For Frazar, 59 was only a small part of the overall goal of q-school

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Harrison Frazar's 59 on Saturday vaulted him into the lead at q-school.

Al Geiberger did it back in 1977 in Memphis, and Chip Beck shot the same score 14 years later in Las Vegas. Then David Duval shot 59 at the 1999 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic -- the first to post the magic number in the final round and win. He did it with an eagle on the last hole, too.

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On Saturday, Harrison Frazar shot 59 in the fourth round of the PGA TOUR National Qualifying Tournament. He did it within a mile of the Palmer Private Course that David destroyed nine years ago. The 58 that Shigeki Maruyama shot in the first round of qualifying for the 2000 U.S. Open was quickly forgotten, and I expect Frazar's feat will meet the same fate.

Officially there have only been three 59s shot on the PGA TOUR. The lowest two rounds that I have ever heard of were authored by Sean Pappas, brother of TOUR veterans Dean and Brendan. He shot 59-61 in the first two rounds of a tournament in Kentucky back in the early 1990s and not surprisingly, he ended up winning by a pretty large margin. A player named Steve Ford shot 64 in each of the first three rounds and was eight shots back going into the final round.

When a TOUR player gets close to shooting 59, he is just like you when you are hovering around 80 or 90 or 100. He knows how many under par he is and he knows how many holes he has left. Most players will lie to you after they shoot 61 and tell you that the thought of shooting 59 never entered their minds.

But it did.

The funny thing is, as Harrison said, he didn't care if he shot 59 or not. That is the nature of q-school. Even the threshold of 60 takes on less meaning when you are playing for your career. He knew that he was putting himself in good position but he also knew that there were a couple of days left in the tournament. After all, David Gossett shot 59 in the desert in the 2000 q-school and didn't earn his TOUR card. He finished tied for 68th that year.

On Monday night, Harrison will finally be able to exhale. Sure, he started the final round more than a dozen shots ahead of the number. But even when you are all but assured of retaining your card, there are still nervous moments throughout the final round. For a player like Harrison, who has spent more than a decade on the PGA TOUR, the celebration tonight will be a little different than it is for a rising rookie. Harrison came to the finals expecting to get his card back.

Knowing that you belong on TOUR and getting back there are often two different things, though. But Harrison, along with a handful of other veterans, are headed back where they belong.

In a few weeks, the round of Harrison's life will be forgotten by most. Even if he never shoots 59 again -- and the odds against it are pretty high -- he has given himself the opportunity to do something memorable on the PGA TOUR in 2009.

That is why he came to Palm Springs in the first place.

John Maginnes is a columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His opiniosn do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the PGA TOUR.