Wrap: Second To Last Q-School We'll Care About

The unbylined AP story on Q-School winner Brendon Todd, who closed with 68.

Rex Hoggard writes about the Georgia grad's success and the incredible number of top players the program has produced of late.

In order, former Georgia players Brendon Todd (pictured above), Brian Harman, Harris English and Kevin Kisner earned Tour cards, and even Hudson Swafford, the final member of the Bulldog five-some at Q-School who missed his card by two strokes, could appreciate the achievement.

“We had seven guys on that team that could play anywhere week to week,” Swafford said. “Our qualifiers my freshman, sophomore, junior years were as intense as any event.”

And that’s saying something considering this year’s Fall Classic was as intense as any on record.

John Strege looks at the Q-School graduating class of 2012 with ages, career highlights and other notes, including some of the notables who missed out on getting a chance to make three, or if they're really lucky, four West Coast starts before the reshuffle.

Strege also notes that David Duval did not make it, along with Lee Janzen and Shaun Micheel. Duval was low major winner for the week at T70.

The PGATour.com folks also list the group, with face shots, college and their total number of tour starts. Bob Estes' 589 do stand out!

Sean Martin leads with the story of Tommy Biershenk who "was working on a North Carolina farm two years ago, earning $500 a week as he tried to keep his golf dreams alive." But he also notes this year's crop of Korean hopefuls, who sound ready to make some noise.

This is the second consecutive year that two 20-somethings from Korea earned PGA Tour cards. Sang-Moon Bae, No. 30 in the Official World Golf Ranking, and Noh, who’s ranked 101st, were the two top-ranked players in the field. Bae has won three Japan Tour titles this year. Noh won on the European Tour at age 19 and finished 30th at this year’s U.S. Open and Open Championship.

Their graduation came at the same site, PGA West, where Y.E. Yang earned his PGA Tour card at the 2008 Q-School.

Brian Wacker talks to a fortunate few survivors, including Biershenk, along with others who know both heartbreak and jubilation at making it.

The Australian PGA covers the Aussies who made it, including the amazing Jarrod Lyle.

The PGA Tour's excellent notebook from round 6 features a mix of stats and notes.

The final scoreboard for what is likely to be the second to last Q-School anyone pays attention to before the intended change to a Nationwide-only qualifier in 2013.

Noh Joy: Q-School Finals Are Here

John Maginnes will be at Q-School for Golf Channel and sums up the final stage starting Wednesday at PGA West:

I honestly get a little queasy now just thinking about it and I haven't been to a Q-School in half a dozen years. I will be there this year on course for the Golf Channel and I feel like I will be returning to the scene of the crime that stole a piece of my soul and my youth. In return, I learned more about myself in a week than I have in any single year since.

Sean Martin previews the name players in the field and as always, I feel slightly dirty poring over the names of the souls who will be grinding it out over the next six days. Oh, but go ahead and look, it's not like they are standing in front of Home Depot looking for work. Yet.

Brian Wacker also looks at some of the better known names at Q-school.

Steve DiMeglio takes the William McGirt angle, talking to the heartbreak veteran who for three consecutive years at the second stage  faced final hole putts to make it to the finals. You'll have to read the story to see how it turned out.

The PGA Tour's leaderboard is here, and their full coverage page can be accessed here.

PGA Tour Announces 2011 Schedule For 2012

The 2012 list includes a Monday finish at Kapalua, flipping of the Dallas swing events, a July 4th weekend date for the Greenbrier and a delayed finish to the Fall Finish to work around the new Asia event.

Oh and this organic quote from Commissioner Pizzazz:

"The 2012 schedule again demonstrates the strength of our sport with a very strong collection of tournaments, venues and sponsors that provide outstanding playing opportunities for our members and attractive viewing options for our fans," PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem said. "The FedExCup and the PGA TOUR Playoffs continue to generate interest and excitement through September, with the Fall Series focusing on the drama of players fighting for their playing privileges."

I know status quo is comforting for a lot of folks and sponsor retention in this economy is a minor miracle, but shouldn't there be more twists along the lines of the Monday finish for Kapalua? Something to prevent us from going all Harry Belafonte on this schedule?

Update on 2011-10-20 02:17 by Geoff

**Sean Martin explains why the Disney event was moved back, adding a lot of time for players on the cusp of retaining their card even more time to think about what could go wrong.

Kapalua Field May Benefit From New Exception?

Robert Collias on changes to the PGA Tour's kickoff event at Kapalua, currently sponsored by Hyundai, says the tour's Championship Management will be taking over the operation (here come the military festivities!) and that scorned Hawaii lover Mark Rolfing is mulling whether he'll pretend to act like he wasn't run out after one year as tournament director.

There is also hope that an expanded exception for non-members might entice more of the previous year's tournament winners (Rory, Darren?) to appear.

Another change that Rolfing had campaigned for is in the works, Pazder said. Nonmembers of the PGA Tour may get to compete in two more tour events, bringing that number to 12. European Tour members, including U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy, often skip Kapalua because of the limit.

"We will be making a proposal to our policy board here in a couple weeks," Pazder said.

Greenbrier To Get PGA Tour's July 4 Date In '12

From a Roanoake Times report stating that the Greenbrier Classic will be held July 5-8, with quotes from resort host Jim Justice.

"It's huge in a lot of ways for me," Justice said. "If you think about The Greenbrier, America's Resort, that's it. Now, we've got the Greenbrier, America's Resort, playing the tournament, The Greenbrier Classic, on America's holiday.

"Our fireworks celebration here is unbelievable; it will be even more unbelievable. Our train [The Greenbrier Presidential Express] is going to be ready to roll, and it will probably be making its inaugural runs at that time. It just can't be any better."

Where does this put the AT&T National next year?

Rolfing's Relentless Shilling For Kapalua Could Subside; Fate Of Charitable Beneficiary Status Unclear

Robert Collias of the Maui News obtained a Mark Rolfing email revealing that Tim Finchem's deep-sea fishing buddy will no longer serve in the breathtakingly conflicted capacity as tournament announcer, tournament organizer and presumably, charitable beneficiary of the season opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions. The story does not make clear if Rolfing's foundation will continue to benefit from the event.

"The PGA Tour and its title sponsor, Hyundai, have decided to take a new direction with the Hyundai Tournament of Champions' management, including bringing in a new executive director," he wrote. "I will be assisting with the transition and will provide counsel to the PGA Tour and tournament staff when requested.

"However, I will no longer be serving in my former capacity as tournament organizer. I would like to thank each and every one of you for the support you gave me and your help in making the 2011 Hyundai Tournament of Champions a truly special event."

Interestingly, Collias notes that he spoke to Rolfing a week ago and there was no indication that such a move would be made by the tour.

Hope Officially Gets Humana, Clinton

The two main questions most would have are not answered in the release: the new tournament title and whether it's going from five days to four. Ron Sirak's report on the eight-year-deal suggests they are still contemplating the four day switch. 

For Immediate Release...

Humana and the William J. Clinton Foundation Partner with PGA TOUR for Bob Hope Classic

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL and LA QUINTA, CA – The PGA TOUR and the Bob Hope Classic announced today that Humana (NYSE: HUM) and the William J. Clinton Foundation have formed an eight-year partnership with the TOUR and the Classic beginning in 2012, with Humana becoming title sponsor.  Next year’s tournament week will be January 16-22.

The agreement will build on a shared commitment by both the Clinton Foundation and Humana to promote healthy living and work across sectors to improve the lives of people around the world.  A conference of health-industry leaders will be held early in the tournament week. Further details on the partnership, the tournament and the format will be announced later this spring.

“We are excited to announce this collaboration between Humana and the Clinton Foundation in support of this iconic event,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem. “The tournament will take on an expanded focus of serving as a strategic platform to establish and communicate new initiatives in health and well-being. We are delighted to have the support and commitment of Humana and truly honored to have the Clinton Foundation’s partnership.”

Sponsorship of the tournament expands Humana’s involvement with the PGA TOUR. As one of the nation’s largest publicly traded health benefits companies, Humana has been a marketing partner of the TOUR since 2005 and is the “Official Health Benefits Company of the PGA TOUR and Champions Tour.”

“President Clinton and his Foundation have had an enormous impact over the past years on improving lives by transforming ideas into real action,” said Humana Chairman and CEO Michael B. McCallister.  “We see the partnership with the Clinton Foundation, the PGA TOUR and the Classic as an effective way to showcase the importance and overall benefits of a healthy lifestyle and what needs to be done to improve overall health and well-being for everyone.”

“The PGA TOUR has always been a leader in philanthropy,” President Clinton said.  “I’m so pleased that my Foundation has committed to working with the TOUR and Humana to raise awareness for global health and continue to improve the lives of people around the world. Through the Clinton Global Initiative, members have made nearly 2,000 commitments, which have helped 300 million people in more than 170 countries. My Foundation has helped 4 million people gain access to life-saving HIV/AIDS medications, but there is still more work to be done. By joining with the PGA TOUR and Humana, we can further our efforts to improve global health, strengthen economies, and protect the environment.”

President Clinton will have a prominent role in both the conference and the tournament including key messaging and a presence in the tournament telecast.

Since its introduction in 1960 as the Palm Springs Golf Classic, the tournament has generated more than $50 million for charity and literally funded the construction of the Eisenhower Medical Center, thanks in large part to Bob Hope becoming involved as tournament host in 1965. The Bob Hope Classic traditionally is played the third week of the PGA TOUR season and is the first tournament on the U.S. mainland.

“We have always felt that the Bob Hope Classic is more than just a golf tournament and we could not be more pleased that Humana, the Clinton Foundation and the PGA TOUR are enhancing the mission of this event in the spirit of Bob Hope’s legacy of giving back,” said John Foster, Chairman of the Bob Hope Classic.  “Mr. Hope epitomized a healthy lifestyle, was friend to Presidents and Kings, believed in the good works of this tournament, and would certainly be thrilled with today’s announcement.”