Nathan Franks outlasts creators and contenders to win The Q at Myrtle Beach
Nathan Franks (Photo courtesy of Golf Tourism Solutions)
In practice, it sounds like a typical Monday qualifier on the PGA TOUR. 18 holes of qualifying among some elite golfers and the winner gets to tee it up at a TOUR event. Not so fast. This is not your average Monday Q.
The Q at Myrtle Beach features 16 golfers from all walks of life, notably many being YouTube content creators.
With only one round, pairings were made based on entertainment value as well as a mix between aspiring professionals and the content creators.
- Fat Perez, Joe Hooks, Roger Steele, Kyle Berkshire
- Tyler Watts, Trevor Gutschewski, Jake Albert, Ben Kruper
- Patrick O'Brien, Drew Sykes, Micah Morris, Peter Finch
- Nathan Franks, Andrew Swanson, Sean Walsh, George Bryan
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The “Q” of the day in our book is, does a content creator have what it takes to take on these future PGA TOUR players? Or do the worlds of YouTube and competitive golf belong on different channels? Watch it all unfold online on YouTube, or read our (**warning, spoilers**) recap below.
Results: Fan favorite Fat Perez did not have his stuff at TPC Myrtle Beach, finishing last place on the day. In front of him at T14 were Roger Steele and Kyle Berkshire. In 12th, Micah Morris and Drew Sykes. Peter Finch, last years best finishers on the content side, finished solo 11th with a +4, 76.
Patrick O’Brien, who qualified for the Q via another local qualifier after holing out on the final hole for a 69, tallied a +3, 75 at TPC Myrtle Beach for a respectable showing. George Bryan, who was runner up last year finished T8 alongside the Pause King, Ben Kruper.
Andrew Swanson, a Clemson University golfer from Bluffton did not get off to a hot enough start with a front nine 38, though finishing the back nine in 35 for a solo 7th at +1, 73. There was a tie at 5th between a content creator and aspiring TOUR Player with Sean Walsh and Jake Albert.
Trevor Gutschewski, the reigning U.S. Junior Champion and favorite coming in, had a mix of birdies and bogeys on the back nine to finish with a -1, 71 and finish fourth place.
Tyler Watts got it to 4-under through 16, but fell with back-to-back bogeys on 17 and 18 to miss by just one stroke. The same can be said for Joe Hooks, who recorded just 1 bogey and 3 birdies. Unfortunately, a par on the generally good birdie opportunity 18th hole led to Hooks falling one shot short.
Among 16 elite amateurs, it was Nathan Franks day. The University of South Carolina product set the tone early starting birdie-eagle. From there he went on to make another eagle at 14 to get it to 5-under. With a moderately comfortable lead, he was able to make bogey on 18 and still hoist the trophy, finishing -3, 69. Franks will tee it up at the 2025 ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic.