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By John Maginnes
PGATOUR.com Contributor

BETHESDA, Md. -- When someone asks a PGA TOUR tournament director what the toughest part of his job is, the answer is always the same.

Notah Begay's long-time friendship with Tiger Woods likely played a role in his receiving a sponsor's exemption this week. (Hunter Martin/WireImage)

Their efforts to serve the sponsors, communities, charities and players are all of equal importance. However, as taxing as those responsibilities are, the one issue that keeps tournament directors up at night is sponsor's exemptions.

Most tournaments have eight exemptions to give. Two q-school grads not otherwise in the field receive exemptions. Two more are reserved for TOUR members not otherwise in the field. And four exemptions are unrestricted -- meaning that they could put you in the field.

Most weeks, sponsor's exemptions fly under the radar. Jay Williamson received an exemption into the Travelers Championship a couple of weeks ago and nearly won the golf tournament. Jay received the exemption because of his ties to the Hartford area as a two-sport alum of Trinity College. Neither of those sports happens to be golf.

When Michelle Wie receives an exemption, it makes headlines -- if only for the novelty. She recently accepted and then returned an exemption into next week's John Deere Classic. So it will be boys only in the field next week.

This week, the sponsor's exemptions are logical, if not somewhat predictable. And these sponsor's exemptions have paw prints all over them.

Notah Begay, a four-time PGA TOUR winner, has fallen on hard times due to a herniated disk in his back. Notah played on the same college team at Stanford with the world's No. 1 player.

Chris Riley, who played against Tiger and Notah in college, also received an exemption into the AT&T National. A few years ago, Chris and Tiger were Ryder Cup teammates. Chris has been splitting time this year between the Nationwide Tour and the PGA TOUR. His Nationwide Tour victory last month has Chris well on his way to returning to exempt status on TOUR in 2008.

Tiger's former neighbor in Orlando, John Cook, also received an exemption. A shoulder injury has sidelined the veteran who turns 50 on Oct. 2 and will be a rookie on the Champions Tour next year. Cook was replaced by fan favorite John Daly.

Big John struggled in 2006 and was unable to finish in the top 125 on the money list in order to keep his card. His position as a past champion will get John into a few events, but for the most part he has had to rely on sponsor's exemptions. He's one of the few players who move the needle in terms of gallery size and interest. Every sponsor hopes that John resurrects his career at their event.

The others receiving exemptions this week are the young Spaniard Pablo Martin, Kevin Stadler, Michael Putnam, Brad Faxon and the tremendous young amateur Jamie Lovemark, who won the NCAA Championship as a member of the Southern California golf team a few weeks ago.

It is Tiger's intention to invite the reigning U.S. Amateur champion to the AT&T National each year. Richie Ramsey of Scotland, the current Amateur champion, will play in the British Open two weeks from now, but was unavailable to play at Congressional.

Tournament directors have differing theories about how to use their exemptions. Many use them to create relationships with young players in hopes that those players will continue to come back as exempt players on the PGA TOUR. Other tournament directors use their exemptions on players like John Daly to enhance their field and generate interest. Local players are always favorites for sponsor's exemptions, as well.

It is always an honor for a player to receive a sponsor's exemption. This week, like at the Memorial Tournament and Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, the honor is a little greater. An exemption into one of these tournaments is an invitation by one of the game's greats.