Hilton Head Island's Chris Epperson and 2012 Players Amateur champion Daniel Nisbet were among the players advancing Friday after the first stage of PGA Tour qualifying.

Epperson finished tied for 11th at The Club at Irish Creek in Kannapolis, N.C., after carding a final-round 70. He finished 7 under for the four rounds.

Meanwhile, at Lantana Golf Club in Lantana, Texas, Nisbet was running away from the field after posting his third straight round of 65. Nisbet finished with a 24-under-par 264 total, 12 strokes ahead of his nearest competitor.

Epperson and Nisbet advance to the second round of qualifying, which begins Nov. 13 and 14 at six sites around the country. From the second round, the players hope to advance to the 108-hole final held Nov. 28 to Dec. 3 at the PGA West Nicklaus and Stadium Courses in LaQuinta, Calif.

From there, the top 25 players will earn their PGA Tour cards, while the next 50 will earn full status on the Web.com Tour.