Tales From Q School

Heather Flyte — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:08:28 +0000

Paige Mackenzie

The most pressure-inducing shots in golf aren’t made to win majors — after all, a U.S. Open title can certainly define a career, but that second-place paycheck of $810,000 goes a long way towards salving your wounds. But when a shot can mean the difference between $40,000 and $400,000 in income for the coming year? That’s one that’ll start your knees knocking. Such is the case every December in the final stages of the PGA and LPGA Tour Qualifying Tournaments, where tomorrow’s stars and big names of the past come together in search of the little piece of plastic that determines a professional golfer’s net worth — a Tour card. Actually, that’s a bit of a misconception. What’s important isn’t the card itself, but rather the priority number it displays — the lower the number, the higher priority a golfer has for entering a given event on Tour in the coming year. The top-125 men and top-80 women on Tour each year have nearly fully exempt status. Everyone outside of those ranges receive varying degrees of priority for entry in the following year’s Tour events — the lower a golfer is down the money list, the lower their priority ranking and the fewer Tour events they will be able to enter, usually relegating said golfer to a Nationwide (for the men) or Futures (women) Tour event instead. The difference can be startling — at February’s season-opening PGA Nationwide Tour Panama Digecel Championship, only 13 of the 132 players who started the tournament took home paychecks larger than $8,000. That same weekend at the PGA Tour’s Buick Open, the smallest paycheck given to any of the 85 players who made the cut was $9,169. So it was that 2000 U.S. Open runner-up Bob May could be seen stalking the fairways of the PGA West Golf Complex in La Quinta, Calif., last December alongside Tacoma native Michael Putnam, each hoping to improve their priority status for the coming year. Nearly a continent away, the LPGA Tour held its own final qualifying round at the same time at LPGA International in Daytona Beach. Six days, hundreds of golfers, four golf courses … and only 45 guaranteed spots on Tour (25 plus ties for men, 20 for women). Now that’s pressure. So how did our Northwest favorites fare? Let’s take a look: TROY KELLY T-11th | 66-68-70-70-69-69 Bremerton native and 2002 UW grad will be eligible for most 2009 PGA Tour events. MICHAEL PUTNAM T-107th | 73-71-63-75-72-71 Third-round 63 was one of week’s best, but will be playing mostly Nationwide Tour events this year. JEFF GOVE T-132nd | 71-67-75-68-77-71 Made $290,000 on PGA Tour in 2008, but was still subject to qualifying. Placed third in first Nationwide event of ’09 to pocket $40,000. PAIGE MACKENZIE T-34th | 72-69-71-71-76 Final-round 76 cost the Yakima native nearly 45 spots on the priority list, from category 11 — nearly full membership — to the more uncertain category 15.

Gove Grinds It Out

Heather Flyte — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:57:21 +0000

With Tiger, Phil and the Boos, Bubbas and Baddeleys popping up on the leaderboard each week, sometimes it’s easy to forget that there’s about a hundred other guys duking it out each week on the PGA Tour. Each are hoping to put four good rounds together to be in contention and at least make enough cuts to keep their card for next year. This is no simple feat: Only the top 125 on the money list at the end of the season are exempt the following year, meaning that last guy is still in about the upper 0.00000001% of golfers in the world. Jeff Gove is one of those guys, and after years bouncing back and forth between mini-tours and the big leagues, the Kenmore native is forging a solid toehold on the PGA Tour. He nearly won the 2006 Honda Classic, holding the lead on Sunday after nine holes. On the strength of two top-10s last year, Gove earned $793,477, good for 107th on the money list and a 2007 exemption. Gove sharpened his game at Inglewood CC, with help from his uncle Mike Gove, a Tour player from 1980-86. These days, Gove, wife Heather and their two children call La Quinta, Calif., home. After missing four of his previous six cuts, Gove tied for sixth at the John Deere Classic in mid July. His first top 10 of ‘07 earned him $128,330, moving him closer to securing his 2008 Tour card. As of July 15, he was 139th with $319,712. Gove is living proof of the old golf adage that ends “… putt for dough.” Amazingly, he leads the PGA Tour in greens in regulation (70.77%) and is a solid 36th in total driving (distance and accuracy combined.) But he’s 178th in putting (1.847 per green.) How good did it feel at the end of last year, knowing you didn’t have to go to Q school or back to the Nationwide Tour? “It was a great feeling to keep my job. Golf is very unique in that you need to prove yourself every year, so to keep my card is a major confidence booster. And I hope to never have to play the fall classic (q-school) ever again.” Do you feel like your game is at a level now that you can consistently keep your card? “At every level, my game has improved and now I know I can play at the top level, so now I just have to perform and I should be able to keep moving up the money list. One thing I love about golf is the challenge, so I am always trying to improve my technique, mental approach and learning new shots so I can play in all conditions and types of courses. Mostly, I have learned what I do well and under pressure I am relying on that more everyday, which will help me come through next time I get in contention.” Last year, you had some controversy after you played with Michelle Wie and you questioned her awareness of how she was affecting the other players in her group by her slow play. “I was a little surprised the stir my comments caused. I learned my lesson with the press and how they choose to print quotes the way they want. I did not have a positive experience playing with her but if someone asks me a question I am going to answer it. I did receive lots of nice notes in my locker the following weeks from fans and other players.” What is the biggest difference between guys who are consistently in contention and the ones who are fighting to keep their card? “The guys that are in contention consistently are able to control their shots better, but mostly have the best short games. Most of the players on Tour have four to six weeks a year when their games are on, so the rest of the time they rely on their short games to keep them around the lead. The players that struggle to keep their cards either don’t come through when they have good weeks or are just finding out how tough the competition is.” You’re in the top 10 in Greens in Regulation and in the top 50 in Total Driving. But you’re toward the bottom in putting. Is that something that you feel is holding you back from taking it to the next level? “My putting has been the one part of my game that needs the most improvement. This past winter, I worked extra hard on my aim and stroke, so I am hoping to improve my statistics this year. I know I have a very good stroke, so now I just need to get a few putts to fall and my confidence will keep building. Putting at this level is the difference between winning and just being a solid player.” How much money would you say the average Tour player needs to make just to break even? “The average player spends between $3,000-$5,000 a week in expenses and plays about 25 weeks a year. If you figure in coaches and managers, most players probably need to win $250,000 a year to break even.” Are you traveling by RV again this year? “We are going to use the motorcoach about 20 events this year again. There are about 20 families that do this. It is so great to have a home on wheels and a little normal life while on the road. And now that we have kids, it’s really nice to have all of the stuff you need and to control the food we eat, instead of eating out every meal.” What is your favorite course on Tour? Who are your close friends? “My favorite courses on Tour are Riviera for the L.A. (Nissan) Open and Harbour Town in Hilton Head, S.C. Life on Tour has many great perks and one of my favorites is going to baseball games. I have been to almost every major league park in the U.S. Some of my close friends on Tour include Ben Crane, Zach Johnson, Jeff Brehaut, Brent Geiberger and many others. The Tour is like a small family and since we travel together every week, we really get to know each other well.”

Cascade Golfer Online » Jeff Gove

Tales From Q School

Gove Grinds It Out