PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Cooper Dossey was prepared to skip the final stage of PGA Tour Q-School.
Already fully exempt on the Korn Ferry Tour for next year by virtue of finishing No. 44 in points, the 27-year-old Dossey was also awaiting the arrival of his first child. Dossey’s wife, Ashley, was due Dec. 6, though Tucker William came a couple weeks early, just before Thanksgiving. With extra help at home in Dallas, Dossey opted to tee it up in final stage after all – and that decision has Dossey on the cusp of a PGA Tour card.
Inspired by fatherhood and sleeping over 10 hours this week (sorry, Ashley!), Dossey fired a 6-under 64 Saturday at Sawgrass Country Club, where the top half of the leaderboard competed. Dossey is a shot back of leaders Ben Kohles and Marcele Rozo, but more importantly, he’s in a three-way tie for third with John Pak and A.J. Ewart entering Sunday’s final round at TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley course, where five cards will be on the line.
“It’s been a whirlwind, I might cry,” Dossey said of being a dad. “It’s been the greatest thing I’ve ever experienced honestly. It’s made this golf feel really easy. Whether I shot 80 or 64 today, it’s been the greatest blessing in our lives, and I’m so proud to be married to Ashley, and grateful for a healthy baby and healthy momma. … When you have them on your mind, it’s a lot easier to play good golf.”
Dossey, who starred at Baylor before turning pro in 2021, has spent the last two years on the Korn Ferry Tour. Last year, he finished No. 76 in points, one spot shy of keeping his card.
“I was a miserable human being,” Dossey said earlier this year. “When I played poorly, I was frustrated, and when I didn’t convert on good weeks, I was frustrated. I was never excited to play.”
But he managed to sneak into the season-opening field in the Bahamas back in January and tied for 15th, securing starts for the rest of the year.
Admitting that he had lacked self-belief in the past, Dossey made strides mentally after both learning of Ashley’s pregnancy in March and then having his brother Luke quit his accounting job to caddie full-time starting in late May. Dossey plays even freer these days thanks to Tucker.
“I’ve struggled a lot with identity in golf, that being who I am,” Dossey said. “I think now being a dad and actually watching my wife go through the process of labor has made golf less important. That still means I care, I still want to play really badly. I want to play really well tomorrow and get my Tour card.”
It could be hard to top Saturday. Unsurprisingly, Dossey had unusual preparation for final stage, changing more diapers than balls hit on the range. Last week, he discovered that the time away had caused his swing to get too laid-off at the top. However, those bad thoughts he’s been prone to harboring on the greens?
“Kind of gone away, which is nice,” Dossey said, before adding, “Probably the best week I’ve putted in a long time.”
Dossey’s 64 was only a shot worse than Spencer Levin’s round of the day (Levin is among five other players tied for sixth, a shot out of the top five). Dossey bogeyed the last, but before that he’d carded five birdies, all from 8 to 10 feet, and an eagle, at the par-5 11th, where he hit 7-wood to 25 feet and made that one, too.
The goal for Dossey has always been to get to the PGA Tour before his grandparents passed. Nub and Carolyn Donaldson, former USGA rules officials and Golf Digest raters, introduced Dossey and his two younger brothers to the game.
“I feel like a lot of what I do is for my family and my friends,” Dossey said.
Make no mistake, though, this is Dossey’s dream as well. He entered the week with what many would call a free roll, only able to improve his status by earning his way to the PGA Tour.
“But it’s not a free roll anymore,” Dossey noted. “I’m in a position where I can earn a Tour card. It’s been a dream of mine for a long time. Gets me emotional just thinking about it.”
And to potentially do so as a new dad.