What exactly makes you a rookie on TOUR?  Which of the following players are PGA TOUR rookies this season? A. Tripp Isenhour The answer: none of the above. Though all four graduated from the PGA TOUR National Qualifying Tournament or the Nationwide Tour in 2006, this is not their rookie season because each has been official PGA TOUR member in previous years-- Isenhour in 2001 and 2004, Duke in 2004, Stadler in 2005 and Kanada in 1997 and 2001. Confused? Don't be, it's really quite simple. If a professional plays in his 10th official money event as a PGA TOUR member this season, he is a rookie. If this year he finishes in the top 125 on the Official PGA TOUR Money List for the first time, he is a rookie. If he earns money equal to or greater than 125th place on the TOUR money list, he is a rookie. So that means that, out of 40 cards granted at q-school, only 17 were for true newbies in 2007, including 2006 q-school medalist George McNeill. Nine Nationwide Tour graduates will be joining their q-school comrades in the rookie ranks. That doesn't mean some of the players haven't played in many TOUR events before, as evidenced by Jim Rutledge. The oldest rookie on TOUR in 2006 and second oldest to debut in TOUR history, the 47-year-old has made 31 career starts and eight cuts, but not as an official TOUR member. Who makes it into the tournaments is based on a list of priority rankings, with most of the new players falling into the q-school and Nationwide Tour category. Once the golfers in the categories ahead of them accept or decline to play, the available spots are then filled by first the top q-school finisher, then No. 2 on the 2006 Nationwide Tour money list, then the second-place q-school grad, and so on until the field is filled. Only Henrik Stenson falls into a different group for this year's rookie class, as he finished in the Top 125 as a non-TOUR member on the 2006 TOUR Money List. But even though they're the freshmen on TOUR, there is no class system once a rookie gets into an event. Making it into field it's a 144-person field now and 156 players play once daylight savings time takes effect -- can be a challenge, since the top 125 on last season's TOUR Money List have priority over these Nationwide Tour and q-school grads. Still, if they play well, a rookie can win a tournament the same as a veteran. This year's bunch has tough shoes to fill, following last year's Rookie of the Year Trevor Immelman, who won the 2006 Cialis Western Open. The award which is voted on by PGA TOUR members who have played in at least 15 official money tournaments has been bestowed upon several notable players in the past, such as Vijay Singh in 1993, Ernie Els in 1994, Stewart Cink in 1997, 2003 British Open winner Ben Curtis that same year and, of course, Tiger Woods in 1996. And from the oldest in Rutledge to the youngest in 21-year-old Anthony Kim, this year's group all have a chance at the 2007 Rookie of the Year title and a dream first season. Click here to see the complete priority rankings.
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