Oh I agree. I meant TOUR. The teaching core- the original PGA- has been victims of several bad policies from the hands of the break off group turned multi-millionaires, “The Tour.” They lost the PGA Championships to the Tour with less and less spots allowed. I know we want to see the best but toss a bigger bone to these guys who are the ambassadors of the game. They are growth. The Tour builds mansions with this growth, the teaching core folds sweaters and deal with unhappy tee times of members, who should know better. The PGA Tour would inspire Dickens.

Thanks 6b. I will not even touch the fact that PGA decreases the # of member that can qualify for our own Championship. The fact is a foreign born administer has lobbied to increase the number of foreigner qualifiers, at the expenses of home grown members. It is a big deal for our members to qualify for this event. Now only 15 out of 27,000 make it down from 25 out of 27,000. Our 15 is still under attack and if the powers that be had it their way, it would be down to 5 or less.

Off the soap box. Again thanks for your recognition of the men and women who go mostly un-noticed. They truly love the game and are happy yp contribute it's growth.

The Shepherds
 

I started playing the Game of Golf when I was 16 years old.

After a couple of years of, shall we charitably say, 'less-than-heralded' performance, I sought professional instruction.

My P.G.A. Professional, George Preisinger, then Head Professional at Marietta CC in Marietta, Georgia, and whose daughter, Carol, is now a Golf Digest Top 100 Instructor, taught me to keep my Left Wrist Flat and Roll through Impact.

For that, I am forever grateful.

:salut:

I am not sure I will agree with that. Don't shoot me if I don't have the exact numbers, but:

125 - 150 go directly to Q-School Final Examination (thus a new chans to secure their card), and they also get into a decent amount of tournaments that pick players from that category (John Deere, B.C. Open [now Turning Stone?] Hartford etc) and they are automatically in with Nationwide status. So its not like they aren't going to make a living playing golf the next year.

150 - 175 go to second stage qualifying and also get into some tournaments and will play Nationwide tournaments (or overseas)

I think JG was 196th on the 07 money list and he has played more tournaments than some players who were above him on the list.

'Next Year' Golf
 

I guess I should have said "There is no next year on the PGA TOUR unless they earn their way back through the same channel as everybody else." Certainly, even a guaranteed return trip to the 6-round Q-School Final Stage does not equate to having a secured card.

And playing the Nationwide is a far cry from the 'big TOUR'. Start with $600,000 purses -- roughly 1/10th of the average PGA TOUR event -- endorsement money cut approximately 90 percent, no courtesy cars, full travel and caddy expenses. The truth is that very few players actually 'make' money on the Nationwide Tour. They are in a survival mode doing everything they can to regain their Exempt Status.

Also, and I'll check into this, I don't believe there is a 125-150 category from which the 'opposite events' automatically allocate spots. There are individual players who enjoy Veteran Member 'status' -- that's a technical word on the PGA TOUR -- players who "if not otherwise eligible and if needed to fill the field" have made a minimum of 150 cuts during their career (in order of their standing on the PGA TOUR Career Money List).

That status is independent of the 125 cut.

Finally, if by "JG" you meant JD, i.e., John Daly, well, I think we can all agree that this is a special case. First, despite his recent playing record, he remains a gallery favorite and a definite draw for any tournament. Second, he enjoys a 'status' that permits unlimited sponsors exemptions, a status denied most of those outside the Top 125 (if they could get a sponsor's exemption in the first place).

:salut:

125
 

For those players with full status, finishing in the top 125 at years end would be the baseline goal. No one would aim for less. They might add top 70, or more top 10's, wins, etc. Players don't want to get sent down to the minors.

126 to 150 category gets in after the whole q-school/nationwide plus some medical extensions. That category is way down the list--top 125/60+/- q-chool/ nationwide, etc. You basically would have a number of around 190 to get into a field of 132, 144, or 156. Many players have to take the week off or be otherwise committed for your number to come up. The tour is moving towards smaller fields and fewer concurrent events which limits access.

You can always go Tommy Armour III's 2007 route of Mondays, exemptions, and stellar play to regain status.

In response to Yoda's piece about the reality of being lower on the totem pole and needing to play more events to make your money. That is real. Simple formula of total money needed at the end of the year, money made per event, and number of events needed to play. Players in that category (or ones who just want to play every week--VJ) must take extra care in preserving their strength and avoiding over-training. Bottom line is to get paid when you are on your game. You need to play well on Sunday when you get yourself in position.

Inside Info
 

Thanks for the clarifications, Hennyb!

:)

Yes, yes, JG should have been JD :(

Can he really get unlimited sponsor exemptions? Doesn't the Tour have some kind of regulation on how many sponsor invites a player can accept? As a multiple major winner and with a fair amount of career winnings (to lazy to check) I can understand that his status is different from a Brendan Pappas, but surely there has to be some limit to sponsor exemptions? Just asking, don't really know.

The Exempt List -- In Priority
 

http://www.pgatour.com/players/pgatour-exempt/

For those interested, I recommend selecting and saving the above Exemptions List to an MS Word file and printing it. All PGA TOUR players are not created equal!

Note that the 125-150 category is a distant #27 on the list:

Next 25 members after the Top 125 members from previous year’s Official Money List. If needed to fill the field, the next 25 PGA TOUR members after the top 125 PGA TOUR members from the previous year’s Official Money List, in order of their position on the list.

Ted Purdy
Jeff Gove
Craig Kanada
Ryan Palmer
Harrison Frazar
Marco Dawson
Andrew Buckle
Robert Gamez
Gavin Coles
Bob Heintz
Daisuke Maruyama
Doug LaBelle II
Billy Andrade
Jason Dufner

Beyond 150, there is zero provision except for Veteran Members.

As for John Daly, note Exemptions #11 here:

Sponsor exemptions (a maximum of eight, which may include amateurs with handicaps of 0 or less), on the following basis:

Not less than two sponsor invitees shall be PGA TOUR members not otherwise exempt.
Not less than two of the top 25 finishers and ties from the last Qualifying Tournament, as well as 2-25 from the 2007 Nationwide Tour money list, if not all of them can otherwise be accommodated. (Note: PGTA TOUR members may receive an unlimited number of sponsor invitations. Non-TOUR members may receive a maximum of seven per year.)

Thanks for your comments, kumabjorn. I'm learning, too!

:salut:

Daly
 

Daly would qualify for unlimited exemptions (subject to sponsors) by being in a veteran tour member type category.

A non member can get 6 or 7, and add to that number by making a certain amount in those tourneys. That's how Tiger, Leonard, etc. bypassed Q-school.