q school vs. nationwide tour

Question
i hear about getting your tour card through good showings/wins in the nationwide tour, but also through q-school. is there a difference or is the same thing in different terminology?

Answer
Hey Jon,

The traditional way to get onto the tour is to enter "Q-school", which is actually a 3 stage qualifying tournament.  The entry fees for q-school are really expensive.  This helps keep out people who aren't really serious.  If you make it through stage one, then it's on to the next stage a month or so later.  Stage 2 cuts the field further.  By the time you get to stage 3 you are up against some serious competition.  Guys who have lost their cards, previous tour winners, etc.  The top of the field after the finals gets tour cards.  The next batch on down the leader board gets exemptions onto the nationwide tour, etc.

The top money winners on the nationwide tour each year get exemptions onto the big tour the next year...it seems like it's the top 15 or 20 players, but I'm not sure.  You can also get what's called a "battlefield promotion", but I think it's only been done once.  Win 3 times onthe Nationwide tour in the same year and you're automatically bumped up to the big tour.  At any rate, the level of talent out there is unbelievable.

Good Luck!

John