| Player |
Skinny |
Rating |
| 1. Harrison Frazar |
The number 300 may be magic for bowlers and winning baseball pitchers, but not for Frazar; that's how many PGA Tour events he has played without a victory. Of course, 59 -- his fourth-round total -- is a pretty magic number, too. Any guy who can go that low -- and win Q-school by eight strokes -- belongs in the big leagues. |
 |
| T-2. James Nitties |
So, you say the PGA Tour needs more personalities? Well, meet James Nitties, a 26-year-old Aussie who lists his interests as girls, partying and movies -- and yes, in that exact order. He's been hampered by juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in the past, but when Nitties tees it up, expect him to have fun doing so. |
|
| T-2. Derek Fathauer |
The University of Louisville product sort of looks like a cross between Brandt Snedeker and Charley Hoffman -- if his game matches up to theirs, he'll be just fine. As a bonus, if the 22-year-old's game ever eludes him, he can always call on talented twin brother Daryl to covertly fill in. |
|
| T-4. John Huston |
In 1998, he broke the PGA Tour's 72-hole scoring record with a 31-under-par total at the Hawaiian Open. Ten years later, he can still churn out red numbers in bunches, ranking fourth overall in birdie average this past season. Anytime the greens are Bermuda turf, keep an eye on him. |
|
| T-4. Chris Stroud |
Pressure? What pressure? Stroud has now finished top-four in each of the past two Q-school final stages, but he is probably hoping this latest triumph propels him to greater heights than the previous one. This past season he made the cut in only 12 of 29 starts, inflicting most of his damage during the Fall Finish. |
|
| 6. Robert Garrigus |
J.B. Holmes earned all sorts of oohs and aahs for his prodigious length off the tee in 2008, but the truth is that he ranked seven-tenths of a yard behind Garrigus, who placed second in the category, behind only Bubba Watson. In a day and age when distance is seemingly more important than accuracy, it's only a matter of time before the 5-foot-11, 175-pound bomber sees it translate into success. |
|
| T-7. Glen Day |
Nickname? "All" -- as in "All Day," which is how long it takes one of the tour's notoriously slow players to hit the ball. Let's just hope he doesn't see any pairings with Ben Crane and Bernhard Langer next year. Day owned the 22nd-best scoring average this past season, but at 165th on the money list, he still failed to keep his card. |
|
| T-7. Webb Simpson |
Watch out for this whiz kid. A recent Wake Forest grad, Simpson finished runner-up in his first Nationwide Tour event as a pro and added one more second-place result before season's end. Add in three made cuts in six PGA Tour starts playing mostly on sponsor's exemptions and you can see why Simpson may be a stalwart in the big leagues for a long time to come. |
|
| T-7. David Berganio Jr. |
In 2003, he withdrew after Round 1 of the FedEx St. Jude Classic with a disk issue in his back. He didn't play again that season, and despite repeated Major Medical Extensions through 2008, he has competed in only nine events since. He was an up-and-comer back in the mid-1990s after winning a pair of PubLinks titles and competing at the University of Arizona alongside Jim Furyk. |
|
| T-7. James Oh |
What a circuitous route it's been to the big leagues for Oh. Back in 2003, he won the Mark Christopher Charity Classic in his debut season on the Nationwide Tour. He played three more seasons on that circuit, but he made the cut in only three of 18 starts in '06 and has teed it up just five times since. |
|
| T-11. Tyler Aldridge |
The Idaho native missed the cut in 17 of 23 starts on the Nationwide Tour this season, but turned things around just in time. Aldridge advanced through all three stages of Q-school and didn't make bogey this week until his 80th hole. |
|
| T-11. Jason Dufner |
Though he was limited to just 16 starts in 2008, the Auburn University alum acquitted himself well, finishing 29th or better on four separate occasions. With three full seasons now under his belt, the quiet Dufner could sneak up on some people next season. |
|
| T-11. Gary Woodland |
He attended Kansas University and played varsity basketball in college & just not for the Jayhawks. Woodland redshirted the 2002-03 golf season to compete on the Washburn University hoops squad. Being an athlete has helped, though: His swing speed is among the highest measured, meaning he could challenge Bubba Watson for the 2009 driving distance title. |
|
| T-11. Jimmy Walker |
Dy-no-mite! On the PGA Tour, a few big paydays are more beneficial than a season of consistent results, and that worked to Walker's disadvantage this season. He made the cut in more than half of his starts, but never earned more than 50 grand in any single week. The talent is there, though: He was the Nationwide Tour player of the year back in 2004. |
|
| T-11. Troy Kelly |
Consider the 2005 U.S. Open a microcosm for Kelly's career. After shooting a worst-score-of-the-day 13-over 83 in the opening round at Pinehurst, the Washington native came back with a 67 the next day -- one stroke shy of the day's best total. Expect similar streakiness -- both ways -- next season. |
|
| T-11. Notah Begay III |
Tiger Woods admitted recently that he hasn't watched much golf since his season was cut short in June, but we've got to believe he was keeping a close eye on his Stanford buddy on Monday. Begay's game has fallen on hard times in recent years, and he has been relegated to competing around the world. But when healthy, the four-time PGA Tour champ (with two wins apiece in 1999 and 2000) has more talent than a majority of tour regulars. |
|
| T-11. Matthew Borchert |
Like Woods, he calls Windermere, Fla., his hometown. Other than that and now being a PGA Tour member, Borchert may not have much in common with the No. 1-ranked player, as Borchert has toiled on the Hooters Tour for much of the past few seasons. In fact, he almost withdrew from the opening stage because he wasn't playing well. "It's been a long, strange trip," he admitted, "to say the least." |
|
| T-18. Yong-Eun Yang |
After holding off a hard-charging Woods in the final round of the 2006 HSBC Champions tournament, Yang finished a disappointing 157th on the money list in his U.S. rookie campaign. Expect better results the second time around. |
|
| T-18. Aaron Watkins |
After finishing 19th on the Gateway Tour money list this season, Watkins credited increased patience for his success this week. His next PGA Tour start will be only the second of his career (he missed the cut at the 2005 Chrysler Classic of Tucson), but the Kansas State product looked cool, calm and collected upon qualifying. "It probably just hasn't hit me yet," he said, "but I'm pretty excited." |
|
| T-18. Kent Jones |
He's a great fairways-and-greens guy -- he ranked 16th in driving accuracy and sixth in greens in regulation this season -- but the longtime pro has often struggled with his flatstick. In 290 career starts, he has never earned a top-five finish. |
|
| T-18. Bob Heintz |
This guy was one of the top Sunday gunners on the PGA Tour this past season, as his 69.83 final-round scoring average ranked ninth overall. The only problem? Uh, getting to those final rounds. Heintz, 38, made the cut in only seven of 17 starts. He didn't need to rely on his Yale degree in economics to figure out that wasn't good enough to keep his card. |
|
| T-18. Jay Williamson
|
How close was he to not needing Q-school? Williamson lost in a playoff to Hunter Mahan at last year's Travelers Championship and was undone by Kenny Perry in extra holes at the John Deere Classic earlier this year. Now that he's back, the tour vet (more than $5 million in career earnings) is among the best bets to find the winner's circle in '09. |
|
| T-18. Leif Olson |
Now this is a scorecard! In his final round Monday, Olson carded 10 birdies, three bogeys, one double and just four pars, shooting a 67 that was good enough to clinch his first card. He'll join Leif Hederstram and Leif Westerberg as the only Leifs (Leives?) to play in PGA Tour events. |
|
| T-18. Ted Purdy |
After years of globe-trotting -- Asian PGA Tour rookie of the year, Indian Masters champion -- he solidified his place on the PGA Tour with a five-hole playoff loss to Stewart Cink at the 2004 MCI Heritage, then got his first win at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship one year later. For a guy who lists Jimmy Buffett as his hero, these changes in latitudes may have signaled a change in attitude, too. |
|
| T-18. Wil Collins |
Here is this year's poster boy for Q-school success. Needing a par on his final hole to clinch a card, Collins missed the fairway with his drive, laid up with his second shot, left his third about 20 feet short of the pin, then curled his putt into the side door for the most harrowing par he'll ever have to make. In seven straight trips to Q-school, this was the South Dakota native's first time reaching the final stage. |
|
| T-18. Brian Vranesh |
If the Gateway Tour is akin to Double-A baseball, then consider Vranesh ready to make the two-level leap. This past season, he won twice and earned more than $94,000 in 26 starts to finish eighth on the mini tour's money list. "Words can't even describe it," a teary-eyed Vranesh said after qualifying. "It's going to be nice to have a beer tonight and decompress." |
|
| T-18. Mathias Gronberg |
The perennial bubble boy finally saw his chances burst this year. After finishing 124th on the money list in 2006 and 125th last year to barely keep his card for two straight seasons, Gronberg placed 190th this past year. |
|
| T-18. Chris Riley |
The last time Riley made major headlines was during the 2004 Ryder Cup, when he paired with Tiger Woods to win a Saturday morning four-ball match and then sat out in the afternoon, citing exhaustion to U.S. captain Hal Sutton. Since then, Riley has teed it up in 89 PGA Tour events, posting only two top-10s, though a T-3 in Milwaukee in July was a sign he can still contend for titles. With his brilliant putting stroke, don't bet against him. |
|
