Michigan native Hunter Eichhorn just shot 61 to tie the lead at the Visit Knoxville Open ๐คฏ ๐ฅ ๐จ
Doc Redman shares the lead with two holes to play.
Scores and TOURCAST: https://t.co/HcKgrWY5Br
This made my day.
Coach of @MarquetteMGolf Steve Bailey surprised Hunter Eichhorn and Steve Leach who are the first two MU to hold full status and are paired together at the @BahamasKFTour
He decided yesterday when he saw the pairing was a possibility, and grabbed a last minute flight and got in at noon today, drove to the course.
โThis might never happen again (them being paired together) I just didnโt want to miss itโ.
Man, I love this.
Tyler Leach, a 25-year-old from Spring Valley, Wisconsin (population 1,400), grew up on the public golf course that his parents bought the year before he was born. It didn't have a driving range, but it did have ultra-tight corridors that taught him to hit it straight. Good thing, and here's why:
Leach played five seasons at @MarquetteMGolf, earning Big East Freshman of the Year and twice being named first-team All-Conference. But the latter portion of his college career was marred by the putting yips. He once tied for sixth at the 2022 Wisconsin State Amateur โ and lost over 16 strokes on the greens.
Yet, he turned pro anyway in 2023.
Said Leach's college coach, Steve Bailey: โEven during stretches of college when he wasnโt playing his best, he had a superpower of being unfazed by adversity ... of deflecting hurdles and never doubting his ability.โ
Currently, Leach is ranked No. 4,896 in the world rankings โ so, in other words, he's not ranked. He's also only played two PGA Tour-sanctioned events, both in Canada.
But a switch to a center-shafted broomstick putter in July led to his first pro win, at the Minnesota State Open, and a torrid run through PGA Tour Q-School. He medaled at first and second stage, the latter coming after he closed in 7-under 63, over seven shots better than the field average that day.
He's one of five players at final stage this week in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, who began this Q-School journey at pre-qualifying.
Said Leach: โIโve been in some pretty dark places with my putting, and itโs definitely a huge accomplishment to climb out of that because itโs hard to make it in professional golf if you canโt make putts. I went through two or three years there where I was struggling and certainly had my doubts. But if I could finish in the top five, it would mean I overcame that hurdle and accomplished my dream, which is amazing to think about.โ
Medalists from second stage of PGA Tour Q-School earn membership for the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour season and will be subject to the second reshuffle (occurs after 10th event).
There were six medalists from the five sites:
Sam Choi (Dothan)
Nick Gabrelcik (Palm Coast)
Hunter Eichhorn (Savannah)
Tyler Leach (Tucson)
James Song (Tucson)
Ryan Burnett (Valdosta)
Eichhorn and Leach were college teammates for four years at @MarquetteMGolf.
I cannot begin to explain how good this is.
Tyler was three outside the number with nine to play, shot 28, and is now leading.
To put into context how good this is. Every single hole besides one on the back is playing over par today.
The number to get through is going to be even or one over.
Truly ridiculous