Date: November 23, 2008
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Bonhomme, Deane sneak through

Australians Andrew Bonhomme and Stuart Deane have made it through to the final stage of the US PGA Tour Qualifying School. The duo safely finished in a tie for 15th at the Lantana Golf Club in Texas. Bonhomme, who was tied for the lead after the first round, finished level with the card to narrowly qualify for the final stage. He and Deane finished level with Kent Jones, Gary Woodland, Ted Oh, Justin Walters, Brian Vranesh and Tyler Aldridge. Jimmy Walker, who lost his card after earning just $US282,249 in 2008, led the way at eight-under, while four-time PGA Tour winner Notah Begay III shot a brilliant seven-under 65 to make his way into the finals. Another former Tour winner, Paul Stankowski, closed with a 68 to also advance. There was heartbreak for Aussie Terry Pilkadaris, who missed the finals by just one place, while compatriot David Lutterus was a stroke further back at two-under in a share of 26th place. Kane Webber fired a final-round three-under 69 but it wasn&apost enough to see him through. Others to miss out included Aussies Aaron Townsend, David McKenzie, and Kiwi Phil Tataurangi. At Oak Valley in Texas it was also bad news for former US Tour winner Mark Hensby. With only the top 19 and ties progressing, Hensby shot a final round 73 to finish in a tie for 20th place at six-under-par alongside Eric Wang, Robin Freeman and Chris Baryla and missed out by one shot. Also missing out were Luke Hickmott, Brad Iles and Nick Flanagan who all withdrew. Canadian Jim Rutledge took the honours with a 15-under total, three shots clear of Steve Friesen, while Sang-Moon Bae – a 22-year-old South Korean who is aiming to become one of the youngest members on the tour in 2009 – shot a final-round 64 to earn his trip to the finals with Alex Aragon, Jesse Muller and Jeff Hart at 11-under. The finals begin with three full days of practice rounds on November 30 and December 1-2. From December 3-8, 156 golfers will fight it out over six rounds for the 25 remaining spots on the PGA Tour. The tournament will be split between PGA West&aposs Nicklaus Tournament Course and the TPC Stadium Course. Players that finished between 126th and 150th on the final PGA Tour money list earn an entry straight into the finals. Second Stage – Beaumont -15: Jim Rutledge 71 69 68 67 -12: Steve Friesen 68 69 67 72 -11: Sang-Moon Bae 71 70 72 64, Alex Aragon 65 69 74 69, Jesse Muller 70 67 68 72, Jeff Hart 70 67 70 70 -10: Kent Eger 70 67 72 69, S S Hong 68 68 71 71, James Oh 70 69 69 70 -9: Brian Smock 70 70 70 69, Aaron Watkins 68 70 71 70, Ted Purdy 70 65 73 71, Craig Kanada 66 70 72 71 -8: Rich Barcelo 72 70 71 67, James Drew 68 67 73 72, Richard Lee 67 73 69 71 -7: Troy Kelly 71 68 74 68, Dustin White 69 72 70 70, Y E Yang 71 70 68 72 Second Stage – Lantana -8: Jimmy Walker 68 73 70 69 -7: Henrik Bjornstad 69 71 72 69 -6: Erick Justesen 73 71 69 69 -5: Matt Richardson 70 74 67 72 -3: Martin Piller 72 73 70 70 -2: Jason Knutzon 71 73 75 67, Paul Stankowski 72 75 71 68, Wil Collins 70 74 70 72 -1: Notah Begay III 71 77 74 65, Andrew Dresser 70 72 74 71, Michael Sims 70 73 72 72, Martin Flores 72 74 69 72, Kris Cox 70 76 69 72, Casey Devoll 67 71 76 73 E: Kent Jones 72 74 72 70, Gary Woodland 73 78 66 71, Ted Oh 74 74 68 72, Stuart Deane (Australia) 68 76 71 73, Andrew Bonhomme (Australia) 67 76 72 73, Justin Walters 71 74 70 73, Brian Vranesh 72 69 71 76, Tyler Aldridge 71 72 69 76