Zack Byrd of Murrells Inlet dropped two shots to par Thursday with a 2-over 74, but he didn’t lose any ground to the field on a blustery day in the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament Finals at PGA West in LaQuinta, Calif. Byrd battled 20- to 30-mph winds to an even-par score through 17 holes on the Nicklaus Tournament Course, but a double bogey on the 18th hole dropped him to 2 over for the tournament at 146. Byrd is in a tie for 108th after entering the day tied for 107th in the 172-player field. Byrd had birdies on holes 2, 7, 11 and 14, and bogeys on holes 1, 6, 8 and 15 to move into the top 90 before the closing double. Will Claxton leads the $1 million tournament by a shot at 10-under 134.
The top 25 players and ties at the conclusion of Monday’s sixth and final round earn 2012 PGA Tour playing cards, the next 50 players and ties earn full Nationwide Tour status in 2012, and the remaining players earn conditional Nationwide status. Byrd plays the TPC Stadium Course in Friday’s third round.
Byrd would have been tied for 81st had he made par on the 18th.
While Byrd was undoubtedly disappointed with the closing hiccup, Lee Janzen likely experienced the biggest swing of emotion Thursday. Following a triple-bogey 7 on the 10th hole to fall to 6 over for his round and 5 over for the tournament, Janzen made a double-eagle 2 on very next hole to get back to 2 over. He finished tied for 119th and a shot behind Byrd at 3 over.
