Gallman, Lawrence Begin FIrst Stage Of PGA Q School
10/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Spartanburg, S.C. – Just six short months ago, former USC Upstate golfers Josh Gallman and Michael Lawrence were wrapping up their college careers. Tuesday, the two will take to the course at the Club at Irish Creek in Kannapolis, N.C., in the First Stage of PGA Q School.
Gallman, from Gaffney, S.C., and Lawrence, from Easley, S.C., both helped lead Upstate to national prominence with a second-place finish in the NCAA Division II National Championships as freshman in 2007. Lawrence won the individual championship at the Rutgers Invitational in Upstate's first tournament playing on the Division I level in the fall of 2007. He went on to post two career tournament wins. Gallman finished his career with seven individual tournament titles and established a legacy that will be hard to match as the program's top golfer. He owns nearly every career and season record at Upstate. In addition to being named Upstate's Male Student-Athlete of the Year on two occasions, he also earned ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America honors as a senior.
Gallman and Lawrence both turned pro in May and competed against each other in their first tournament, the River Falls event on the Carolina Mountain Tour. Gallman won the event, the first of three wins on the CMT this past summer, while Lawrence finished second. Gallman has gone on to finish second in an eGolf event, qualified for a spot in the Knoxville Open on the Nationwide Tour, and claimed two top 10 finishes on the Hooters Summer Series Tour. Lawrence claimed a professional win on the CMT and has had several solid showings in other events as well.
Gallman and Lawrence will begin play in the First Stage of Q School on Tuesday in the same group. It marks the first times since they turned pro that they will play in the same grouping in a tournament. They will tee off on the 10th hole at 10:20 a.m. at the Club at Irish Creek. At the end of the 72-hole tournament, a select number of players will qualify for the Second Stage of PGA Q School. The number who qualify will not be determined until after the tournament starts.
