LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- It began with a torrent, briefly turned into a raging flash flood, and ended with a trickle.
Perhaps had the players themselves known of the wild jockeying that was taking place at the Children's Miracle Network Classic around the pivotal hot-seat number, 125th on the money list, some of the final-hour calm might never have happened.
As it was, only one player who began the final week of the 2008 PGA Tour event outside the top 125 crow-barred his way into the fully exempt list for next year, though there were plenty who went down in flames trying.
Scottish rookie Martin Laird, who began the week at No. 126, eked past Shane Bertsch, who missed the cut after starting the week at No. 124. All the former had to do was make a crucial eight-footer for par on the final hole, knowing full well that he was surely dead in the Disney World swamp water if he didn't.
After the putt dropped, he buried his face in a hand and stared the grass. It was a mix of relief with a smidge of uncertainty, since he thought he had blown it with a three-putt on the 12th and another bogey on the 16th.
"I honestly didn't know," said Laird, who finished in a four-way for 21st. "I still thought it would be close. But I knew if I missed it, I had zero chance."
He made it by $11,504 over Bertsch, and if Laird had finished a shot higher, in a nine-way tie for 25th, he would not have made it. Laird had to sweat out the last few groups -- had tournament runner-up Tommy Gainey won, he would have bumped Laird to No. 126 -- but flew home to Arizona with a smile.
"I am in first class, and I will be taking advantage of the free drinks," he said.
Two hours earlier, tracking the status of Laird and a handful of others on the 125 bubble was like throwing names in a blender and pushing the puree button. The PGA Tour computer keeps a variety of leaderboards, including one that tracks the projected yearly earnings at any particular moment.
In the first two hours of the final round, six different players were in the projected No. 125 slot, the position needed to keep a full card for next year.
Jeff Overton: He had his appendix removed just two weeks ago and had no choice but to play the two final events of the season to keep alive his chances. He began the week at No. 125 on the money list, but finished tied for 31st and climbed to 118th.
"It was getting pretty tight at the end," Overton said. "One or two shots higher and I would be looking for a job somewhere else. I can't wait to go home, lay in bed, watch a few movies and heal up."
Overton birdied the first two holes, bogeyed Nos. 6 and 8, then shot 34 on the back nine to finish with a 3-under 69.
