Q-school Shootout contest big incentive for GBO pros

BANGOR – The idea of the Chrysler Q-school Shootout, a separate skills contest to be held after the Greater Bangor Open is completed today, has understandably met with approval from the pros in the field.

The winner of the contest, which involves the top nine pro finishers in the GBO, has his $4,200 entry fee to this fall’s PGA Tour Qualifying School paid for.

“I think it’s a great incentive,” said Billy Downes of Enfield, Conn. “It puts a little touch of class on the end of [the tournament].

“It’s a fabulous thing for guys who want to do it.”

The list of players who want to go to Q-school is nearly as long as the number of entrants.

“I went to Q-school last year,” said Justin Goodhue of Glastonbury, Conn. “I’ll go again, regardless. But it’s a great idea, a generous idea.”

William Link IV of Acton, Mass., found out about the shootout when his father was checking the tournament dates.

“My dad saw it online,” said Link, who said he went to Q-school last year but didn’t play well. “It’s a bonus on top of [the GBO] being a good event.”

It may be the first time a tournament has offered a Q-school berth as a prize.

According to Downes, some mini-tours such as the Cleveland Golf Tour in New England have done similar promotions.

“Certain tours send the top money winner to Q-school,” said Downes. “But you have to play the whole season to get it.

“This one you can get in three days.”

This may not be the last time a tournament offers such a prize.

“If all goes well, I think other tournaments will try it,” said Link.

The shootout, which is scheduled to start at approximately 5 p.m., has the top nine pros hitting 150-yard approach shots at the seventh green.

The six closest to the pin advance to the second round, which is approach shots from 100 yards. The closest three then hit bunker shots, and the closest to the pin will be the winner.

The qualifying school is a grueling test spread over three stages in October, November, and December, and the entry fee covers all three stages.

Egloff coming back from cancer

Eric Egloff of Rockville, Md., is still recovering from cancer surgery he underwent in March.

Egloff, the 1995 GBO champion and a contender again this year, said his doctor suspected melanoma after a routine visit in February.

A mole on Egloff’s upper right arm was biopsied and discovered to be malignant.

Egloff believes the cancer developed from when he was sunburned as a child. While he spends a lot of time in the sun playing golf, the cancer was discovered on a part of his arm that is always covered by a shirtsleeve.

“They’re pretty sure they got it all,” he said.

He will now have to be checked every three months to make sure the cancer doesn’t return.

“There’s an appointment I don’t want to miss,” he said.