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    Former RHS golfer joins the Canadian PGA

    (Riverton, WY) – Former Riverton High School standout and North Carolina State golfer Easton Paxton has joined the Canadian PGA (Professional Golf Association) tour this summer.

    Paxton finished 15th in a qualifying tournament earning him the opportunity to get at least five to eight starts in the 16 Canadian tournaments schedule for the upcoming summer tour.

    “He’s technically a member of the Canadian PGA tour this summer,” his father Kurt Paxton said. “It’s definitely a foot in the door and it’s a positive step.”

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    They’re called Q Schools, “Qualifying Schools” and there are five each year in Canada. There are 60 existing members who can renew, and the top nine in each qualifying school also earn spots on the tour with the next 10 to 22 getting provisional status.

    “You’re a member of the tour, you just don’t get guaranteed starts,” Kurt said. “There are plenty of chances with Injuries, guys who run out of money, or win enough to move up, it is ever revolving.”

    Easton was a stellar basketball player and golfer for the Wolverines in high school, winning four consecutive Class 4-A individual golf titles from 2013 to 2016 in every year he competed in high school. His stellar prep career earned him a scholarship at North Carolina State where he has continued to improve his game.

    “If this goes the way they usually do by the fourth or fifth tournament, if he makes a start and makes the cut, he’ll be on the tour, Kurt said. “It’s an easier path to making the Canadian PGA tour.”

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    After making the tour, the target is the Korn Ferry Tour, a feeder program to the USPGA.

    “The Korn Ferry Tour filters into the PGA,” Kurt said. “This gets him guaranteed into the first round of qualifying school in the fall. If you’re on a PGA tour, you’re automatically into the first stage of Q School, Q school. That first stage, second stage, and final stage you’ll get starts on the Korn Ferry, right below the PGA tour.”

    The top 25 golfers in the Canadian PGA can expect to earn between $100,000 and $150,000 each season.

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    “The earning potential in golf is all performance based,” Kurt said.

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