PGA Q-School: First Stage

Mike Van Sickle continues his quest for a Tour card at a PGA Q-School First Stage qualifier in Valdosta, Ga. Van Sickle will play four rounds, Oct. 27-30, at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club, one of 11 First Stage sites across the country.

The former Marquette all-American has been paired with Pat Grady and Carlos Sainz for the first two rounds of the stroke play event with an opening round tee time set for 9:40 a.m. ET, Wednesday, Oct. 27.

Van Sickle won a Pre-Qualifying tournament in Lincoln, Neb., back in September, which earned him the right to advance through to the First Stage.

Link to Q-School tournament information and results.
http://pgatq.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/pgatq9/event/pgatq911/index.htm

Van Sickle Helps Pennsylvania to USGA State Team Championship

Mike Van Sickle closed with rounds of 68 and 67, respectively, to help lead Pennsylvania to the 2009 USGA Men's State Team Championship at The Country Club of St. Albans (Mo.), Sept. 23-25.

Van Sickle finished the tournament at four-under-par 207, as Pennsylvania claimed a three-stroke victory over Kansas. Partnered with Van Sickle were fellow Pittsburgh-area amateurs Sean Knapp and Nathan Smith.

Full Story (USGA.org)

Van Sickle Wins PGA Tour Q-School Pre-qualifier

Mike Van Sickle advanced to the First Stage of the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament after winning a pre-qualifier this past weekend in Lincoln, Neb., with a final round six-under-par 64.

Van Sickle, who also shot 64 in the second round after beginning the day five strokes behind the first-round leader, carded 24 birdies in four rounds of play at Yankee Hill Country Club. He finished at 11-under 269.

First Stage of Q-School will get underway beginning Oct. 21 at one of 11 sites. More information, including complete results, are available at www.pgatour.com/qschool.

U.S. Amateur Begins Monday

Mike Van Sickle will tee off in the 109th U.S. Amateur Championship at 2:35 p.m. CT Monday at Southern Hill Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.

Van Sickle shot 146 in a 36-hole sectional qualifier back on Aug. 3 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The former Marquette star and All-American has been grouped with Trent Whitekiller (Sallisaw, Okla.) and Curtis Skinner (Lake Bluff, Ill.).

Televised coverage of the event will be broadcast on NBC and the Golf Channel.

Television Schedule
Wednesday (Aug. 26) Golf Channel 3-5 p.m.
Thursday (Aug. 27) Golf Channel Noon-2 p.m.
Friday (Aug. 28) Golf Channel Noon-2 p.m.
Saturday (Aug. 29) NBC 3-5 p.m.
Sunday (Aug. 30) NBC 3-5 p.m.

Pennsylvania Golf Association Open Championship begins Monday

Mike Van Sickle will go for a three-peat this week at the Pennsylvania Golf Association's 93rd Open Championship, which begins Monday, August 10 at the storied Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa.

Van Sickle made history last summer when he became the first player since 1955-56 (and first-ever amateur) to win back-to-back Pennsylvania Open Championships.

Bill Beckner, Jr. of the Valley News Dispatch wrote a preview for this year's event that also ran online Aug. 8 at PittsburghLive.com.

Live scoring is available.

Chicago Tribune likes Van Sickle's chances at Western Am

Mike Van Sickle will travel from Columbus, Ohio, where he recently competed in the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational -- a Nationwide Tour event, to Chicago to compete in this week's 107th annual Western Amateur Championship, Aug. 3-8, at Conway Farms.

Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune spent some time with the former Marquette University standout a while back at the Western Amateur media day. He recently posted a column titled, "Mike Van Sickle can win the "Masters" of Amateur Golf."

Here's the direct link to the Greenstein's column: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/golf/chi-02-18-holes-mike-van-sickle-aug02,0,5983527.column

Van Sickle to play in Nationwide Tour event

Mike Van Sickle has been invited to play in the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational, a Nationwide Tour event, to be held at Ohio State University's Scarlet Course, July 30 through August 2.

Invitations to compete in this week's tournament in Columbus, Ohio, were extended to 2009 Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) award winners and first-team All-Americans. Van Sickle was this year's Byron Nelson Award winner, in addition to being named to the PING All-America First Team.

[link to full story on GoMarquette.com]

Van Sickle Earns All-America Scholar Award For Second Straight Year

For the second consecutive year, Mike Van Sickle has been named a Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholar, it was recently announced by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).

Van Sickle, recipient of this year's Byron Nelson Award, was one of two All-Americans to be honored by the GCAA. He led NCAA Division I in scoring average (70.00) this past season, among other statistical categories, and graduated from Marquette University in May with a 3.3 cumulative grade point average.

[read full story on GoMarquette.com]

Van Sickle meets with media

In addition to one-on-one TV interviews and a candid sit-down with local sports talk radio station WSSP 1250 AM (Peaches???), Mike Van Sickle held two press conferences Wednesday following the Pro-Am at the U.S. Bank Championship.

A video of Van Sickle's second press conference of the afternoon is available on Marquette's YouTube channel. As for his round in the Pro-Am? He shot a 63, but the PGA made him play from the white tees.

A complete transcript (download PDF) of Mike's press conference earlier in the day is also available for download.

VIDEO: "Mike's Diary" on WTMJ-TV

Our good friend Lance Allan over at WTMJ-TV ("Today's TMJ4") will be featuring Mike Van Sickle in a video diary this week in conjunction with the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee.

Check out the first installment titled, "Marquette and Mike" online at Lance's blog at: http://www.todaystmj4.com/bloggers/lanceallan/50810032.html.

Scheduled to run during tonight's evening news will be a feature focused on the Van Sickle family, including father Gary and mother Betsy.