SAVANNAH, Ga. – One of professional golf's most grueling events concluded on Monday, with UT Arlington's own Zack Fischer claiming medalist honors at the Final Stage of the Korn Ferry Tour's Qualifying Tournament with a birdie on the 72nd hole to secure fully exempt status on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022.
 
After advancing through the first two stages of qualifying last month, Fischer – a 2011 UTA graduate – headed to The Landings Club's Marshwood and Magnolia Courses this week knowing that the only way he would be guaranteed to start in Korn Ferry event next year was to win the Final Stage.
 
And that's exactly what the 32-year-old Texarkana native did, holding on to a three-shot overnight lead to emerge victorious from the field of nearly 150, allowing Fischer to craft his 2022 schedule as he wants as he once again pursues his dream of competing regularly on the PGA TOUR.
 
Fischer entered the final round atop the leaderboard at -12 through 54 holes on Sunday; Saturday action was rained out entirely, necessitating the Monday finish. Sleeping on that three-shot lead, Fischer saw his advantage dwindle on the front 9 before a late surge had him back in front by two shots at the turn thanks to birdies on the 8th and 9th holes.
 
However, that two-shot lead disappeared immediately with a double bogey to start the back 9, and heading to the final three holes Fischer remained at -12 and behind, at one point, at least three other players.
 
Unfazed and undeterred, Fischer resiliently rolled in a birdie on the par-3 16th to get to -13. A par on the par-4 17th kept him at that number, and he then stood on the 18th hole tied with three others vying for the title of champion and fully exempt status.
 
A drive into the left edge of the fairway set up a short iron into the 415-yard hole, and Fischer delivered his approach about 10 feet below a back pin. From there, he stepped up and calmly dropped in a relatively straight putt to post -14 and win outright with a final-round 69.
 
"It means the world to me," Fischer stated of the victory. "I hated that my wife, my daughter and my parents couldn't be here with me; I can't thank them enough for supporting me through it all. I don't know if I can accurately express how far gone (my golf game) was just five or six months ago, and to win the qualifying tournament when I didn't even know if I was going to go because money was a little tight puts me at a loss of words. But someone came through (financially) to help me have a chance to be here – and they know who they are – I can't thank them enough. The ball going in on the last hole meant the world to me."
 

The victory – which also came with $50,000 in winnings – was also a historical one for Fischer, who became the first person in the history of the PGA TOUR/Korn Ferry Tour Q-School to win medalist honors outright two times.
 
Fischer claimed medalist honors at the 2013 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament, the first edition of Q-School after the PGA TOUR modernized the process. Several players in that field were future PGA TOUR winners: Tony Finau finished T-3, Max Homa ended up T-6, Carlos Ortiz was T-15, Si Woo Kim took T-22 and Justin Thomas shared a T-32 position with Daniel Berger.
 
The three-time Southland Conference all-league member and 2009 SLC Individual Co-Medalist while at UTA, Fischer – who has nearly 100 career starts on the Korn Ferry Tour – also has seven PGA TOUR starts to date, with a career-best finish of T-14 at the 2019 Valero Texas Open.
 
Now, Fischer has the luxury of competing in as many Korn Ferry Tour events as he wants, with the ultimate goal of finishing in the top 25 on the money list in 2022 to earn an automatic promotion to the PGA TOUR for 2022-23.
 
Entering the Final Stage this week, below were the ramifications of player results:

• The medalist (and ties) receives fully exempt status for 2022.
• Finishers 2-10 (and ties) are guaranteed entry into the first 12 events of the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour season.
• Finishers 11-40 (and ties) are guaranteed entry into the first eight events of the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour season.
• The remainder of the field receives conditional status for 2022.

The remainder of the field is exactly where fellow UTA golf alumnus Tanner Gore finished as the 2019 graduate also reached the Final Stage. However, Gore posted a T-96 showing at +5 to earn conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour. Gore opened with a round of 5-over 76 before rebounding to close with rounds of 71, 71 and 69.
 
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ABOUT TEXAS RANGERS GOLF CLUB
Opened in February of 2019, the state-of-the-art Texas Rangers Golf Club is the new home of UTA's men's and women's golf programs. The world's only Major League Baseball-branded golf course, TRGC is the result of a $24 million renovation and updated routing of the former Chester W. Ditto Golf Course.
 
The Home of UTA Golf was designed by UTA alumni John Colligan and Trey Kemp of Arlington-based Colligan Golf Design. It features an expansive 23-acre practice area, and a new 33,871-square-foot clubhouse – which just opened in March of 2021 – features a full-service restaurant and bar, covered patio overlooking the golf course, pro shop, locker rooms and numerous rental and event spaces. For more information about TRGC, click here.