy Rymer and West Florida Golf Tour owner Carl Wakely both labeled the Crooked Cat course as a perfect match with Lauer's bombing game.

Both Rymer and Wakely said it's a bomber's paradise.

Yet Lauer is tied for 160th out of 162 players following a 7-over 79 on day two. That round was played on the Crooked Cat course and featured five bogeys, a triple and one birdie.

Travis Hampshire, a Tampa-area pro that played in this year's U.S. Open, has played the WFGT throughout its inaugural season.

He's tied for 94th at 3-over par with a second round 72 that began on Panther Lake's No. 10.

Hampshire bogeyed three of his final four holes on his front nine, before birdies on Nos. 1 and 2 got him back to even par on the par-71 layout.

Michael Sims, another WFGT participant, also played the Panther Lake course on day two.

He's tied for 139th after a 74 that yielded just one birdie.

David Lutterus, the Australian native listed from Bradenton, posted an even-par 72 on the Crooked Cat layout.

That puts Lutterus at 3-over par and a tie for 94th.

So to recap, unless there's some low figures soon, the area pros won't be earning a PGA Tour card for 2011.