Jelley, McCracken reach Final Stage of 2023 Korn Ferry Tour qualifying
Two golfers with strong Oklahoma ties — Logan McCracken of Tulsa and former Jenks High School and Oklahoma State star Brendon Jelley, now of Scottsdale, Ariz., have advanced through the second stage of 2023 Korn Ferry Tour qualifying.
Both will officially become members of the Korn Ferry Tour when they tee it up at Final Stage Nov. 4-7 in Savannah, Ga. At Final Stage (Q-School Finals), they’re essentially competing for the priority ranking and getting guaranteed starts. The winner will be fully exempt for the 2023 season, while finishers 2-10 earn 12 guaranteed starts and 11-40 earn eight guaranteed starts.
Jelley, who won the Oklahoma State Amateur Championship in 2014, 2015 and 2017 before embarking on his professional career, shot a 5-under 66 in the final round to finish tied for 14th at 13-under in a second-stage event at Plantation Preserve GC in Plantation, Fla. The top 20 advance to the Final Stage. He shot rounds of 66-69-70 before the sterling final round gave him his first Korn Ferry Tour status since graduating from Oklahoma State in 2018.
McCracken, who played for the now-defunct University of Tulsa program, also reached the finals in 2021. He was only able to get in seven KFT events in 2022, missing the cut in all seven. However he closed with a strong round of 66 to finish at 5-under and tied for 10th in the second stage event at the University of New Mexico’s Championship Course in Albuquerque to regain status for 2023.
The Korn Ferry Tour will be in Oklahoma in 2023 with the debut of the Compliance Solutions Championship June 22-25 at Jimmie Austin University of Oklahoma Golf Course in Norman. Hopefully both will be in the field.