Fran Quinn Jr. plans to tee off the morning of Super Bowl Sunday in the Boca Raton Championship pro-am in Florida, then watch the Patriots play the Philadelphia Eagles on television that night.
The 52-year-old Holden resident hopes he gets the chance to begin his fourth PGA Tour Champions season in the Boca Raton Championship the following weekend.
Quinn’s dramatic eagle on the last hole of the first round of the playoffs at the Dominion Energy Charity Championship last fall secured his playing status for 2018, but he’s not guaranteed a berth in every tournament.
The top 54 money winners from 2018 kept their playing cards, and Quinn finished 54th with $314,461, but the field of 80 or so golfers who compete in most PGA Tour Champions events is also filled in several other ways, including with past winners, the top five finishers in Q-school, medical exemptions, a golfer not already exempt who finishes in the top 10 the previous week, and Monday qualifiers.
“There are so many different categories,” Quinn said, “you would need a Ph.D. to go through them.”
Quinn wasn’t eligible to play in the limited-field PGA Tour Champions event in Hawaii Jan. 18-20, but he expects to make his season debut Feb. 9-11 in the Boca Raton Championship. Quinn is the second alternate for the event and first alternate for the Chubb Classic in Naples, Florida, the following week. So if two golfers pull out in Boca Raton, he’ll get in, and if one withdraws the following week, he’ll tee off again.
“So I’m just kind of a little bit right now for the first two on the outside looking in,” he said, “but I can’t imagine that I wouldn’t get in.”
Quinn expects to find his way into at least 15 PGA Tour Champions events, and if he plays well, he would guarantee berths in more tournaments. Last year, he took part in 19 PGA Tour Champions events after earning his playing card by tying for fourth in Q-school. The previous two years, he played in a combined 14 events as a Monday qualifier or via sponsor exemptions.
Quinn, who turns 53 March 11, has been working on his game with his caddie, Jim Becker, for more than two weeks at the Floridian National Golf Club in Palm City, Florida.
Quinn relived his eagle-3 on the last hole of the first round of the 2017 playoffs when he heard fellow PGA Tour Champions golfer Rod Spittle tell a friend about it. Anything less, and Quinn would not have advanced to the second round of the playoffs or kept his playing card for 2018.
“Obviously,” Quinn recalled, “it was something I needed to do. It was a great thrill, but now it’s ancient history. It’s like, ‘Oh, yeah, yeah, right, that happened.’ But now let’s move on, let’s go. We’ve got other things we’ve got to try to do and accomplish. Let’s not be in that situation, let’s stay healthy the whole year, let’s go out and win not once, but win a couple times. You know you’ve got the ability to do it. Let’s have fun doing it. That’s my attitude.”
Quinn’s back has given him problems over the years, but it feels fine now. To strengthen his back, he works with foam rollers and does many planks and squats. For those of you unfamiliar with planks, he stretches out on the ground and lifts himself on his elbows for a minute 10 or 12 times a day.
In November, Quinn tied for fifth in the TaylorMade Pebble Beach Invitational, an unofficial event for PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, Web.com and PGA Tour Champions golfers.
Encouraged by his high finish, he decided to compete in Q-school a couple of weeks later to try to improve his position on the PGA Tour Champions exemption list, but his tie for 35th didn’t accomplish his goal.
“I didn’t play poorly,” he said. “It was just one of those weeks where I didn’t do anything great. Now whether or not it was because there wasn’t a sense of urgency, I don’t know. Every tournament needs to have that sense of urgency.”
Last year, Quinn ranked 29th on tour with a 1.761 putting average. Nevertheless, he planned to work even harder on his short game.
“My putting was good, but it wasn’t great,” he said. “The year before, I felt like I made more putts that were important.”
Last year, Quinn closed with a 7-under 65 to tie for 20th in the Boca Raton Championship, then known as the Allianz Championship.
“It’s a fun golf course,” he said. “I’m excited to get going. I know more what to expect as far as a lot of the golf courses. I know the ones I really like and the other ones, I know what I need to do to do a little better on.”
—Contact Bill Doyle at william.doyle@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillDoyle15.