Brad Fritsch played well in Round 5 of the PGA Tour Qualifier in La Quinta, Calif., on Sunday.

But a couple of mistakes, some bad breaks and a widening gap from the top of the pack will make it tough for the Manotick native to earn his PGA Tour card for next season.

Fritsch fired a 1-under 71 and sits tied for 52nd at 3-under 357 going into Monday’s final round, 14 shots behind leader Marco Dawson. Fritsch likely needs to make up at least four shots to finish in the Top 25.

“I hit the ball quite well (Sunday),” said Fritsch. “ Two mental mistakes were my two bogeys, but other than that it was a real solid round. It definitely could have been a little better though, because I hit the hole on holes 14 through 17, but couldn’t get them to fall.

“Getting off to a good start definitely builds momentum for a round. Earlier this year I altered my warmup routine in order to try and get off to better starts and I think it’s paid off.”