Magic number is 125 at the sharp end of the PGA Tour
At this week's Children's Miracle Network Classic, it's not just the kids that are hoping for an act of otherworldly kindness.
A good performance at the PGA Tour's final event of the season can mean the difference between teeing it up with the big guns in 2011 - or spending the close season shuffling desperately around Q-school, in a bid to avoid a stint on the infinitely less glamorous Nationwide Tour.
Short of winning a tournament, which grants an automatic two-year exemption from qualifying, the other means of assuring a Tour card next year is to make sure you finish in the top 125 of the money list.
With a top prize of $846,000 for this week's victor, all of the players currently hovering around the 125 spot could more than double their money this week with a win, though that outcome would be implausible, given these guys' failure to fly so far this season.
Current 125th player on the list Troy Matteson can afford to take it easy - Matteson has already ensured his card for next year, after winning the Frys.com event in 2009. But of the other players in the places between 120th and 130th place, the next few days will likely be a stomach-churning war of attrition a million miles away from the high stakes shoot-outs that typically enthral golf fans - even if for the players themselves, the stakes are at their highest.
Who knows, maybe Robert Garrigus (currently 122nd) and co have been conserving their energies for this one final push. Garrigus could have comfortably avoided the stress of jostling for a final position had he kept a cooler head earlier this summer. The 32-year-old had a gilt-edged opportunity to win the St Jude Classic - only to blow a three-hole lead on the final hole at TPC Southwind, then losing a play-off.
The beneficiary of Garrigus' spectacular blow-up? Lee Westwood, who scooped his first win on the PGA Tour for 12 years, and has since ascended to the world No. 1 ranking. Westwood is one player who definitely won't be turning out for the PGA Tour next year, the Englishman opting to stay put in Europe in 2011. How this week's contenders will wish they had the luxury of that choice.
Players on the bubble this week:
120. Joe Durant, $770,425
121. Troy Merritt, $760,798
122. Robert Garrigus, $737,275
123. Woody Austin, $727,352
124. Michael Allen, $726,631
125. Troy Matteson, $723,328
126. Briny Baird, $710,337
127. Aron Price, $704,102
128. Bob Estes, $701,158
129. Michael Connell, $694,884
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