Scott Gardiner came perilously close to playing himself out of the final stage of qualifying for the US PGA Tour as Gavin Coles and Paul Gow also made the cut. Starting the day at Deerwood Golf Club in Texas in second place, just two shots behind the leader Chris Stroud, Gardiner shot a final-round 78 that saw him drop into a tie for 18th place at four-under alongside Dustin Risdon, Dong Yi and Vance Veazey. With just 21 positions available, Gardiner narrowly avoided missing out completely. Stroud completed a great week by taking out top honours with a closing 70 that gave him a four-shot victory. Gardiner&aposs compatriot Michael Sim missed out by two strokes, finishing tied for 26th at two-under, while Ewan Porter withdrew from the event. Another 23 players advanced to the final stage at the Hombre Golf Club in Florida, including Australians Coles and Gow. Coles fired a closing 68 to finish in a share of ninth spot at seven-under, while Gow was a further shot back after an even-par 71. Steve Wheatcroft led the field at 15-under, edging out Brad Golden by one shot. At Southern Hills Plantation Club in Brookville, former PGA Tour event winners John Huston, Garrett Willis and Robert Gamez were among 21 players to make it through, although New Zealand&aposs Grant Waite finished tied for 25th spot to miss a spot. Todd Dempsey, who returned to the tour this year following surgery to remove a golf ball-sized tumour from his brain, shared first place with Camilo Venedetti at 13-under. Former Ryder Cup player Chris Riley was one of three players to lead the way at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain. He finished alongside Oskar Bergman and Robert Damron at 17-under. With 20 spots up for grabs from this event, Jay Delsing and Joey Lamielle struck 69s to move into a four-way tie for 17th place to ensure their cards. The final stage of Q-school is scheduled for December 3-8 at PGA West in La Quinta, California. Second Stage – Brooksville -13: Todd Demsey 70 69 68 68, Camilo Benedetti 69 69 69 68 -12: Josh Teater 72 65 67 72 -11: John Huston 72 72 67 66, Major Manning 68 69 69 71, Robert Gamez 69 68 68 72 -10: Garrett Willis 71 66 68 73 -9: Steven Taylor 72 70 70 67, Matt Borchert 69 70 69 71, Brennan Webb 73 68 65 73, Scott Fawcett 67 71 67 74 -8: Lee Williamson 70 73 69 68, Michael Bradley 69 71 70 70, Marco Dawson 69 70 69 72 -7: Diego Vanegas 72 69 72 68, Leif Olson 77 67 70 67, Jason Enloe 72 70 73 66, Derek Lamely 68 70 73 70, Jon Mills 69 72 70 70, Seung-su Han 67 70 72 72, Steve LeBrun 70 68 70 73 Second Stage – Kingwood -14: Chris Stroud 67 69 68 70 -10: Drew Laning 68 69 70 71 -9: Willie Wood 68 68 71 72, Michael Putnam 69 68 70 72 -7: Richard Johnson 65 69 74 73, Mathias Gronberg 70 67 70 74 -6: Brian Stuard 71 69 71 71, Mark Brooks 71 71 68 72, Brad Elder 69 70 70 73, Dave Schultz 68 68 72 74 -5: Nick Beach 69 74 69 71, B J Staten 69 73 70 71, David Hearn 74 70 66 73, Glen Day 71 68 70 74, Keith Huber 75 69 65 74, Neal Lancaster 67 72 69 75 -4: Vance Veazey 75 70 70 69, Dustin Risdon 70 76 65 73, Dong Yi 74 70 67 73, Scott Gardiner (Australia) 67 69 70 78 Second Stage Panama City -15: Steve Wheatcroft 67 69 65 68 -14: Brad Golden 67 69 65 69 -11: Sal Spallone 71 67 66 69 -10: Brandon Brown 71 69 69 65, Geoffrey Sisk 69 62 70 73 -8: Sonny Skinner 68 70 70 68, Tom Gillis 65 68 70 73, Guy Boros 71 68 66 72 -7: Gavin Coles (Australia) 70 68 71 68, Harrison Frazar 66 71 69 71 -6: Johnattan Vegas 74 67 69 68, Jeff Gove 67 68 72 71, Paul Gow (Australia) 69 69 69 71 -5: Gary Christian 70 69 72 68, David Skinns 71 71 69 68, Jonas Blixt 73 70 67 69, Jeff Gallagher 69 69 71 70, Rodney Butcher 71 66 68 74 -4: Jim Herman 73 69 70 68, David Berganio Jr 77 70 69 64, Ryan Cobb 71 70 68 71, Jason Dufner 72 69 66 73, Joseph Sykora 69 67 69 75 Second Stage Pine Mountain -17: Chris Riley 66 68 68 69, Robert Damron 68 65 66 72, Oskar Bergman 69 67 65 70 -15: Jerod Turner 69 67 68 69, -14: John Riegger 67 67 66 74 -13: Chip Sullivan 70 70 66 69 -12: Olin Browne 71 68 67 70, Chris Smith 70 72 66 69, Kevin Johnson 69 67 67 73 -11: Derek Fathauer 70 72 68 68, Carlos Franco 67 71 71 69, Troy Merritt 73 66 70 69, David Robinson 69 69 69 71, Patton Kizzire 70 71 66 71, Webb Simpson 69 68 66 75 -9: Joey Lamielle 71 71 68 69, Bob Heintz 74 68 66 71, Jay Delsing 68 71 69 71, Jeff Curl 70 72 67 71