PGA Tour: Musical Chairs: Notes from the Ballwasher

First topic message reminder :

1).It's the time of year when thoughts turn to PGA Tour "playing privileges" and the game of musical chairs that seems to go on every week. But first let's talk about Tommy Gainey's big break.

2).First off, I'll repeat the widely acclaimed, by the Press anyway, Tommy Gainey winner's press conference last Sunday:

http://www.pgatour.com/2012/tournaments/r493/10/21/gainey-interview/index.html

Lots of good stuff in there, especially the respective ironies of beating Furyk (who sought him out to offer advice last year) and Davis Love (who beat Two Gloves by one shot, a ten foot par-putt at Disney in 2008).

3).Gainey won't get a Masters invitation on the back of his McGladrey win, but he confirms his card for 2013, gains access to the "Invitationals" and, like Jonas Blixt, will reach the Top 50 - long way to go in his case admittedly - and its accompanying Masters exemption, if he's good enough.

4).Looks like the "Top 125 moneylist" threshold will drop to about $680K, making Boo Weekley safe after last week, and giving Christian and Knox, Cejka and Chopra a mountain to climb.

5).Before we leave The McGladrey, I can't think of a course I'd rather play of all the PGA Tour tracks than the Seaside Course, for playability, apparent flow of the course, and scenic qualities. Excluding those I've played, but Seaside just looks beautiful and a reminder that Colt and Allison were top drawer architects, great in any era.

6).This week sees two or three dozen Tour pros in a limited field event in Malaysia, guaranteed money to persuade the very disappointing field to turn up. Next year, it seems the "CIMB Classic" (misnomer of the year award) will be part of the PGA Tour schedule as an official event, to be followed by the equally official WGC-HSBC Champions event. These will be part of the FedEx series, may even kick off the 2013/2014 Tour season, but I'd say this is misguided by the Tour.
The Tour has changed all the qualifying criteria for a Tour card, and now advertises that new card-holders and last year's journeymen are inferior citizens and the top guys will automatically get a two-event start.
I'm pleased the Tour now recognises the "HSBC" as official, but this Malaysian enticement with guaranteed money is bull-sh1te.

7).The web.com Tour Championship starts Thursday in Texas with the Top 60 moneywinners competing. Following Sunday's final round, the season's Top 25 money-winners will have earned PGA Tour cards.
The field includes Tour veterans Woody Austin and Skip Kendall, one-time Aussie hot-shot Nick Flanagan, Sweden's David Lingmerth who is assured of a card, and a variety of other young guns and old lags.
Among those who committed to web.com business and missed out are Lee Janzen (very unkucky), Will MacKenzie, Peter Lonard and Jamie Lovemark. Stage 2 Q-School for them.

8).And, talking of Q-School, the following advance to Stage 2 from last week's qualies:
Messrs Oliver Fisher, Romain Wattel, Dinwiddie, Seamus Power, Sluiter, Hafthorsson and Niklas Lemke.
And the great Trevor Murphy.
Ross McGowan, Dougherty and Gustafsson failed to qualify, while Boyd and Bourdy withdrew before play began - as did Lara and Canizares this week.
The second week of Stage 1 qualifying is underway, and Wallace Booth, Rikard Karlberg, Victor Dubuisson and Andrew Marshall are among those off to a fine start. Derksen, Zanotti and Lafeber among those starting today.
Updates on this thread.

9).Then there's the Champions Tour. Last week's Tour qualifiers saw Messrs Mouland, Fowler and Farry advance to the Final, TC Chen missing out. Presumably we'll see Barry Lane and one or two others for the Finals in November. Probably only about four slots available so the chances of fortune, if not fame, are slim.

10).Roger Chapman, Lyle and Mouland are in the final Champions event of their regular season, in San Antonio. The Top 30 of the moneylist will advance to the Charles Schwab Cup Championship next week, and secure their fully exempt Champions Tour cards for next season. Bernhard Langer remains in pole position for the Schwab million dollar jackpot.
This "old duffers" Tour gets more competitive by the year; next season will start with Elkington and Mediate on board and Vijay eligible to join them in February. Will Colin Montgomerie join them? He may like to, but I can't see any way in which he would have any "status" as things stand, but a summons any day to the World Golf Hall Of Fame - doubtless way overdue in his mind - would change all that.

Looks like Rory won the 'duel at Jin Sha'. Sounds epic... not!

A significant event indeed - world #1 v world #2, probably the players with the highest global profile, generously giving up their time to contribute to the growth of the game they love in a massive country immature in golfing terms and to meet their thousands of fans there, money had nothing to do with...

... Sorry, can't bring myself to finish that sentence (without cracking up anyway).

HSBC must be a bit peeved at the turn of events.

Reportedly Tiger was paid $2 million and Rory got $1 million, not bad for 18 holes.

Hope everyone on the other side of the pond is fine. That Sandy fellow looks to be as bad as it's been predicted...
We're used to blame the weather forcasters most of the times, but I wonder what would've happened if people were not aware of what's coming...