Rayhan aims to sharpen his game in quest for PGA Tour Card at Q-School in Florida

Dubai’s Rayhan Thomas knows the road to earning a coveted PGA Tour card is anything but easy, and he’s ready to dig deep after an opening round of level-par 70 at the Final Stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School, presented by Korn Ferry, in Ponte Vedra, Florida.

The 25-year-old talent is tied for 30th among 171 players after Day 1, acknowledging the need to sharpen his ball-striking if he hopes to climb the leaderboard and secure a top finish.

“I had a decent first round today, especially as it was windy and cold, in fact, a bit of a grind for us all out there,” he told Khaleej Times. “I just need to hit the ball better to score better, going forward.

”Friday’s second round for me is over the Dye - Valley Course, which I would say is a little bit more scoreable of the two courses, but still a good test,” he said.

“The weather forecast says it will be even more windy, so it is going to be another tough day – but I am prepared and ready,” added Rayhan.

On a challenging day for scoring just 29 players broke par.

The event, held across two challenging courses- Sawgrass Country Club and TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley - demands precision and consistency, with all players completing 72 holes and no cuts in play.

Setting a blistering pace is 28-year-old Corey Shaun (USA), whose stunning nine-under-par 61 at Dye’s Valley broke the competitive course record. Shaun holds a commanding five-stroke lead over fellow American Richy Werenski, who posted an impressive 66 to sit in second place.

With 25 PGA Tour cards on the line, Rayhan will be looking to elevate his game and achieve the desired results.

A former member of Dubai Creek Resort, who now represents The Els Club, Dubai,  Rayhan started on tee 10 and opened up with an untidy couple of bogeys on holes 10 and 13 and with a birdie on hole 14 made it to the turn in one over par 36.

Birdies on holes 1 and 2, got him into red figures and a bogey on his final hole, number 9, saw him fall back to parity.

The PGA Tour stats show that Thomas in his first round was tied 78th in Driving Accuracy (8/14), tied 131st in Greens in Regulation (8/18) tied 1st in Sand Saves (2/2) and tied 9th in Putts per GIR (1.63).

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