Crystal Lake’s Brian Carroll says he feels like he belongs with the regulars on the PGA Tour. This week, he gets a chance to prove it.

Carroll on Monday qualified for the John Deere Classic in Silvis, near the Quad Cities, the first time he has qualified for a PGA Tour event.

After advancing out of a prequalifying tournament July 1, Carroll shot a 67 on Monday at Pinnacle Country Club in Milan to tie three others for second place.

He then survived a one-hole playoff to earn one of the four qualifying spots in the John Deere Classic, which begins Thursday at the TPC Deere Run.

“I’m definitely happy to be here, but I’m ready to play and looking forward to playing well,” Carroll said Tuesday. “I think if I play my game I can make the cut and play on the weekend.

“I definitely feel like I can compete with the guys out there.”

Carroll is in his second year as a professional on the NGA Hooters Tour, a developmental golf tour one step below the Nationwide Tour. He finished 33rd in the 2007 Hooters Tour Winter Series standings, and this year he has made two of seven cuts on the full Hooters Tour.

Carroll tees off at 1:44 p.m. Thursday in a pairing with Brad Adamonis and David Lutterus. Carroll said he played with Adamonis in a Monday qualifier in Florida last year, and he hoped that familiarity would put him more at ease.