WHICH is the toughest golf tournament in the world? If you pose this question to any casual golfer, he might suggest the US Open, for the way the course is set up by the USGA officials, or the British Open, because of the unpredictable weather and the unique problems that arise from playing on the links courses.
But if you ask any professional, chances are that he might surprise you by naming the US PGA Tour Qualifying School as his choice. And as I embark on my final step towards realising the ultimate dream of any professional golfer - that of playing on the PGA Tour - I can assure you my thoughts are no different.
The PGA Tour Q-School is played over three stages. The entry fee to the first stage is a hefty sum of US$4000, a strategy decision by the PGA Tour officials to chaff out the weed. In the 80s and early 90s, with the popularity of the game growing by leaps and bounds in the United States, thousands of 'wannabe' players gathered for the Q-School. It almost became impossible to manage the event. A steep entry fee would make many re-consider the decision to play the Q-School just for the heck of it and only the very serious and committed golfers would opt for it.
Despite the fee, more than 1,500 golfers teed off for the first stage of the Q-School, which was held at 13 different courses across the United States. Only the top 21 players from each venue made it to the second stage, which was played at six courses in the first and second weeks of November. Of these, only a handful proceeded to the six-round final stage, scheduled for the final week of November at the Bears Lake Country Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The quality of the field becomes progressively tougher. The first stage qualifiers have to compete with several players like myself who are exempt to the second stage because of our performance in the other recognised Tours of the world. For example, there are 10 exempt spots to the second stage from the Japanese PGA Tour and 20 from the European Tour. In the final stage, the top players from the Buy.com Tour and those who failed to retain their cards on the PGA Tour will join us.
So, what makes the PGA Tour Q-School special? Not much prize money is at stake. Fans will not line up the fairways and the world media is not going to lose sleep covering the results of the tournament. But for the players, the pressures are even more intense than making a final six-footer putt to win the Masters. On the PGA Tour, the saying goes "Anything is possible". But anything is possible if only you can survive the rigors of the Q-School.
Of the 1500 hopefuls who start the quest for the holy grail of golf - a card of the US PGA Tour - and roughly 300 odd who join them in the next two stages, only 35 will finally make it. They will have the privilege of getting a start in almost 40 tournaments, or year-long employment, and a chance to compete for at least US$ 3 million prize purse every week. The next 65 odd players will get a card to the second grade Tour, which is known as the Buy.com Tour till this season. The purse in this Tour is about US$ 500,000 every week.
To give you a cricketing analogy, it is like conducting a tournament at the start of the season and declaring that only the top 20 players will be eligible to play Test cricket for the whole of the coming season, the next 30 can only play first-class matches and the next 30 can only participate in club-level tournaments. The rest will have to take a chance in case any of the qualified players drop out due to injuries. Just imagine how much pressure the players will face during the tournament. It is almost like your livelihood for one year is at stake.
With the possibility of so much money, fame and instant stardom depending on the outcome of just one tournament, it is but natural that there is intense competition and lots of blood and guts are spilled on the course. There are stories of courage and heartbreaks. I remember reading last year about one player making a three-putt double bogey on the 17th hole from less than five feet on the final day to miss qualifying by one stroke! He must have kicked himself sore that night.
It was sad to see Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa miss the final stage action. They played extremely well in the first stage before faltering in the second. We were together in Scotland for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. While Jyo and I missed the cut, Arjun made it to the money-making round. He was tied for the 30th place when Sunday's final round was postponed to Monday following heavy rains. Now Arjun could have stayed back and played the final round, or leave for the US and tee it up for the Q-School. It was a difficult decision as he was playing well and would have definitely made a good amount staying back. Instead, Arjun withdrew, thus finishing last and earning just about 11,000 Euros. Even though he failed to make it to the final stage, he is not going to rue the money lost.
Jyo started the first stage with a bang, making a course record eight-under 64 on the opening day. Not many know that he arrived a little late and found, much to his dismay, not a single caddie who could carry his bag. So, he carried his own bag on the first two days. Jyo is definitely one of the fittest golfers in Asia, but even he would have found it hard to play and carry the bag at the same time. Both Arjun and Jyo will surely be back next season and I hope they will not only make it to the final stage, but also to the PGA Tour.
Also making it to the final stage is my very close friend Daniel Chopra. It is heartening to see Danny find his form at last after almost two treacherous seasons, which saw him lose his European Tour card. He is one of the most talented and skilful players I have ever seen and he is going to be extremely hungry after the lean period. He has already won the Mercuries Masters in Taiwan and hence is ensured playing privileges in Asia. Danny also faced a tough choice - his dates for the second stage in the US PGA and the final stage of the European Tour were clashing. He took the tougher decision of playing in the US, knowing fully well that he might miss both the Tours if he did not make it to the final stage in the US. However, he played superbly and will now accompany me to the Bear Lake Country Club.
On a personal front, I had a very satisfying week at the Madrid Open, where I shot rounds of 66 and 65 over the weekend to finish tied for the sixth place. I was under a lot of pressure to retain my card on the European Tour. According to last year's Order of Merit, I thought I had made enough money to keep my card for 2002. The reality was that I needed to make at least 10,000 Euros more and I had three weeks - Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, the Madrid Open and the Italian Open - before coming to the US to make that amount.
Now I wanted to reach the US a week before the second stage of the Q-School which meant I would have preferred not playing the Italian Open. And then I missed the cut at Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. The performance at Madrid would have made a crucial impact on my future. Under such circumstances, I think my finish was very good. Playing 13-under for the last two rounds boosted my confidence before the Q-School.
In the US, I played pretty solidly for the four rounds and finished tied for the seventh place to make it to the final stage of qualifying. By the time this column appears in print, I am very hopeful of having some more good news for all the golf lovers back home.
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