Monday Qualifying on the Pro Golf Tours

"Monday qualifying" is a generic term applied to qualifying tournaments played prior to the start of a pro tour event and that award a handful of places in the tour event to the top finishers. These qualifiers are typically 18 holes and played on the Monday of tournament week, hence the terms "Monday qualifying" and "Monday qualifiers."

Golfers qualify for entry into tour events any number of ways, but most commonly by earning "fully exempt" status through money list rankings. If a golfer has not automatically qualified to play in a tournament, he or she can try to gain entry by playing in Monday qualifying.

Example: The Manulife LPGA Classic begins on a Thursday. But on the preceding Monday, a qualifying tournament is played. The top finishers in that 18-hole qualifier - the specific number varies by tour - earn spots in the Manulife LPGA Classic.

It should be noted that not every professional tour event holds Monday qualifying (the European Tour generally does not, for example). And the rules for Monday qualifiers - how to enter, how much it costs to enter, who is allowed to play - differ from tour to tour. We'll talk more about that below, but first ...

Where to Find Monday Qualifying Results

How can you find out which golfers earned spots in the main tournament field by making it through Monday qualifying? The PGA Tour and LPGA Tour generally post that information on their websites, either with a standalone post about the qualifier, or by noting those golfers on the tournament field list.

So the first thing to try when looking for scores from a Monday qualifier is to visit the PGA Tour website or LPGA Tour website, navigate to the tournament (e.g., the Honda Classic or the ShopRite LPGA Classic) page and check the news feed and/or field list. Do this late on Monday of tournament week or Tuesday morning.

The tours that hold Monday qualifiers also, generally, tweet the results - which golfers claimed the available spots (@pgatour and @lpga).

Eligibility for Playing in a Monday Qualifier

If you are interested in playing in a Monday qualifier, contact the tour or tournament office of the tournament you'd like to get into. No, wait: First, understand that in many cases, not just anybody can enter a Monday qualifier. And some tours - the PGA Tour, for example - also hold pre-qualifiers for golfers trying to get into the Monday qualifier!

In other words, unless you have or once had some kind of tour status, getting into a Monday qualifier is tough. But let's take a look at two examples of how Monday qualifying tournaments work, and the requirements for entering one.

LPGA Tour Monday Qualifiers

Say the LPGA Anytown Open begins on Thursday. On the Monday prior to the first round, the LPGA holds Monday qualifying. All female professionals (including LPGA Class A or B teaching or club professionals) - along with two amateurs (with handicap indexes of 3.4 or less) selected by the tournament director - are eligible to enter Monday qualifying. But the field is capped at 60, and priority is given to those with LPGA or Symetra Tour status, then LPGA T&CP members, then other pros. Those golfers who enter play 18 holes, and only the top two finishers earn places in the field for the Anytown Open that begins on Thursday.

Monday Qualifying on the PGA Tour

On the PGA Tour, golfers with PGA Tour or Web.com Tour status are eligible to play in Monday qualifying, and only the top four finishers advance into the PGA Tour event for which the qualifier is being played.

But on the PGA Tour, there is also a pre-qualifier, open to all golfers, played prior to the Monday qualifier, and that awards places in the field for the Monday qualifier. So if you are a golfer who wants to take a shot and you meet the requirements (pro, or amateur with a course handicap of 2.0 or lower), you can enter the pre-qualifier. And if you do well enough there, you will advance into Monday qualifying, where you'll go up against PGA Tour and Web.com Tour players.

The entry fee for Monday qualifying is usually around $400 or $500 for top tours. Again, for the specific rules of a tour's Monday qualifying process, including eligibility requirements and costs, golfers should contact the tour.

The PGA Tour lists the dates of its Monday qualifiers - which it calls "Open Qualifying" - at qualifying.pgatourhq.com. If you want to try to play in one, start there. Dates for Monday qualifying on the Champions Tour, Web.com Tour and other PGA Tour-run tours are also listed there.