Money list bubble watch: Valero Texas Open

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Zach Johnson is currently sitting on the 125th spot, but he's exempt through 2012 thanks to his Masters win last year.

Oct. 8, 2008
By PGATOUR.COM staff

Five tournaments are left in the Fall Series, starting with this week's Valero Texas Open in San Antonio. That means five weeks are left for players who are seeking to finish inside the top 125 on the money list to earn exempt status on the PGA TOUR in 2009. Here's an inside look at the players just inside the 125 line, and the players just outside of it.
2008 MONEY LIST: Click here for full list | VALERO TEXAS OPEN: List of participants | First-round tee times

Aiming for the top 125

Rank	Player	2008 money	Playing Valero?	Comment
115	David TOMS	$779,285	Yes	His two-year exemption for winning the 2006 Sony Open in Hawaii ends after this year, so he needs to stay inside the top 125. Hasn't finished with less than $1 million in earnings since 1998.
116	Nick WATNEY	$777,970	Yes	His victory in the 2007 Zurich Classic of New Orleans assures him of his exempt status through 2009.
117	Brad ADAMONIS	$768,113	Yes	A q-school qualifier (he finished T9 last year), Adamonis is seventh on the money list in terms of 2008 rookies. Has just two top-20 finishes in 24 starts
118	Jay WILLIAMSON	$758,862	Yes	Won exemption last year as a nonmember by finishing in the top 125. Now trying to keep his card this year. Earning money in the first three Playoff events certainly helped.
119	Shane BERTSCH	$756,948	Yes	Played on a major medical exemption this year after suffering from vertigo. Has made the cut in eight of his last nine starts.
120	Patrick SHEEHAN	$750,497	Yes	One of the 25 Nationwide Tour graduates from last year. Has made the cut in nine of his last 10 starts.
121	Vaughn TAYLOR	$744,466	Yes	Has finished 70th or higher on the money list in each of the last four years but has just one top-10 finish this year (in January at Bob Hope Chrysler Classic).
122	Martin LAIRD	$732,560	Yes	The Nationwide Tour grad from Scotland was in serious danger until a recent three-week stretch starting at Legends Reno-Tahoe Open in which he finished T4-T4-T7 to earn $546,225.
123	Tim PETROVIC	$705,477	Yes	Has finished inside the top 100 on the money list in five of the last six years but hasn't had a top-10 finish since March.
124	Matt JONES	$703,000	Yes	The Nationwide Tour grad has earned 61 percent of his money this year with two T4 finishes (The Honda Classic, Buick Open). But in his last 17 starts, he's missed the cut 13 times.
125	Zach JOHNSON	$700,933	Yes	He's sitting on the bubble but doesn't have to worry, thanks to his five-year exemption for winning the 2007 Masters.

126	Rich BEEM	$686,872	Yes	The 2002 PGA Championship winner kept his exemption by finishing 119th on the money list last year. His third place at the Wyndham Championship is his only top-10 finish this year.
127	Tom LEHMAN	$676,651	No	Could use a one-time, one-year exemption next year by virtue of being in the top 50 of career money earnings (he's currently 18th). Oh, and he turns 50 in March, so there's always the Champions Tour.
128	Jason DAY	$669,335	Yes	The Nationwide Tour grad has won 57 percent of his money in his two top-10 finishes (6 at AT&T Pebble Beach, T8 at Shell Houston Open).
129	Jason GORE	$644,894	Yes	Finished 88th on the money list last year, but a nine-start stretch this summer in which he failed to make a cut may send him back to q-school.
130	James DRISCOLL	$639,726	No	Another Nationwide Tour grad, Driscoll is coming off his best finish (T22 at Turning Stone) since May.
131	Davis LOVE III	$622,262	Yes	His five-year exemption for winning THE PLAYERS Championship in 2003 will run out, but like Lehman, Love is inside the top 25 all-time money list (specifically, 5th) and can opt for that exemption if necessary.
132	J.J. HENRY	$611,600	Yes	His two-year exemption for winning the 2006 Buick Championship will run out. Has two top-20 finishes in his last five starts.
133	Michael ALLEN	$607,446	No	Has never won a TOUR event in 318 career starts. Now would be a good time to rectify that situation.
134	Jeff OVERTON	$600,434	Yes	Comes off a T10 finish at Turning Stone that gets him without shouting distance but needs another another one or two of those.
135	Marc TURNESA	$580,052	Yes	The rookie from the Nationwide Tour lost in a playoff at the Viking Classic two weeks ago. Can he carry that momentum for the next month?