PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Poll the 170-man field in this week’s Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry, and you’ll get 170 different answers for what Q-School means to them. For some, it elicits a visceral reaction, a daunting challenge that conjures memories they’d prefer to forget from career-defining (or career-breaking) rounds. For others, it’s an opportunity – a high-stakes gateway to the PGA TOUR where lifelong dreams can come to fruition.

The ultimate prize is clear-cut: The top five finishers (and ties) after 72 holes earn PGA TOUR cards for 2025, an immediate ascension into golf’s upper echelon. But for some, there’s also the cutoff to secure guaranteed Korn Ferry Tour starts in 2025 – the next 40 and ties, after the top five and ties.

Ninth-year pro Will Cannon stands T52 into the weekend at Final Stage, and with 12 guaranteed Korn Ferry Tour starts as a top-10 finisher on the PGA TOUR Americas’ season-long Fortinet Cup, he can go for broke this weekend and chase the top five. He’s 4-over through 36 holes, five strokes off the top-five cut line. Conversely, fresh-faced recent University of Tennessee graduate Bryce Lewis stands T76 into the weekend at Final Stage and has an opportunity to cement a playing schedule for his first full season as a pro. Lewis stands 6-over, three strokes back of the next-40 cut line.

“My goal this week is to stay out of my own way and see what happens,” said Lewis, who qualified for both Second Stage of Q-School and the North American Swing on PGA TOUR Americas at No. 22 on the 2024 PGA TOUR University Ranking. “I’m playing with house money.”

Q-School’s inherent beauty lies in its contrast, each player facing a unique set of stakes and circumstances. Yet Cannon and Lewis, although competing this week with contrasting implications, are bound by grief and the ability to overcome off-course challenges in recent months.

That perspective is the extension of a recent car accident that left Lewis, in the words of the paramedic who arrived at the scene, “lucky to be alive.” Hence he arrived at his first Final Stage with a renewed view on professional golf and life.

“That really changed my perspective,” Lewis reflected. “Now, even bad days on the course feel better than not having a day at all.” Lewis advanced through Second Stage by two strokes to earn his first trip to Final Stage, which is contested across TPC Sawgrass’ Dye’s Valley Course and Sawgrass Country Club (two rounds at each course).

For the 24-year-old, Final Stage represents the next step in a trajectory that feels almost preordained. Free from the emotional scars and near-misses that define many careers, he carries the optimism and ambition of someone who still remembers visiting the TOUR Championship as a fan, getting autographs from the golfers that he would look up to and emulate while embarking on a career of his own.

For Cannon, the road to Final Stage has been anything but linear. The 30-year-old has spent the better part of nine years chasing his dream across several PGA TOUR-sanctioned circuits – the Korn Ferry Tour, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, PGA TOUR Canada and most recently on PGA TOUR Americas. Along the way, Cannon has seen it all – the heartbreak of close calls, the financial strain of chasing the dream and the mental toll of wondering if his moment will ever come.

“Q-School is brutal,” Cannon admitted. “You have one week to prove yourself, and if you don’t, you’re back to square one for another year. Last year, I missed at Second Stage and thought, ‘Am I good enough? Can I even compete with these guys anymore?’ It takes a lot to push past those thoughts.’”

In 2024, Cannon made just one Korn Ferry Tour start, finishing T51 at the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX. He missed his first four cuts on the North America Swing of PGA TOUR Americas but found momentum late, winning the season-ending Fortinet Cup Championship. The win, his first professional title, earned him a direct ticket to Final Stage and the chance to rewrite the trajectory of his career.

“That win was huge,” Cannon said. “After so many near-misses, to finally get it done felt incredible. It reminded me why I’m still out here – why I’ve fought through all the struggles to keep chasing this dream.”

Thus lies the duality of Q-School. For one, it’s the beginning of a career, a launchpad forward; for the other, it’s the chance to fulfill a professional dream nearly a decade in the making. Cannon’s focus this week is clear: a PGA TOUR card, while Lewis eyes a full playing schedule in the spring (yet also with that TOUR dream percolating). No matter what brought them to this point, they share the same base objectives, challenges and dreams: vying for a chance at the game’s highest level.

It’s a reminder that Q-School, for all its drama, is a great equalizer. The top five (and ties) standing at the end of the week earn PGA TOUR cards, and the results will come to define careers, but the journey, marked by perseverance, self-belief and resilience, remains the true test of every golfer who dares to toss their hat in the ring.