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Every year, dozens of professional golfers fight their way through the first two stages of TOUR Qualifying school and get the chance to play for a TOUR Card. These players may have been dropouts from the 2006 PGA TOUR Season, Nationwide Tour players, or Cinderellas who have been fighting to the final stage. Notable players include German Alex Cejka, Duffy Waldorf, D.A. Points, and Bob May as well as others.

Qualifying will take place at PGA West's Nicklaus and Stadium courses. The event begins November 29th and continues through December 4th.

Many great players have made it to the TOUR through Tour Qualifying School. Last year's class was won of history's strongest. Players who made it to the TOUR through Q-school last season and their rank on the money list:
Brett Wetterich - 10th
Frank Lickliter II - 44th
J.B. Holmes - 59th
Nick Watney - 75th
Hunter Mahan - 83rd
Daisuke Maruyama - 95th
Bill Haas - 99th
Will Mackenzie - 100th
Mathias Gronberg - 124th

Donald Trump, aka the Donald, offered a plan on Monday to build a new, $1.9 billion golf resort in Scotland. Trump looks to build two championship courses and a golf academy near Aberdeen, Scotland.

Trump, whose mother is a Scotland-native, wants to build 1,000 homes, 36 villas, and a hotel on site to hold 450 bedrooms.

Despite the area's governmental interest in bringing in the project, several environmental groups are protesting its possible construction. The resort would be built on a sandy beach.

Trump already has already built several courses, most notably Trump National in California where The Golf Channel's Big Break was held.

Young Ryder Cup team member J.J. Henry will be honored by being inducted into Connecticut State Golf Association's Hall of Fame. Henry made over 2 million dollars on his way to his first Ryder Cup. Henry also won the Buick Championship this season.

Henry was a two time CSGA player of the year before joining the PGA TOUR.

The World Golf Rankings for 2006 are mostly in the books, so its time to look at '06's movers and shakers as well as who is rising and falling in '07.
1. Tiger Woods - 21.65
Story: Unless Jim Furyk wins every event in 2007, Woods ownership of the world will not be under attack.
2. Jim Furyk - 8.95
Story: Biggest season since winning the U.S. Open, leapfrogged into the top five, and then two. Still has not won a showdown with Tiger, so 2007 will likely be the season he establishes himself as Woods' rival or falls out of history.
3. Phil Mickelson - 7.80
Story: The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Mickelson has certainly lost his dominance early this season and late last after winning the PGA Championship and Masters. We all know the story of Lefty's meltdown at Winged Foot. Time to see if he has the mental side under his control or else will not challenge Tiger.
4. Adam Scott - 7.58
Story: Could challenge Mickelson for third in World Rankings after winning the Tour Championship. His Players Championship win will fall out of the points system soon.
5. Retief Goosen - 6.26
Story: Had a chance to beat Tiger in Asia but failed on the back nine. Not making strong case for being a member of the new "big five" if there is one.
6. Vijay Singh -6.23
Story: Hard to believe he was the world's best two years ago...Career is likely coming to a close, or at least a decline (practicing 24 hours a day is hard in the late 40's).
7. Ernie Els - 5.89
Story: As soon as the Big Easy finds his game again on all four days of a tournament, he will return to the winner's circle. U.S. Open returns to Oakmont where he won in 1994, unfortunately there will likely be no "immovable" mishaps.
8. Padraig Harrington - 5.81
Story: Moved back into the top 10 after winning th Dunlop Phoenix. Watch out below, Harrington is ready to take home some wins in '07 and catch a couple guys up top.
9. Luke Donald - 5.79
Story: Trails Els and Harrington by fraction, could get hot and have a career year in '07.
10. Geoff Ogilvy - 5.69
Story: U.S. Open champion is likely ready for some more wins. Strong performances in Australia and the Grand Slam of Golf.

There's the top 10, but what outsiders are ready to make a move in 2007:
11. Sergio Garcia-HAS to get over his putting woes in big events if he wants to be a player. Can anyone believe this guy is still in his 20's?
12. Henrik Stenson-Swedish Ryder Cup star is ready to dominate.
17. Davis Love III- Told Tom Lehman he would get hot by the end of 2006. He did and captured the Chrysler.
82. Troy Matteson - A win and second place finish in the last couple events of 2006. This guy is flying and poised for more success.

Trinidad and Tobago's Stephen Ames captured his first Skins Game title after three holes of playoff. Ames hit a three foot birdie putt on the third hole of playoff to close out Fred Couples and John Daly. Fred Funk, who won over $925,000 last season despite wearing a skirt, was closed out early and was not able to capture any skins. Ames had been out of the game for several weeks after suffering from a back injury and declined his invitation to play in the Tour Championship for that reason.

Ames won $590,000 with Fred Couples capturing a second place check worth $385,000. John Daly won a single skin good for $25,000. Both Fred Funk and Freddie Couples were eliminated on the second playoff hole where both Daly and Ames made birdie while Ames would seize the final skin and the victory.

The LG Electronics Skins Game, played in La Quinta Ca, is likely golf's best silly season event.

These days, it is hard for a new or small company to make its way in the golf market. Big hitters like Titleist and Taylormade have huge advertising budgets and dish out millions for Tour pros to put their products in the bag. Regardless, the name on the club still doesn't hit the ball. Often, some of the market's best products are not on the shelves of golf chain stores or are overlooked. I got the pleasure of reviewing the C830.2 Plasma 3 Woods from Alpha Golf Clubs, a division of Kent Sports. The company, despite not dishing out the big bucks for Staff players, has already captured 6 RE/Max Long Drive Championships with its popular driver series. Of course, the Alpha driver is not the only cannon in the company's product line.
My Test:
When I pulled the club out of the box, I immediately noticed how light the Plasma 3 Wood was. I also spied the small profile of the Plasma's head. I was excited to get to the range despite the near freezing temperature. I began with a couple of shots off a short tee and was astounded to see the length when compared to the Taylormade 3 wood I was currently using. Having expected that a small company would have "inferior" products to the likes of Taylormade, I was ready to see more. Off the mat, I found that the Plasma was very easy to get airborne, but sometimes soared a little too high for the better player. Still, the quality of the product was spectacular. The Plasma surely will aid the mid to high handicapper, or low handicappers who struggle with control over their woods.
The Look:
I definitely loved the look of the Plasma, especially the sleek, small profile at address. I never have been a big fan of some of the huge woods coming out today that could pass for a driver. As I said before, the club is very light which factors in to the added distance while control is not compromised. Lining aid is a silver arrow at the center of the club.
Tech:
Alpha says that the Plasma borrows many of the qualities of its sister Plasma driver. One of those qualities is the huge distance as a result of its wide design. The center of gravity in the Plasma is strategically placed to create a "sweet zone" providing maximum forgiveness on off center hits. The stock shaft is the Alpha Platinum 65 which weighs in at 68 grams and has a mid kickpoint. Make sure to check out Alpha's fairway wood line as well as their other products at:
www.alphagolfclubs.com. Also, make sure to read Alpha's new blog to track its success in professional golf and long drive championships.

The second golf swing in space was made by Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin outside the international space station. The shot will surely be the longest shank ever as Natalyia Hearn of Element 21 Golf stated the drive is expected to travel over a billion miles. Tyurin smoked a six iron off a spring like tee outside the international space station. Check out the YouTube video:

This shot was the second ever in space following the last Moonball by Alan Sheperd nearly 35 years ago.

The ball used is considered to be the smallest satellite in history as a tracking device was installed by the company Element 21. Golf fans can check the progress of the ball at e21golf.com .

It is definitely true that in order to improve, we can't start at 0 every year having to catch up with the practice lost during Winter. For the north, the cruel winter months strip golfers of any game they had left during the Fall. So how do we combat Mother Nature? Well, there are several solutions to this age old problem:

1. Return to your roots: Like the English do, suit up in hat and coat as well as gloves and face the snow and cold. Nine holes under harsh conditions can be fun, but after 18 you feel like migrating.

2. Move to Florida: Most likely the most costly choice a golf addict has, but hey, golf all year is pretty appealing.

3. Buy a video, interactive golf game: Several computer and video game programs are out now so you can plug a mat to your kid's PS2 and play golf at Pebble Beach through popular titles such as Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 2007.

4. Use indoor aids: As a golf aid junkie, I know first hand that there are some pieces of infomercial swing aids that can be used to help keep up the golf skills during the cold months. One of my favorite cheap aids: Makeshift weighted club. While there are weighted clubs on the market for over 100 dollars, a much cheaper solution is to grab an old iron, a golf ball,and some duct tape. Take the ball and place it on the face of the old iron, probably a 6 or 7. Wrap the duct tape around the club and tape all open spots (note: not taping well and having the ball fly of the face in the garage and smashing a window doesn't go over well). This aid helps to build flexibility as well as continued work on swing plane and fighting common errors like coming over the top. A great tool to use with the weighted iron is the Swingyde. The Swingyde is a simple aid which attaches to the shaft of the club and allows you to feel the proper wrist hinge.

Good luck this Winter and Happy Thanksgiving

In the recently published December issue of Golf Magazine, a reader wrote in asking about where his feet should be placed at setup. This question came about after he observed that some pros flare a foot, both feet, or not at all.

After reading the tip the magazine gave, I quickly tried it out to see that I do need to flare me left foot. The result is a better balanced golf swing leading to cleaner contact with longer, straighter shots. So how do you straighten the feet out?

First, go to a corner in your house and place your feet lining straight out at the wall. Then close your eyes, take a deep breath, and your body will likely twist to the right of the corner or possibly the left. The amount of twist is based on an individual's core strength, so the goal is to figure out how far you should flare your foot. Start with flaring the left foot slightly if you are a right handed golfer and do the procedure again. Experiment with both feet until you find yourself consistently looking square at the crease of the wall.

Easy fix for some common golf problems, especially for those of us who always line our feet square facing the ball. Most golfers lack the core strength of Tiger Woods of Chris DiMarco so we do face core rotation.

The high school class of 2007 has produced several amazing juniors who are sure to carry on their success to the college and professional ranks. Golfweek reports that seven of the top 10 ranked juniors have already signed letters of commitment to major NCAA golf programs.

Among those signees is number on ranked junior Philip Francis who signed to the UCLA program. Rickie Fowler and Bob Tway's son, Kevin Tway, both signed to the powerhouse Oklahoma State program. Kevin Tway's signing was more than expected as he was born to play for the Cowboys. Other notables include Shaun O' Meara, son of Mark O' Meara, who signed with UC Irvine.

Jason Bohn (14 under 274) won the Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational today by one stroke besting Scott Simpson. That one stroke meant Bohn went home with $60,000 and his first win in three years. Despite his lack of wins until today, he sits at 43rd on the money leaders list with $1,676,893.

5 players tied for third place (276): Kevin Sutherland, Harrison Frazar, Robert Gamez, Arron Oberholzer and Parker McLachlin.

Rocco Mediate, finished with a respectable 279 despite losing his TOUR Card for the 2007 season.

Tiger Woods seemed unbeatable for most of today at the Phoenix Country Club in Miyazaki, Japan. With six shots left, he had a three stroke lead. By the 16th hole, the lead dropped to two and Woods bogied the shot. Padraig Harrington took advantage of the opportunity, birdied on the 16th and by the 18th both were tied at the top of the leaderboard.

They played the 18th again. Harrington got a break on his second shot. It hit a tree and bounced forward for an ideal shot from the rough. Woods had a chance for a birdie from ten feet, but didn't make it.

Woods is now 45-6 worlwide when leading into the final round.

John Senden had an outstanding day; winning the MFS Australian Open at Royal Sydney and setting a course record. His day included 8 birdies. The 35 year old earned the Stonehaven Cup. He was the John Deere Classic winner in the USA this year. Senden said in post-event interviews that his goal now is to focus on major events and being one of the top 50 players in the world.

US Open Champion, Geoff Ogilvy, finished the day one stroke behind, despite the fact that he share the lead for much of the day. At one point in today's final round, 6 players were at the top of the leaderboard.

Stuard Appleby and Gavin Coles tied for third. The round three leader, Nathan Green, tied for fifth with the #4 player in the world, Adam Scott.

Despite finishing today's round at a one over 73, Nathan Green is still clinging to the lead at The Australian Open. Brett Rumford (68) and Gavin Coles (69) are in second place going into the final day of play.

Green started the day in a strong position. He admits, however, that he struggles when he is contention to win a tournament...bringing to mind another golfer known for choking in the big moments: Greg Norman. Amazingly, Greg Norman shot a 68 today.

The rain poured down at the Phoenix Country Club in Miyazaki, Japan, and made play much tougher for round three of the Dunlop Phoenix.

Tiger Woods struggled immensely and finished the day with a 2-over-72 and is now tied for the lead with Padraig Harrington.

Two Japanese players, Shingo Katayama and Takuya Taniguchi, are in third and fourth place, respectively.

Sunday's weather forecast calls for another day of rain.

Tiger Woods sits alone atop of the leaderboard at the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament in Miyazaki, Japan. His 5 under par, 65, puts him ahead by one stroke.

Padraig Harrington is in second place. Ian Poulter is two shots back. The first day leader, Shingo Katayama, has dropped to fourth place.

After a seven month renovation project,TPC of Sawgrass in Pointe Vedra Beach, Florida is now back in full operation. The refurbishment project improved greens and fairways and added over one hundred yards to the course. The famous TPC of Sawgrass hosts the PLAYERS Championship, considered by most to have golf's strongest field.

A TOUR official commented on divots in the 9th fairway,"Do you know what animal did this?"
"Vijay Singh" Vijay, of course, is one of the TOUR's hardest working players and used the ninth fairway as a practice facility during the renovation of the course.

The sports equipment retailer, Dicks Sporting Goods, will buy out the golf retail chain Golf Galaxy. The acquisition, expected to be completed by February of 2007, comes after Dicks Sporting Goods attempted to enter the golf retail market with a new chain in The Golf Shop but opted to purchase an already successful chain rather than build their own. The Golf Shop, currently located in Washington D.C. and in Dicks Sporting Goods' home city of Pittsburgh, will complement the new lineup.

After a spectacular season, Mexico's Lorena Ochoa took the LPGA's player of the year honor. Ochoa's victory was hardy surprising after she had arguably the most dominant year of any player other than Annika Sorenstam during the current era. Ochoa clinched the player of the year title by winning her 6th event of the season at the Mitchell Company Tournament of Champions. A seven under Sunday round in Alabama was good enough for a great victory over several of the tour's other young guns such as Paula Creamer.

Ochoa's Player of the Year honor is the first in five years not given to Annika Sorenstam. The 2006 season may signal a changing of the tide on the LPGA tour which leaves golf fans to question if Annika will reclaim her post in 2007.

Yang Yong-eun, a South Korean golfer, won with a two-stroke victory over Tiger Woods at Shanghai's HSBC Champion Tournament. Yang had a 69 today. Tiger actually had a better round, shooting a 67, but it was not enough to overcome the hole he dug by his less-than-great play on Saturday.

Yang takes home $833,000 for the win. Yang hopes to parlay this victory with competing in tournaments in Europe and the United States.

Reteif Goosen, who led after Day Three, finished tied for third with New Zealand native, Michael Campbell. Campbell tied the course record of 64.

Callaway Golf, a major player in all part of the golf equipment market, will launch an online "build and buy" retail program. Adam Barr of The Golf Channel reports Callaway's decision to sell directly from their site comes with much consideration. The program will integrate its loyal retailers, who will distribute and send products sold by Callaway, thus not steeping on those who have helped to build the Callaway company.

Callaway has has the Callaway Preowned retail program in place for several years, selling Callaway and its sister companies' used products.

The company's history of producing the market's hot drivers, starting with the Big Bertha, will be continued in 2007 with the release of the square headed driver series to include the FT-I and FT5.

Four years removed from attaining a top 50 world ranking on the PGA TOUR, a 27 year old Matt Kuchar looks to return. Kuchar, who played his college golf at Georgia Tech, fired 67 to complement rounds of 71 and 65 to move to 13 under par at the Nationwide Tour Championship. Kuchar's round was highlighted by dropping a bomb for eagle as well as a chip-in birdie on the 17th hole. A win at Houstonian would move Matt Kuchar to fourth place on Tour's official money list for the season.

Kuchar's spectacular round in a windy day was the not the only great round as Book Weekley fired a 69 to move to second place. Weekley trails Kuchar by three strokes going into the final round. The Cinderella Story of the tournament was Chris Baryla's surge up the leaderboard. Baryla, who came into the event as the 60th player on the Nationwide Tour's official money list, was in contention before falling five back of Kuchar after shooting even par on Saturday. Bayla must win the event in order to earn his TOUR Card for next season by finishing in the money list's top 22 players.

Spaniard Sergio Garcia held the overnight lead in Japan at the Taiheiyo Masters. His chance at winning would take a hit on Saturday after Garcia fell to four off the lead in only 13 holes played. Garcia's, as well as other members of the field, were unable to finish due to darkness.


Ryder Cupper Darren Clarke, who has won at the Taiheiyo Masters the last two years, will likely not find a three-pete after shooting a one over 73 on Saturday to find himself in 39th place.