Matthews fires 65 as he tries to gain some status in Web.com Q-School Final Stage

   Former Temple standout and two-time Philadelphia Open champion Brandon Matthews fired a 7-under-par 65 on the Whirlwind Golf Club’s Devil’s Claw Course in Chandler, Ariz. Friday to put himself in position to gain some status for 2019 in the Web.com Tour Q-School Final Stage.

   Matthews opened with a 1-under 71 on the Cattail Course in Thursday’s opening round and Friday’s strong showing left him in the group tied for 49^th at 8-under 136.

   Only the medalist at the Final Stage is exempt for the entire 2019 Web.com Tour campaign. The players who finish second through 10^th are exempt through the first 12 events and the players who finish 11^th through 40^th are exempt through the first eight events.

   There are reshuffles after every four events which can affect a player’s standing. The rest of the players who made it to the Final Stage earn conditional status for 2019.

   The 24-year-old Matthews, the 2010 PIAA champion as a junior at Pittston, finished tied for 42^nd a year ago at Whirlwind, which was good enough to earn him the exemption for eight events.

   Matthews had a couple of solid showings early in 2018, finishing in a tie for 10^th at the North Mississippi Classic in April and in a tie for seventh in the Nashville Golf Open Benefiting the Snedeker Foundation in May.

   But he struggled for much of the rest of the year, earning $65,220 to finish 82^nd on the Web.com Tour money list.

   The Devil’s Claw Course has yielded some low numbers the first two days. Not sure if Matthews started on the first tee, but he got it going on the front nine at Devil’s Claw with birdies at the second and fourth holes, an eagle at the sixth and a birdie at the eighth before making a bogey at the ninth.

   On the back nine, Matthews made a bogey at the 11^th before rattling off birdies at the 12^th, 13^th, 15^th and 16^th holes. It added up to seven birdies, an eagle and two bogeys for a 7-under 65.

   Former Penn State standout Cole Miller, who starred scholastically at Northwestern Lehigh, has some work to do to move up the ladder for the Web.com Tour for next year.

   Miller, who won the 2016 Pennsylvania Amateur at Moselem Springs Golf Club, opened with a solid 4-under 68 at Devil’s Claw Thursday, but struggled with a 2-over 74 at the Cattail Course Friday and is tied for 122^nd at 2-under 142.

   It doesn’t appear that there was a cut, so it looks like the field will get another shot at both courses over the weekend.

   Miller capped one of the finest careers in the history of the Penn State program last spring by leading the Nittany Lions to a berth in the NCAA Columbus Regional. Penn State came up just short of a second straight trip to the NCAA Championship with a sixth-place finish.

   The 23-year-old Miller made eight cuts in nine starts on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA Tour Canada. He had three top-10 finishes and earned $30,675.

   Miller birdied the final hole for a 5-under 65 in his final event, the Freedom 55 Financial Championship, to finish in a tie for ninth and that got him to 25^th on the Mackenzie Tour money list, just enough to avoid having to tee it up in Stage One of the Web.com Tour Q-School.

   Miller finished in a tie for 13^th in Stage Two at the Plantation Preserve Golf Club in Plantation, Fla. last month to earn himself a trip to Whirlwind.

   Leading the pack after two rounds is Norman Xiong, the former Oregon standout who swept both the Fred Haskins and Jack Nicklaus awards as the top player in Division I for the 2017-’18 season.

   Xiong, one of the heroes of a dominating 19-7 victory for the United States over Great Britain & Ireland in the 2017 Walker Cup Match at Los Angeles Country Club, added a 9-under 63 at Devil’s Claw to his opening-round 65 at Cattail for a 16-under 128 total. Xiong is of Chinese heritage, was born in Guam and grew up in California.

   You probably figured out that if 8-under only had Matthews in a tie for 49^th, there were some pretty good players teeing it up in this thing.

   Andy Zhang, also a native of China who captured the Southeastern Conference individual title as a sophomore at Florida last spring, is tied for second with Jamie Arnold, a 35-year-old Australian, and Xinjun Zhang, a 31-year-old from China, at 15-under 129.

   Andy Zhang added a 6-under 66 at Devil’s Claw to the sparkling 9-under 63 he opened with at Cattail. Arnold fired a spectacular 11-under 61 at Devil’s Claw Friday after opening with a 68 at Cattail. Xinjun Zhang fired a 9-under 63 at Cattail in Friday’s second round after opening with a 6-under 66 at Devil’s  Claw.

   Arnold’s 61, however, was not the low round of the day at Devil’s Claw. That belonged to former Oklahoma standout Michael Gellerman, who was on 59 watch before making a par on the 18^th hole to finish with a blazing 12-under 60.

   The 26-year-old Gellerman eagled both par-5s on the outgoing nine and added three birdies, somehow making a bogey on the fifth. He ripped off six birdies on the incoming nine, including four straight from the 14^th through the 17^th holes.

   This came after a pedestrian even-par 72 at Cattail in Thursday’s opening round and left Gellerman in the group tied for 14^th at 12-under 132. Like Miller, Gellerman played on the Mackenzie Tour this year after playing on the Web.com Tour in 2017.

   A couple of former Texas teammates, Scottie Scheffler and Doug Ghim, are also among the top 15. Scheffler and Ghim were also members of the winning U.S. Walker Cup side in 2017.

   Scheffler, the low amateur in the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills, also got it going at Devil’s Claw Friday, firing a 10-under 62 after opening with a 3-under 69 at Cattail in the opening round and is in the group tied for ninth at 13-under 131.

   Ghim, the runnerup in the 2017 U.S. Amateur at Riviera Country Club, is in the group tied for 14^th along with Gellerman at 12-under 132. Ghim carded a 4-under 68 at Devil’s Claw after blitzing Cattail with an 8-under 64 in the opening round.

   Another member of that 2017 U.S. Walker Cup team, Mississippi standout Braden Thornberry, the 2017 NCAA individual champion, is competing as an amateur at Whirlwind. He made it pretty clear in pre-tournament comments that if he finishes among the top 40 in the Web.com Tour Q-School Final Stage, he will turn pro and not return to Old Miss for the spring portion of his senior year.

   Thornberry looked like he was on his way when he opened with a sizzling 10-under 62 in the opening round at Devil’s Claw. He backed off a little with an even-par 72 at Cattail Friday, but that still leaves him among the group tied for 29^th at 10-under 134.