After Pierre-Henri Soero walked off the 18th green yesterday at Turtle Bay Resort, he was tied for ninth and inside the window of opportunity.

"We just have to wait and see," the former University of Hawaii golfer said philosophically, exiting the scoring tent after his 1-under 71 put him at 2-under 286 after four days at the PGA Tour Q-School First Stage.

An hour later, that window closed emphatically, with Soero’s nose pressed firmly against the glass as he missed his chance to move on to the Second Stage in Texas by a single shot.

Soero, paired with former Rainbows teammate Jarett Hamamoto, tied for 11th in the 35-man field. Only the top 10 moved on in their dream of being one of 25 to earn a PGA Tour card for 2011 via the difficult path of Q-School.

Had he eagled the 18th, instead of carding a birdie with a closing two-putt from 25 feet, the Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., resident would have entered phase two of his journey. But it wasn’t meant to be.

"I tried my best," Soero said. "That’s all you can do."

Mike Hendry’s best earned him medalist honors. The New Zealand native closed with a 68 for a four-day total of 14-under 274 that left him three shots clear of Australia’s Luke Hickmott (69) and Argentina’s Alan Wagner (67). Fresno, Calif., resident Keith Huber (66), Ryan Posey (70) of Dallas and Nate Lashley (69) of Scottsdale, Ariz., tied for fourth at 8-under 280 in blustery conditions at the famed Palmer Course.

Hamamoto (73) tied for 14th with playing partner Ben Kern (73) of Tucson, Ariz., at 1-over 289. Widely known local golfer Kevin Hayashi caddied for cousin Hamamoto, who was in the hunt with a birdie at 15. But an errant drive at 16 led to a double bogey, effectively ending his chances at advancing to the Second Stage.