28 Advance To PGA Tour And Begin Praying For At Least Three West Coast Starts

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Sean Martin offers a quick summary of the Q-school graduates broken down into various categories and shares this about media darling Brian Vranesh:

Vranesh was working as a waiter until this time last year. He spent this year on the Gateway Tour, and had only previously made the Q-School finals once since turning pro in 2000; he earned partial Nationwide Tour status after finishing back in the pack. He’s never played in a PGA Tour event.

Vranesh’s cousin, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pitcher Jon Garland, was on hand to see Vranesh earn his Tour card.

“I guess I’m like Joe the Plumber,” said Vranesh, 31. “I want people to see that if you work hard you can make it out here.”

John Strege fleshes out Vranesh's decidedly un-Joe The Plumber story (for instance, Vranesh sounds like he'd do anything to not go on welfare like Big Joe!) and also shares some of the other highs and lows from day six.

Helen Ross also focused on Vranesh's story in her PGATour.com story.

Rex Hoggard talks to the brutally honest Gary Woodland and Jay Williamson, a Deere Classic playoff loser earlier this year who retained his card.

Despite a career year that included a playoff loss to Kenny Perry at the John Deere Classic, his first trip to the British Open and a start in the BMW Championship which was played in his home town of St. Louis, Williamson finished 137th in earnings.

"It's not so much a mental thing. It's an emotional thing," said the endearing veteran who was slowed late in the season by a back injury and missed his last six cuts. "I know too much. I need to get dumb for a little bit because the last two days were brutal."

Like Stuard, Bryce Molder dropped out of the top 25 on Monday, but Molder had already secured his status on Tour with his top-25 finish on the 2009 Nationwide Tour money list.

Jason Sobel breaks down and ranks the 28 who earned cards, offering all sorts of little info nuggets.

Mark Williams files notes for PGATour.com, including the players who went through all three stages, and even digs up the list of who started at the pre-qualifier and made it all the way to the finals (none earned cards, but nonetheless one mighty impressive accomplishment).

And if reading isn't your thing but hot blondes are, PGATour.com offers up some young lady named "McMurry" (Ty, could we get a graphic with her name and Facebook profile information) who will take you through the highlights in under 3 minutes.

"I’ll do my yoga in the morning and get out here and see if I can keep it going.”

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To track the final day of PGA Tour Q-School online, you can watch scores here. To prepare us for the finale, Sean Martin leads with Notah Begay's 63 Sunday to jump 74(!) spots.

Begay’s bogey-free round Saturday moved him up 74 spots on the leaderboard and into a tie for 21st at 15-under 345. The top 25 and ties after Monday’s final round will earn PGA Tour cards.

“I hit it great the last two days,” Begay said. “(In the fourth round), I had 11 looks inside 15 feet and only made one. I didn’t know if it was going to happen today or tomorrow or next year, but I knew I was going to have a good round at some point.”

Begay will have to tackle PGA West’s tougher Stadium Course in Q-School’s final round while most of the contenders play the Nicklaus Tournament Course.

“I won’t change anything,” Begay said. “I’ll still make dinner for my brother tonight and we’ll still do our same routine. I’ll do my yoga in the morning and get out here and see if I can keep it going.”

Martin's piece also offers easy to read capsules on various players and lists all scores through four rounds.

John Strege profiles another great story, former Ryder Cupper Chris Riley who enters the last day in a tie for 16th. 

“I had to force some small talk"

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Ron Sirak says that "Pretty much all Michelle Wie is going to have to do Sunday at LPGA Q school is make sure she signs her scorecard," which is why all attention is focused on the epic 59 in La Quinta by Harrison Frazar. The Golf Channel studio gang takes you through the round.

Sean Martin, filing for Golfweek.com:

Frazar’s group had to wait a couple minutes before teeing off on No. 18. Frazar spent part of that time standing alone at the edge of that tee box, talking at times about college football with playing partners Robert Garrigus and James Nitties.

“I had to force some small talk,” Frazar said. “Robert and James were great to play with. They were laid aback. I tried to make some small chatter with folks wherever I could, try to keep my mind off of it.”

Jim Achenbach files an anatomy of a 59 and is pretty much in awe of everything except the cleaning up of the PGA West courses.

PGA West is in the midst of a total renovation. The two golf courses used for this event – the Nicklaus Tournament Course and the infamous Stadium Course by Pete Dye – have been cleaned up, spruced up, prettied up and manicured as carefully as a girl heading to her first high school prom.

Peter Yoon reminds us that this is not the first 59 Q-school, nor does such an incredible round ensure a PGA Tour card.

When Gossett shot 59, it came in the fourth round of Q-school. But Gossett failed to break 70 in any other round that year and did not receive his PGA Tour card. Frazar now has a four-shot lead with two rounds to go and he's 10 shots clear of the top 25 who will earn playing privileges for the 2009 PGA Tour season on Monday. Still, he's not taking anything for granted.

"This isn't the last day and this isn't over," Frazar said. "We've got two days left. On these courses, as you can see, you can get at it, but you can also get bit pretty hard."

John Strege profiles Notah Begay, who is just happy that he'll be playing on an organized tour, even if he doesn't make a comebackt his week.

“There’s a lot riding on (Michelle) getting her card and getting to play in more than her customary eight events"

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Golfweek.com offers two nice primers for those hoping to target some Q-school players to watch (men here, women here). Both schools are in session Wednesday.

Beth Ann Baldry focuses on the biggest Q-school story of '08, Michelle Wie and reports that LPGA.com will have live scoring for the first time.

"It's not the end of the world. It will be fine. It is fine."

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Let's hope when tournament sponsors pondering their next exemption decision look at John Daly's name and take a pass in favor of J.P. Hayes. That's assuming they have seen Gary D’Amato's story on the journeyman's incredible show of integrity at Q-school second stage. (Thanks to readers Gene and Lee for the heads up.)

After the second round, as Hayes relaxed in his hotel room, it suddenly occurred to him that the wrong ball he had played in the first round might not have been on the USGA's approved list.

"It was a Titleist prototype, and somehow it had gotten into my bag," he said. "It had been four weeks since Titleist gave me some prototype balls and I tested them. I have no idea how or why it was still in there."

He could have said nothing and kept playing. But he couldn't have lived with himself knowing he had possibly broken the rules.

"I called an official in Houston that night and said, 'I think I may have a problem,' " Hayes said. "He said they'd call Titleist the next day. I pretty much knew at that point I was going to be disqualified."

Hayes refused to blame his caddie.

"He kind of wanted to take some of the blame, but he knows I'm anal about my equipment," he said. "I go through my bag every night. I want to know what's in there. It's almost therapeutic for me."

This time, Hayes missed one non-conforming ball. The prototype should have been easy to spot because while it bore the Titleist brand name, there was no label on the "seam" to identify the model.

Hayes said if he'd teed up the ball on a par-4 or par-5, he would have immediately known he had the wrong ball because he uses the label as an alignment aide with his driver. It's a habit he picked up several years ago, when it was rumored Titleist balls flew a few more yards when struck on the label.

"But it was a par-3 and I don't use the label to line up on par-3s," he said. "It was my mistake. I had no choice but to take my medicine."

Compton Misses By One...

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While Golfweek.com has the breakdown of each second stage Q-school site, Erik Compton was the main story. Steve Elling and Bob Harig were both there to cover his final round. Elling writes:

He began the day tied for 13th, but three-putted two holes on his back nine and finished 6 under, good for a tie for 22nd. The top 20 and ties advanced to the finals, where they are assured at least partial status on the Nationwide Tour next year.

"When you live and die by the way I play and live life, it will catch up to you," Compton said.
Gut-wrenching words, indeed, but there figure to be some tough days over the short term for Compton, who gave away too many shots down the stretch, including a three-putt par from 20 feet on the par-5 16th hole after hitting a seemingly finals-clinching approach from 245 yards.

"If I get to the finals, it opens a lot of doors for somebody like me," he said, staring at his feet.
Compton was visibly tired as he completed the four-day march and didn't hit any practice balls after any of the tournament rounds. He finished 72 holes at the PGA Tour's Disney World event last Sunday, the most golf he had played in well over a year.

"Obviously, the pressure definitely got to me," he said. "I'm disappointed with that."

Harig writes:

It was obvious that Compton, 28, was exhausted, despite the fact that he had been granted the use of a cart due to his medical condition. Three weeks ago, he made it out of the first-stage qualifier by shooting a final-round 68 and advancing on the number. Last week he played in the PGA Tour's Children's Miracle Network Classic, where he made the cut and tied for 60th.

"He would have had zero chance to play if he had to walk. Zero,'' said Jim McLean, the noted instructor from the Doral Golf Resort in Miami who has worked with Compton for years. "There's no way he should be playing. No way he should be competing at this level. I'm very proud of him.''

"He still takes seven or eight pricy anti-rejection medications every day"

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Steve Elling reports on Erik Compton starting Q-school second stage Wednesday and notes:

A newlywed with a baby girl due in late February, he told CBSSports.com on Sunday that he pays $600 a month for health insurance through the bridge program called Cobra, designed to fill gaps in coverage when workers are between jobs. He said it expires in six months and after that, he'll be scrambling for answers. His 14-hour heart surgery last May 20 and resulting hospital stay cost $1 million, he estimated. He still takes seven or eight pricy anti-rejection medications every day, he said.

“I can’t say (being deaf) is a plus"

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While everyone was watching Erik Compton at first stage of Q-school, Dave Seanor reminds us in par 1 of a two-parter that another feel good story tees it up this week. Kevin Hall has been profiled many times because he's of African-American descent, but Seanor focuses on what it's like for Hall to be deaf and what that means to a competitive golfer.

Some suggest Hall has a competitive advantage because he’s not distracted by noise. (Sound familiar, Casey Martin?) But any golf instructor will tell you that sound provides important feedback when a ball is struck. Moreover, Hall isn’t immune to distraction, thanks to exceptionally acute peripheral vision. As does Woods when he hears a camera shutter click, Hall will stop in mid-swing if he detects movement in the gallery.

“I can’t say (being deaf) is a plus,” says Percy Hall, Kevin’s father and occasional caddie. “It doesn’t facilitate what he’s doing. He deals with distractions – voices in his head and visual distractions. Those kind of things are going on in his head, just like everyone else.”

Compton Advances!

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Great stuff by Erik Compton and Stage 2 beckons as Antonio Gonzalez reports. Though I am a bit concerned about anyone whose first move of the day is to turn on the Golf Channel. Thankfully in this case, it worked.

Compton woke up at 6:30 a.m. and turned on the Golf Channel.

All the commentators had the same message: It was great that he was playing, but there was no way he could overcome seven strokes.

"It really motivated me," said Compton, who received special permission from the PGA Tour to use a golf cart and to continue taking banned anti-rejection pills. "People always want to count me out."

"Everybody almost looks like somebody who can play."

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Jim Moriarty files an entertaining GolfDigest.com column on the unusual gathering that is Q-School first stage:

If you're the kind of person who enjoys wandering through cemeteries reading inscriptions on mausoleums, the first stage of the PGA Tour's qualifying school is for you. It's quiet, respectful, sometimes surprising but mostly populated by, if not the walking wounded, at least the walking depressed.