Eligibility rules to enter the MGAWC as a competitor:
- Play in at least 3 regular season events in the same year as the WC.
- Have at least 5 regular season event finishes on your profile.
- For you math whizzes, yes, that means rookies will need to play in 5 events this year to be eligible.
- If you don't meet these eligibility requirements, you can still come to play as a guest.
Once eligible, here's how to earn a "qualified" spot in the MGAWC:
- Win a regular-season tournament in your home chapter.
- Finish top 10 on a chapter money list.
- Have won the MGAWC or Global Money List within the last 5 years.
If an eligible player is not pre-qualified, they must fight it out with all the other less-than-qualified eligible players who show up to Vegas in the LOIQ. That's the Last Opportunity In Qualification.
This mini-tournament takes place during round 1 of the MGAWC. At the end of round 1, the top half of the LOIQ field qualifies for the WC and their LOIQ score counts as their round 1 score. The bottom half of the field is out of the MGAWC, but still comes back to play some golf for fun during round 2. Because golfing while super-hungover is fun right?!
Don't go thinking the LOIQ is a death sentence though. We've had multiple World Champs come through the LOIQ to win The Belt!
John James and Dave Armstrong won The Belt in 2010 and 2011 respectively after coming through the LOIQ.