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

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

The native of Enniscorthy, Ireland, posted rounds of 74-71-66-70 to finish at 7-under 281, good for a 14-over tie.^th as 23 golfers advanced to stage two. The third round at the Country Club of Ocala featured seven birdies, including five in a six-hole stretch to open the 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 ending his career at UTC, finishing in 18th place.^th at the second start at the end of June.

Former UTC teammate Samuel Espinosa-Trueba was not as fortunate in his attempt. The Spain native was in contention after two days at 3 under, but rounds of 74 and 78 left him in a tie for 52.^when at 5-over 293.

Originally scheduled for early October, qualifying in Ocala was pushed back four weeks due to the impact of Hurricane Milton in central Florida.

Conroy’s successful outing makes him one of a dozen golfers with Tennessee ties who have punched their ticket to the upcoming second round of qualifying. Others who have previously advanced include:

Dawson Armstrong: Former Lipscomb University golfer at Spring Hill who finished second in the first round of qualifying.

Kyle Cottam: former Clemson golfer who is from Knoxville.

Spencer Cross: The University of Tennessee alum medaled in his first-leg event in Lincoln, Neb., earning a Latin American Swing exemption from the 2025 PGA Tour Americas season. The Sevierville native was first-team All-SEC in his final season in 2021-22 and has made four tackles in five career Korn Ferry Tour starts.

Jake Hall: The Knoxville amateur, who played at Tennessee in college, won the 2023 Tennessee Amateur Championship, shooting a 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. He earned a runner-up finish at his first stage tournament. He finished tied for 23rd^st at the PGA Tour 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 current PGA Tour winner Stephan Jaeger’s mark.

Trevor Johnson: a Brentwood resident who played at the University of Louisville in college.

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

Owen Stamper: Kentucky native who played collegiately at MTSU.

Scott Stevens: former University of South Carolina golfer who competed at Chattanooga Christian during high school. He 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.

Stage two qualifying will take place at five different venues. The first is November 19-22 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: RTJ Golf Course at Highland Oaks in Dothan, Ala.; Valencia Country Club in Valencia, California; Hammock Beach Conservatory in Palm Coast, Fla. and Kinderlou Forest Golf Club in Valdosta, Georgia.

Final round qualifying is scheduled to take place Dec. 12-15 at the TPC Sawgrass Valley Course and Sawgrass Country Club.

Paul Payne can be emailed at [email protected]