AJ McInerney to start on PGA Tour after surviving Las Vegas shooting

Just a month after escaping with his life from the Las Vegas shooting, AJ McInerney is looking forward to his first PGA Tour start at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

McInerney was among the crowd at the Route 91 Harvest music festival when 58 people were killed and hundreds of others wounded as a rogue gunman opened fire from the nearby Mandalay Bay hotel in the tragic events of October 1.

The 24-year-old shielded his girlfriend from the hail of bullets before they made their escape, and he then returned his truck to help others evacuate the scene, and his heroism was rewarded with a sponsors invitation for this week's field at TPC Summerlin.

McInerney, who finished 97th on the Web.com Tour money list in his rookie season, now hopes to put a traumatic few weeks behind him as the Las Vegas native gets his first experience of a PGA Tour tournament.

Recalling the horrific events of October 1, he said: "It was a very traumatic and crazy experience to go through. It was pretty surreal that it was actually happening, but it happened and we were lucky. Most of my friends made it out uninjured, but there were a lot of people that died that night.

"But the way Las Vegas came together was pretty incredible to see. I had a friend that waited in line for 12 hours to donate blood. Just everything that went on that night, saving lives, I think, the heroic efforts of pretty much everyone that was there and the first responders that showed up saved a lot of lives. It could have been a lot worse than it was.

"I don't think there's one person in Las Vegas who wasn't in some way affected by that night, but the support has been outstanding. I think that's really helped the coping process of the whole thing because it is still something we think about every day. But we are lucky. The support that we got has helped a lot."

McInerney remains determined to stay focused as he looks to play all four rounds and give himself momentum to take into the second stage of Qualifying School for the Web.com Tour next season, which starts next Tuesday, although a win in front of his home fans would earn him a two-year PGA Tour exemption.

"I played a full season on the Web.com Tour last year, but I did not finish in the top 25," he added. "So this is my first PGA Tour event ever, and to play it in my hometown in Las Vegas is amazing. I've dreamed about it since I was 15 or 16, and having a good finish here this week would be great for my career.

Live PGA Tour Golf

"Playing on the PGA Tour only does good things, but I'm still going to be at the second stage of Q-School in Texas next week. So unless I were to get a win here this week and get that two-year exemption to become a member of the PGA Tour, I'd need to go to the second stage. Even with a top 10, I'd still go to second stage."