Murrells Inlet’s Byrd qualifies for PGA Tour Canada

Coastal Carolina alumnus and Murrells Inlet resident Zack Byrd qualified for PGA Tour Canada on Friday, shooting a final-round 6-under-par 66 to tie for ninth in a qualifying tournament in Winter Garden, Fla.

Byrd shot 66, 69 and 70 in the opening three rounds for a 17-under 171 total at the 7,350-yard par-72 Panther Lake Course at Orange County National Golf Club in the first of three PGA Tour Canada qualifying tournaments. The remaining two are in the coming weeks in California and British Columbia, Canada.

Albin Choi of Canada was the medalist at 25-under 263 and is fully exempt on the tour, while players finishing second through 18th are exempt through the first six events and subject to a reshuffle thereafter.

Byrd had to play 25 holes Friday because of a weather suspension late Thursday and began the final round tied for 13th. He made seven final-round birdies and a bogey, including birdies on four of his first seven holes and three of his final six.

The PGA Tour Canada schedule consists of 12 events with $175,000 purses running from late May into mid-September.

The leading money winner at season’s end will earn exempt status on the Web.com Tour for 2016, while players 2-5 will earn conditional status, players 6-10 will earn an exemption into the final stage of Web.com Tour Q-School and players 11-20 will earn an exemption into the second stage.

“I said this year I don’t care where it’s at, I want full status, I want to know where I’m going each week and have no surprises and no issues,” Byrd said, “instead of the Monday qualifying, which never worked out well for me, and the conditional status, which never worked out well for me. It’s the first time I know where I’m going to be playing and it’s in my hands from there. So I’m pretty pumped.”

Byrd will be joining fellow Wachesaw Plantation member Ricky McDonald of Pawleys Island on the Canadian tour, and may travel on tour with friend and Kentucky native Jared Wolfe, who tied for fourth Friday.

Byrd already had conditional status later this year on the OneAsia Tour by finishing 11th in a qualifying tournament in California in early February.

Each OneAsia event has a minimum $1 million purse, and Byrd anticipates being eligible to play in at least two events over three weeks in September outside Seoul, South Korea, and Longkou, China, and possibly a third in Australia in November.

One of the events in Asia coincides with the Canada tour championship. “I’ll make that decision when I get there,” Byrd said. “The $1 million purse is way more attractive than a $175,000 purse, but a Web.com Tour card is way more important that a $1 million purse.”

This story was originally published April 17, 2015 at 10:12 PM with the headline "Murrells Inlet’s Byrd qualifies for PGA Tour Canada."