LITTLE ROCK – Little Rock's
Justin Warren continues to make his mark in his native Australia as the senior placed sixth in the Final Stage of the PGA Australasia Qualifying School. Warren posted a 5-under 283 over the four-day event at Moonah Links in Fingal, just outside of Melbourne, and was the top amateur finisher.
PGA Tour Australasia Qualifying School - Final Stage Results
Coming off his first-place showing in the opening stage, Warren opened up the event with a 2-under 70, followed by a 1-under 71 in round two. After struggling slightly in round three with a 2-over 74, Warren rebounded in style, shooting a 4-under 68 over the final 18 holes to place sixth among the 76 competitors.
"The course was a true test of patience and how well you can manage yourself and your game," said Warren. "We had awful weather as it was raining basically the whole week with 20-plus mile per hour winds, so it was going to be survival of the fittest. Plus, with the additional pressure of trying to secure a professional care on the PGA Tour of Australasia, it was brutal.
"I felt like I had a really good game plan for the course, and knew that if I stuck with it, remained calm and patient, I would be in for a good week," Warren continued. "With the top-five getting a good category of membership on the tour for 2019, that was definitely my goal. I was at 2-under with four holes to play with three legitimate birdie chances over those holes and I was able to get all of them. Unfortunately it wasn't quite enough for fifth, but I was proud of myself and showing that GRIT we always talk about."
With his sixth-place showing, Warren is now placed in Exemption Category 16 for the duration of the 2018 season. The group will gain a start in a majority of the State Based Championships and several Tier 1 Tournaments of the PGA Australasia Tour in 2019.
It has been an impressive six months for Warren, finishing first at the 2018 Camden Cup in May to qualify for the 2018 NSW Open last month in his native Australia where he made the cut and tied for 55th among the 156-player field with a 3-under 285. Warren then placed fourth among 256 golfers at the Canadian Amateur Championship in August, registering an 11-under 273.
Those successes continued into the fall season where Warren led the Trojans with a 71.73 scoring average in four fall tournaments, including six round of par-or-better. He notched a pair of top-10 showings, including a runner-up finish at the Trinity Forest Invitational in September where he set the Little Rock program record for lowest individual round (7-under 64) and lowest individual tournament (11-under 202).
Warren is now getting set to return to Little Rock to finish his final semester as a Trojan before setting his sights on returning to his native Australia to compete professionally.
"This finish will allow me to come back to Little Rock, finish my last semester and graduate, which was always the end goal," Warren said. "I'll be coming back to Little Rock full of confidence and looking for a great finish to my collegiate and amateur career. We have a great group of guys who have been playing well this year and I truly believe we can give the postseason a good shake."
Warren and the rest of the Trojans will return action in January as Little Rock begins its challenging spring schedule in Tucson, Arizona, competing in the Arizona Intercollegiate January 28-29, 2019.
#LittleRocksTeam
