Conroy becomes the second former UTC golfer to advance in the PGA Tour Q-School

Former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga golfer Paul Conroy on Friday became the second member of last year’s Mocs squad to advance to qualifying for the PGA Tour Q-School First Stage, joining teammate John Houk who earned a spot last week .

The native of Enniscorthy, Ireland, posted rounds of 74-71-66-70 to finish at 7-under 281, good for a tie for 14^e while 23 golfers advanced to the second phase. His excellent third round at the Country Club of Ocala featured seven birdies, including five in a six-hole stretch to open his back nine.

Conroy, a three-time All-SoCon performer who won two events for the Mocs, made four of eight cuts in his short stint on the PGA Tour Americas Canadian swing after completing his career at UTC, finishing in 18th place .^e at his second start in late June.

Former UTC teammate Samuel Espinosa-Trueba wasn’t so lucky in his attempt. The Spaniard native was at 3 under after two days in the fight, but rounds 74 and 78 saw him level on 52 points.^i.e at 5 above 293.

Originally scheduled for early October, the Ocala qualifier was postponed four weeks due to the impact of Hurricane Milton as it tore through central Florida.

Conroy’s successful performance means a dozen golfers with Tennessee connections have punched their ticket to the upcoming second-stage qualifying. Others who have made progress previously include:

Dawson Armstrong: Former Lipscomb University golfer from Spring Hill who finished second in his first-stage qualifying.

Kyle Cottam: former Clemson golfer from Knoxville.

Spencer Cross: University of Tennessee alum was a medalist at his First Stage event in Lincoln, Neb., where he earned an exemption through the Latin American Swing of the 2025 PGA Tour Americas season. The Sevierville native was All-SEC First Team in his final season in 2021-2022 and has made four cuts in five career Korn Ferry Tour starts.

Jake Hall: Knoxville amateur who played in college in Tennessee and won the 2023 Tennessee Amateur championship by shooting a course record 61 in the final round to win by four shots over Houk.

Ryan Hall: competed at South Carolina in college and lives in Knoxville. Earned a second place finish in his First Stage tournament. Finished tied at 23^rd at the PGA Tour’s Sanderson Farms Championship in October and has a top 10 in 25 Korn Ferry Tour starts.

John Houk: two-time All-Region and All-SoCon performer from Athens played his first two years at Tennessee Wesleyan before finishing his career as UTC’s all-time scoring leader, eclipsing the reputation of current PGA Tour winner Stephan Jaeger.

Trevor Johnson: a Brentwood native who played for the University of Louisville in college.

Jake Mynatt: played collegiately at Carson-Newman and is from Knoxville.

Owen Stamper: native of Kentucky who played collegiately at MTSU.

Scott Stevens: former University of South Carolina golfer who competed at Chattanooga Christian in high school. Has made 29 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour with three top 25 finishes.

Hunter Wolcott: former UT golfer from Burns who won the 2023 Tennessee State Open, 40 years after his father, Bob, claimed the title.

Qualification for the second phase will take place at five different locations. The first will take place from November 19 to 22 in Savannah, Georgia, at The Landings Club’s Deer Creek Course. The remaining four events will be held Dec. 3-6 at the following locations: The RTJ Golf Trail at Highland Oaks in Dothan, Ala.; Valencia Country Club in Valencia, California; Hammock Beach Conservatory in Palm Coast, Florida and Kinderlou Forest Golf Club in Valdosta, Georgia.

Qualifying for the final phase will take place December 12-15 at TPC Sawgrass Valley Course and Sawgrass Country Club.

Paul Payne can be emailed at [email protected]