LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- For about half the field, it's a week of mental gymnastics and dizzying career ramifications.
The other half, meanwhile, is across the street, mindlessly whooping it up at Disney World's Magic Kingdom and doing flips on theme-park rides.
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| 'You tend to know in the back of your mind what's going on,' veteran Jason Gore says. (US Presswire) |
"You can tell the guys here having fun with their families and the guys here to work," second-year pro Kevin Streelman said.
Disney World is the ultimate family destination, but it perversely represents the terminus of a long tour season, where they flicker the lights at closing time and kick out the stragglers after last call. The money list is finalized Sunday night, and only the top 125 are ensured full status in 2010.
The park markets itself as the happiest place on Earth, but for a few dozen guys throwing Hail Mary bombs and hoping to pick up another 40 or 50 grand, the Sunday sentiment represents another vibe entirely. Like, say, desperation.
Where did the season go?
"You tend to know in the back of your mind what's going on," veteran Jason Gore said of the calendar countdown to Sunday's judgment day. "Then last week we lost a tournament and it's like, 'Oh, no.'"
As though the Disney tension isn't annually thick enough, the Viking Classic, the penultimate tour stop, was rained out two weeks ago in muddy Mississippi, though that development has cleared the waters as far as what needs to happen this week. Well, for some, anyway.
Former U.S. Ryder Cup player Chris Riley sits at No. 126 in earnings, one slot outside the promised land of being exempt for next season for the first time since 2006. Riley is a scant $10,797 behind former British Open champion David Duval, who serves as this week's financial focal point in the 125th slot.
Somewhat surprisingly, Riley is in the same position he occupied at the start of the four-week Fall Series -- one spot on the wrong side of the fateful fence. So, in theory, he ought to be used to the psychological pressures of being a bubble boy.
"My mindset this week is to win," Riley said stoically.
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Lake Buena Vista: Tournament preview PGA Tour: Money list |
That might be a needlessly reckless endeavor. If he aims for the middle of the green, rolls in a few putts and manages to make the cut that might be enough.
Crude bowel jokes notwithstanding, there has been little movement as Disney's money-list crunch time has approached, partly because of the lost opportunity to cash checks at the Viking.
In fact, of the 26 players occupying the money-list slots between 110-135, a not-so-whopping five have improved their position since the Fall Series began in October. Put another way, 19 of the 26 have actually lost ground on the list.
"Fall" series, indeed.
Former PGA Championship winner Rich Beem, one slot inside the comfort zone at No. 124, potentially can lose his fully exempt status for the second straight year. He has one top-10 in 25 starts in 2009 and admittedly hasn't delivered the required goods.
"I think we all know why I'm sitting here being interviewed," Beem said. "It's not because of any other reason. I must say, this predicament sucks."
Succinctly put, brother.
Perhaps Beem will find solace in Disney's '08 developments. Despite some wild upheaval at times during the final day, by the time it was settled, only one player who began the week inside the top 125 was displaced.
Then again, the guy who was bumped was in the penultimate spot now occupied by Beem as he was heading into the last hurrah of the season -- or the second-to-last, depending on how it all plays out.
There's always that six-day stress-fest in December looming, too, another occupational grind not for the faint of heart.
"Either I play good," Beem exhaled, "or I go to Q-school."
Unlike at Disney, at that white-knuckle event, everybody wears a seat belt -- and there's no theme park for miles.
