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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- The second stage of the PGA TOUR Qualifying School starts this week, while 25 players from the Nationwide Tour already have their cards. As always, the real chore is keeping those cards during the 2008 season.

Ken Duke was able to get into 31 PGA TOUR events in 2007 -- and he went on to win nearly $2 million. (WireImage)

30Events played by Q-School Medalist George McNeill

2Nationwide Tour graduates from the 2006 season (Brandt Snedeker, Boo Weekley) that finished in the top 30 on the PGA TOUR money list

But if one year of the FedExCup was any indication, they'll at least have a fighting chance.

One of the concerns about the revamped season was whether Q-school and Nationwide grads would get enough starts. Based on a review of 60 players in that category, they averaged about 25 starts on the PGA TOUR this year. The list does not include Jonathan Kaye or Carl Paulson, who did not play because of injuries.

Players in this category are ranked by alternating order from the Nationwide Tour money list and Q-school. The top spot went to George McNeill, who played 30 times and won in Las Vegas. The last spot went to Tom Byrum, who had 20 starts and finished 195th on the money list. Ten players from that category had at least 30 starts.

For all the focus on whether Tiger Woods and the big names played more or less under the FedEx Cup system, what really got the tour's attention were the guys on the lower end of the food chain.

"It means we were able to improve the strength of fields without affecting the stars of tomorrow," said Henry Hughes, the TOUR's Chief of Operations.

That's not to suggest guys from the bottom category could play whenever and wherever they wanted. While the Q-School and Nationwide grads averaged 25 starts, the average during the FedEx Cup season was 20 starts, and 31 of the 60 players wound up playing all seven events after The TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola.

Even so, Hughes was pleased to see that this category was not kept from playing.

"We're always focused on the Q-School and Nationwide guys to make sure they have ample opportunity to attain exempt status for next year," he said. "And we think we did that."

Financially, it's more attractive to play in the majors and the World Golf Championships, not to mention elite fields like Memorial and Bay Hill. But for the most part, FedEx\Cup points distribution does not discriminate against strength of field. The winner of a WGC event, for example, only received 225 more points than the winner of a regular PGA TOUR event.

Two more noteworthy items from that category:

Five players won tournaments -- Mark Wilson, Boo Weekley, Brian Bateman, Brandt Snedeker and George McNeill, the Q-school medalist and the only winner whose victory came during the Fall Series. That's up one from the previous year.

Nineteen of the 60 finished inside the top 125 on the money list to earn full status for next year, while 11 others earned conditional status by finishing in the top 150.