Gut Check Time for Q-School Contestants

Wintergarden Florida
Imagine if what you do during the next 6 days will determine your livelyhood for the entire next year. It's a fairly intimidating prospect to be sure but that's what 166 golfers are currently facing during the annual Q-School qualifying tournament down in Florida this week.

Frank Lickliter II and Brendon de Jonge each shot 10-under 62 on yesterday during opening round play at Orange County National to share the lead in the six-round PGA Tour National Qualifying Tournament.

Only the 25 top finishers and ties will earn the golden ticket - a PGA Tour card for 2007. This of course means full entry into most 2008 PGA Tour events and with that, the shot at fame and fortune. The next 50 or so players earn full exemption to the Nationwide tour while the remaining players in the field will achieve conditional status on the Nationwide tour.

Lickliter as well as Jonge both lost tour cards this year by finishing 139th & 155th
respectively on the money list.

Justin Timberlake to host Fall PGA Event

In the decades prior to the 90's, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra & Glen Cambell were just a few of the many Hollywood Celebrities to lend their names to PGA tour events with the Bob Hope Desert Classic being the last celeb hosted tourney standing at the turn of the Century. Big news earlier this year when George Lopez took over as host of the Desert Classic but now even bigger news, Justin Timberlake has joined forces with the PGA and is getting his very own golf tournament. The 26-year-old singer will host the PGA Tour event in Las Vegas, which will be renamed the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

Timberlake states "We will make sure to make this event unique and memorable, and we will raise money for charity while participating in the greatest game ever played," Timberlake said in a statement Monday. "Raising money to better children's lives while playing golf? I can't think of a better way to pass the time."

While Lopez can coax out a steady stream of b-listers & TV stars, Timberlake should really be able to bring out the star power which will make this a must-see event next year. I'm curious if having his name attached to the tournament will help drag any top 10 players off their yachts for the week to compete in this thing.

The event takes place in the fall, after the FedEx cup is wrapped up so no real need for anybody to show up except for players hovering near the magic 125 number - or those with really big yacht payments!

Tattoo Golf will be there to report on all the action so stay tuned.

4 Ball Final Match

My golf partner Jim & myself have reached the finals in the 4 ball tournament at Chevy Chase CC (Glendale CA - not Maryland!). We played the semi-final match this past Sunday against a team that previously beat us on the 1st hole of a playoff so it was sweet revenge & a rather smooth sail into the finals. We ended up winning 3-2 but more important than that was my contribution to the teams winning holes - something I've not been doing much lately. I birdied a 165 yard par 3 by sticking the ball 2 feet from the cup & making the putt which vindicated me since I missed a 2 footer to lose to this team the last time we played - revenge is sweet!