What Hadwin needs to do

I've had a flurry of emails and Tweets asking about the status of Adam Hadwin in regard to next year and what he needs to do to lock up a PGA Tour card. So I went to the PGA Tour and got the official answer.

Hadwin has made $432,752. He needs $563,729 to become a Special Temporary Member -- a difference of $130,977.

If he becomes a Special Temporary Member and has 2011 money that falls between 126-150, he will be exempt into Finals of the Qualifying Tournament.

If he does not become a STM and finishes 126-150 he would be placed in the 151-200 category on the Nationwide Tour -- he would not have status on the PGA TOUR.

If he finishes 125 and above he would be exempt on the PGA TOUR for 2012 in the Top 125 Nonmember category.

Coincidentally, the $130,977 he needs is almost what he won last week -- $130,312. Of course, knowing Hadwin, his goal this week is not that amount of money, but a first-place cheque. That would take care of everything.

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Callaway's new gear

I spent the last couple of days down in Carlsbad, Calif., home to many of the game’s top equipment companies. This time it was a chance to visit with Callaway and see much of the new gear it will be launching – and in a couple of cases already launched – for 2012.

Callaway has gone through some internal changes over the past few months with George Fellows resigning and for the short term anyway, Tony Thornley, a board member, taking over. Thornley spent a few minutes with our Canadian group on Wednesday and I learned that he lived in Montreal for seven years while working with Nortel back in that company’s glory days. He said he enjoys the climate in Carlsbad a little better. 

He’s overseeing a leaner company these days that hopes its new line will appeal to golfers. 

We had a chance to see if these new clubs and balls will entice golfers. I played with the Razr XF irons and hybrids, a Razr X Black driver, Pro Type putter and the Black Hex ball. Because of embargoes, I can only tell you about the irons and hybrids from a technical standpoint; you’ll get to look under the lid at the other stuff in the new year. 

The irons fall into the super game improvement category. When I think of that, my immediate image is of a club with a big wide sole that has a massive face and think top line and is hard to miss. It’s not typically the style of club that I’d play with. 

But the XF was quite different. First up, the set is sold with hybrids (don’t call them Rescues) as part of the make up. There is no three or four iron (or five if you want). Instead the three and four hybrid replace those. 

Second, they don’t look like you’d think. They don’t have this massive can’t-miss look, but rather, at address, look very sleek. The top line is of medium thickness and the blade doesn’t look chunky as I find many clubs in this category do. 

And when I hit them, I was really impressed. The club had a very solid feel, got the ball up in the air quickly and cut through any rough well. Mis-hits seemed to go a long way. 

The hybrids had a bit of offset, which normally doesn’t appeal to me but in this category make sense. I only got to use them a couple of times and when I hit them well, the ball sailed high and true. Our group of testers, which included everyone from low single-digit players to high hackers all seemed to enjoy them. 

As for the driver, can only tell you that I really enjoyed it. The ball was also good and much of the cover shearing that used to occur with Callaway balls when you hit them with wedges is no longer a problem. 

Callaway seems to be trying to get back to being that company that Ely Callaway wanted, one that created products that made the game easier and more enjoyable to play. I’d say it’s headed in the right track. 

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Baryla still upbeat despite struggles

Tomorrow morning, the final PGA Tour event of the year gets underway in Orlando, Fla., and all those hoping to stay within the top 125 and top 150 will give it one last try.

Among those will be Chris Baryla, the Vernon, B.C., product who has, to put it mildly, struggled in 2011. In 19 starts, he's made just one cut and earned $66,000.

"A whole pile of crap," is how Baryla bluntly described his year, punctuating the comment with a chuckle. "I haven't hit the clubface in 10 months."

After graduating from the Nationwide Tour in 2009 with a 19th-place finish, Baryla played seven events in 2010 before shutting it down due to a torn labrum in his hip. He had surgery and took the rest of the year off until Q-School where he tied for 11th.

That led to this year where it's been one tough week after another. His scoring average is a lofty 73.31, which isn't even in the top 187 of players listed on the Tour's ranking. Now it should be pointed out that Baryla suffered a broken foot and spent seven weeks in a air cast. But he refused to use that as any kind of excuse.

As for this week, is he hoping for a last-chance miracle, a win that would pull him out of the depths?

"I don't expect much," he said matter-of-factly. "It's not there yet. I don't want to build expectations."

Baryla works with Sean Foley and has been re-tooling his swing to make it more efficient. But there is still a ways to go before they get it into proper shape, one that will allow him to compete on the PGA Tour. His eye is on the long game right now.

So after 20 weeks on the road, and only one cheque, I had to ask Baryla the obvious question: how are you doing financially? Simple math says that lots of expenses without much revenue is a bad model.

"You don't have to worry about me," he answered confidently.

As you read over all this bad news from a year gone wrong, you'd think that Baryla would be down and in despair, but nothing could be further from the truth. Over the course of our conversation, he seemed pragmatic about his place in the world at the moment, even upbeat. That's not a huge surprise to those who know him. He's a smart guy (like, really smart) who seems to understand the world far beyond the golf course. He's one of the more intriguing guys on tour to talk with and I've always enjoyed his view thoughts on golf and other topics.

"I don't really attach too much to my golf game," he said. "Maybe I should. It would probably be beneficial if I did but that's just not me.

"Life-wise, things are good and golf-wise, it's not a bad thing, really."

Now there's a guy with perspective.

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It's Q-School time again

It’s Q-School time again and already a slate of hopefuls has made its way through the first stage while another group is vying to advance as I type. 

There is nothing quite like Q-School – three stages, 14 rounds to try and land a job on one of the big tours. 

By our count, 52 Canadians (with a couple of Canadian residents) have taken to the PGA Tour’s challenge and another dozen are currently in the first stage of the Champions Tour shootout. 

Some are veterans of this process, others are there for the first time, with some of those really having no business being there except to gain experience. 

Already a few veterans have moved on to the second stage. Derek Gillespie, David Morland and Stuart Anderson received passing grades along with seven others. 

Highly touted young players Matt Hill and Nick Taylor are half-way through their first stages, and Izzy Beisiegel is once again trying her skills against the men but not having much luck so far. She’s in 74th spot after two rounds. 

You can track their progress here. 

On the Champions Tour, there are some familiar names trying out. Rick Gibson, the Victoria native who makes his home in the Philippines these days, has the first round lead at the qualifier in Nevada. He’s joined there by Ray Stewart, Phil Jonas and Norm Jarvis. 

A total of 12 Canadians (that I could find) started in the 50-and-over category.

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Hearn's finish secures 2012 status

For the first time in a long time, David Hearn has no plans for when his PGA Tour season ends in two weeks. And that's a great feeling for the Brantford, Ont., native who locked up playing privileges for the 2012 season with his T7 finish at the Frys.com Open on Sunday.

That performance gave him $130,312.50 and pushed his season's earnings to $808,860, and 102nd spot on the PGA Tour's money list.

"I don't see that there's any way this doesn't seal the deal," said Hearn from Sea Island, Ga., where he was getting settled for this week's McGladrey Classic. "It feels great. I've been working towards this for more than just this year and I'm pretty happy right now."

Hearn got back on to the PGA Tour this year by finishing in the top 25 on the Nationwide Tour last year, something he accomplished in the last tournament of the year on that circuit. He'd played the PGA Tour once before, in 2005, but failed to retain his privileges.

"I don't think there was one thing that made the difference [this time]," said Hearn. "It was a lot of little things. I was also more comfortable out here. I was comfortable with being successful."

Through yesterday's event, Hearn played 24 tournaments and made the cut in 17. Including his T7 last week, he had a T5 a week earlier at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospital for Children Open and a T6 at the Shell Houston Open in April.

With two top 10s in two weeks, Hearn sees no reason to stop playing.

"There's always something to play for," he stated. "If you're 125, you want to get to 70. If you're 70, you want to get to 30."

Being fully exempt for 2012 will bring some advantages for Hearn, who will likely finish the season as the top-earning Canadian. For the first time, he'll be able to pick and choose a schedule, with the exception of the invitational tournaments such as Colonial or Memorial. He'll also get to play in the Players for the first time, an event he's looking forward to.

"It will allow me to focus on the next step, which is to get a win," said Hearn, of his new status.

As for the record-setting day on Sunday at the Frys, Hearn wasn't aware until he read on Twitter what he, Matt McQuillan and Adam Hadwin accomplished. All three tied for seventh, marking the first time three Canadians posted top-10 finishes in the same PGA Tour event.

"That was pretty cool," he stated. "It's probably three names you wouldn't have expected to do it either. It just goes to show you there's a lot of depth coming up in Canadian golf."

As for the off-season, Hearn hadn't thought much about that yet. He does know there's no Q-School in his plans and that's something he won't miss. He'll play the last two Fall Series tournaments and then, he said, he has no plans until the Sony event in January.

"I guess we'll have some time to relax," he chuckled. "But I don't want to get too comortable. Now that we're out here, the goal is to stay out here as long as possible."

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Long road for Montreal's Wilson

Great news last week that 20 Canadians made it through the first stage of the PGA Tour’s Qualifying School. There were 10 the first week and another 10 the second week along with one Aussie who has been living in Canada for the last few years. 

This story comes from Blake McMaster, the longtime superintendent and former SCOREGolf Award winner who recently retired from Royal Montreal. 

Lindsay Wilson and his twin brother came from Australia to Montreal to work on the grounds crew at Royal ahead of the Presidents Cup. After work most days he would play with the assistant professionals at the course and post a score in the 60s from the back tees. After some time out in B.C. working the ski hills, he returned to Royal Montreal in 2010 but this time worked in the pro shop for Bob Hogarth, the longtime professional there. He also played on the Quebec Tour and won a number of events.

Wilson entered Q-School and won the first stage in Beaumont, Calif., and will move on to the second stage. We can’t really claim him as one of our own yet, but it’s still a great story with a Canadian angle. 

****

Two Canadians made it through the first stage of the Champions Tour qualifying. Ian Doig of Seaforth, Ont., and Victoria’s Rick Gibson made the grade and will move on. It’s a brutal process with just a handful of cards available. 

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Hadwin gets pass to final stage

Adam Hadwin skipped a grade without even writing the test. 

The 23-year-old from Abbotsford, B.C., confirmed Friday that the PGA Tour has given him an exemption into the final stage of Qualifying School thanks to his success in 2011.

Originally, Hadwin believed he was going to start his Q-School adventure at second stage, passing by the first level thanks to making the cut at the U.S. Open. But some hard work by his agent, George Sourlis of Landmark Sport, convinced tour officials he should get a pass to the third and final stage. 

The decision rested on his earnings for 2011. Hadwin collected $440,753 in five events which was enough for 145th spot on the money list. However PGA Tour regulations required him to earn at least as much as the 150th-place finisher from the previous year to gain special temporary member status. That was $563,729.

The appeal worked and now Hadwin will play in La Quinta, Calif., starting Nov. 30.

Getting to the final stage is a huge achivement for Hadwin as even the last-place finisher at that event will earn some status on the Nationwide Tour. The top 25 finishers at final stage will earn exempt status on the PGA Tour. 

Matt McQuillan will also be in the final stage while a wave of other Canadian professionals are currently working their way through first stage in hopes of joining them. 

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