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Still plenty to watch for after 'fall finish'

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foxsports admin

 
Updated Oct 16, 2009 10:53 PM ET
     
 
In some corners of the pro golf world, it's the "fall finish." To hundreds of others, however, this is just the start. It is, after all, PGA Tour Q-School time, with a whopping 13 first-stage sites set to begin next week. Presently, 953 golfers are entered into the first stage, which should give some sort of indication why this endeavor — while not on par with the Masters or U.S. Open as far as the general public is concerned — sure is a "major" by Camp Ponte Vedra Beach standards. Why? Well, take an entry fee of anywhere from $4,000 to $5,000 (depending on whether you signed up early or late), then let your fingers traipse over a calculator and you can see there are millions of reasons why this is serious stuff for the CPVB staff. As always, there are intriguing stories throughout. In Port St. Lucie, Fla., the field includes those with rich bloodlines (Gary Nicklaus, son of Jack; and Sam Saunders, grandson of Arnold Palmer) and those with incredible spirit (Erik Compton). Jay Haas' oldest son, Jay Jr., will be at St. John's Country Club in St. Augustine, Fla., where the field includes Tadd Fujikawa and Billy Horschel. And Brandt Snedeker's brother, Haymes, will tee it up at the Auburn University Club. Those with PGA Tour connections will be plentiful, though not all of them are recognizable. Take Chris Mundorf. He has worked this season as Troy Matteson's caddie, but never has his competitive passion for the game subsided. The medalist at the 2001 U.S. Amateur is entered at the Florence, S.C., site and his boss, for one, likes his chances. "I think he'll make it. It's just a matter of time," Matteson said. "If next year both of us are looking for caddies, that would be OK by me." That being a launching pad, onward further with a little of this, a little of that:
  • It appears unanimous: Fred Couples was a great Presidents Cup captain. Of course, many of us felt that was a lock, given the way players feel about him. But here's the lunacy of the way this team golf business takes shape, especially within the confines of the PGA of America. Couples may very well never get a chance to captain a U.S. Ryder Cup team and that's a sin. Heck, he should have been captain in 2006 (against Tom Lehman, Couples is an 8-and-7 winner, and against 2010 choice Corey Pavin it's even more of a mismatch). How cool would it have been had Couples been named Presidents Cup captain for 2009 and Ryder Cup captain for 2010? What, two different groups can't share the wealth?
  • As if we didn't have enough trouble keeping straight with Anders Hansen, Soren Hansen, and Peter Hanson, the European PGA Tour qualifying tournament has brought forth Lars J. Johansen of Denmark and Lars Johansson of Sweden.
  • Just call Tom Gillis the Tiger Woods of the training grounds this year, because he's made a lot with minimal playing stops. But whereas Gillis has earned $419,579 for his 16 tournaments (13 Nationwide, 3 eGolf Professional Tour), Woods has raked in $10,508,163 for his 17 on the PGA Tour.
  • Getting a jump on things we'd like to see in 2010, here's one: Hunter Mahan as an automatic qualifier for the Ryder Cup team. He's been a captain's pick for the 2007 Presidents Cup, 2008 Ryder Cup and 2009 Presidents Cup, and while he's proved he belongs, after a while, don't you have to earn it? Hard to believe, given that he's won just once on the PGA Tour, but Mahan, if he were to be a captain's pick next year, would tie Couples at four for most in that category between the two cups, Ryder and Presidents. Of course, Couples also earned his way onto five teams, which is what captain's picks used to be for grizzled veterans and proven winners like Tom Watson, Lanny Wadkins, Raymond Floyd.
  • In case you haven't looked, guess who is presently sitting sixth in the Ryder Cup standings? Sixty-year-old Tom Watson.
  • As for those names tied for eighth, Ricky Barnes and David Duval? Remember when they were in the thick of things at the U.S. Open? They tied for second, earned $559,830 each, but since then it's been a mystery ride. Barnes has missed the cut in each of his last five starts and earned just $25,440 since that June weekend, while Duval, having made one cut since the U.S. Open, has earned just $10,710.
  • Anthony Kim beats Robert Allenby, 5 and 3, in Presidents Cup singles, after which the Aussie accues the American of staying out until 4 a.m. Last year at the Ryder Cup, Kim had a slightly easier time with Sergio Garcia, beating the Spaniard, 5 and 4. Are we to presume he was out til 5 a.m. in Louisville?
  • All kidding aside, Allenby was out of line to go public with his knocks on Kim. But it was blatantly obvious how fatherly Couples was to Kim, how intent he was to let the young man know that the team cared about him, despite his indiscretions. Which reminded me of a time at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2008 when Couples was asked about the rumors and social behavior of John Daly, another player he cares about. Sounding very much like a fatherly figure that day, Couples said: "He can read all this stuff and say, ¿The heck with it.' Or he can read all this stuff and say, ¿Maybe they're correct.'"

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