How to Stick on the PGA TOUR?

We all know there’s basically three ways to get partial or nonexempt status on the PGA Tour: finish in the Top 25 and ties in the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament (Q-School), finish in the Top 25 on the Nationwide Tour money or finish No. 126—150 on the PGA TOUR Official Money List.

But which way is the best way to stay on the PGA TOUR once you get an opportunity to play it? Which one based on the performance in the first 12 weeks of the season would indicate the likelihood of finishing in the Top 125 on the money list and becoming fully exempt in 2010? Or better yet win a tournament and become exempt for the next two full seasons?

Theories abound as to which one prepares you for the most success on the big tour.

Obviously those finishing just short of earning their full exemption in the Top 125 were close to being successful. They know some of the PGA TOUR courses, the schedule, and the routine. They may have even played in competition with Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson to get a feel for playing in front of the ultimate galleries on tour.

Ditto to a lesser degree for the Top 25 “PGA TOUR Driven” golden graduates of the Nationwide Tour. They have experienced a similar tour lifestyle only to a lesser degree when it comes to money, galleries, and television coverage.

Their golf courses are different though certainly not setup as difficult as PGA TOUR courses with respect to length, rough, firmness, and hole locations. Their quest like the PGA TOUR players has been a season long marathon effort to make the cut and receive a tour card.

The guys who make it through Q-School are playing really well and ready to give it a go on the PGA TOUR with their game in tiptop shape. Plus the six rounds in the Q-School do-or die crucible after making it through earlier stages is the ultimate pressure test. But, it is only a one-week snapshot of their performance.

Of course it is not a clear cut distinction of how one gets to the PGA TOUR because they may have taken different paths or even all three in prior year attempts. Q-School comes in December after the PGA TOUR and Nationwide Tour have finished their seasons.

The guys with Nos. 126—150 on the Money List want to upgrade their priority ranking, used to determine who gets into PGA TOUR tournaments by making the Top 25 and ties in Q-School.

Robert Garrigus, No. 137 on the money list did exactly that and finished T6 in Q-School to significantly improve his priority ranking. Higher priority means more tournaments or tournaments with larger purses which means a higher likelihood of making the Top 125 and sticking on the PGA TOUR. Jay Williamson. No. 137 finished T18 at Q-School improved his chances too. 

The priority rankings are complicated in another way too. Mark Calcavecchia finished No. 133 on the money list, but won the 2007 PODS (now Transitions) Championship. So he is fully exempt through the end of this season.

Tom Lehman finished No. 142 but is using his Top 25 in career earnings trump card to improve his priority ranking to be ahead of even the Top 125 on the money list. Ditto for Chris DiMarco, No. 146.

Todd Hamilton the “Champion Golfer of the Year” and winner of the 2004 British Open by virtue of a playoff with Ernie Els at Royal Troon in Scotland was last in the door at No. 150 on the money list. But it doesn’t matter since a British Open win comes with a special five-year exemption that is behind only PGA, U.S. Open. PLAYERS and Masters champions.

There are literally only 13 active players ahead of him on the sign-up list for any tournament. What does matter is that 2009 is the last year of that full exemption so this year is a do-or-die year for Todd Hamilton.

So which of these three groups, the Q-School, Nationwide or Nos. 126-150 have done the best so far this year? What is the best way to stick on the PGA TOUR?

For purposes of this analysis the Q-School group included Garrigus and Williamson. No Nationwide Tour graduate finished in the Top 25 and ties in Q-School. As far as number of players there were 28 from Q-School, 25 from Nationwide and 23 from the money list- a total of 76.

Twelve of the Q-School and 16 of the Nationwide Tour guys are rookies on the PGA TOUR in 2009.

The best performer so far has to be Y.E. Yang who won the Honda Classic. He shot a final round 66 in early December to make the cut in Q-School on the number tying 10 other guys for 18th and the last tour cards.

With his first PGA TOUR win comes a two-year exemption through the 2011 season for Yang. He is No. 14 on the 2009 money list having earned over $1.1 million to date.

Other Q-Schoolers have done well too. Webb Simpson had two Top 10s early in the year in his first two starts at the SONY Open and the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer.

James Nitties has two Top 10s at the FBR Open and the Mayakoba Golf Classic. Simpson is now No. 44 and Nitties is No. 49 on the money list.

Behind Yang on the current money list is No. 131 from last year David Toms with Top 10 finishes at the SONY, FBR and Mayakoba tournaments. Toms is No. 17 on the 2009 money list having earned $925,505 to date. No. 125 Martin Laird last year made $852,752 so Toms should have his 2010 tour card all sewn up.

Mark Calcavecchia, No. 133 is another money lister doing well with two Top 10s in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-AM and the following week at the Northern Trust Open. He’s No. 43 on the current year money list with over one-half million dollars in earnings.

Jeff Klauk the leading candidate for PGA TOUR Rookie-of-the-Year has made nine of 10 cuts and finished fourth at the Honda Classic. He is No. 40 on the money list with $586,505 in earnings—well more than the $407,418 he made finishing third on the Nationwide Tour last year.

Scott Piercy and D.A. Points from the Nationwide Tour also each have two Top 10s. Both finished in the Top 10 at the Honda Classic at PGA National. Piercy finished T6 earlier in the year at the FBR Open while Points finished ninth more recently in the Puerto Rico Open.

Led by Toms and Calcavecchia the money listers have 12 Top 10s whereas the Nationwide Tour guys have 10 and the Q-Schoolers have eight. Players from the Nationwide Tour (55.8%) and the money list (55.0%) are more likely to make the cut at PGA TOUR events than those from Q-School (49.2%).

Though Q-Schoolers (185) have slightly more starts this year than Nationwiders (181) and significantly more than money listers (129).   

So which is the best way to stick on the PGA TOUR? Q-School, Nationwide Tour or Nos. 126—150 on the money list?

Certainly the win by Yang and multiple Top 10s by Simpson and Nitties make a strong case for Q-School. But then again the money listers have the most Top 10s led by veterans Toms and Calcavecchia with far less starts. Rookie Klauk with Piercy and Points have made impressive starts to well represent the caliber of Nationwide Tour golfers.

In total of the 76 golfers with limited status, 24 or roughly one-third are currently within the Top 125 on the money list with a good chance of sticking on the PGA TOUR for another year in 2010. Harrison Frazar, winner of the Qualifying Tournament is one of them, Matt Bettencourt No. 1 on the Nationwide Tour is not.

The five Fall Series events in October and early November are critical and usually make-or-break the aspirations to stay on tour for these players. Why?

The regular season and the FedEx Cup are concluded so the top ranked players typically do not play. Everybody else does play so it becomes a season within a season to finish within the Top 125 with tour cards on the line.

Bottom line is it doesn’t matter how you get there. You must perform on the PGA TOUR to stay there. All you need is a dream, an opportunity, a lot of talent, persistence, and the willingness to work hard.

Let’s see how these guys and others finish the PGA TOUR season come November 15th when the final round of the Children’s Miracle Network Classic is over at Disney World. Who will be in the Top 125 and earn a return appearance on the PGA TOUR in 2010?  

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR volunteering for the tournaments and working part time for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel. He resides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. He enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him to [e-mail]