Hayes ready to put misfortune of 2008 q-school DQ in the past

J.P. Hayes said that his disqualification in q-school last year will not have an effect on his play this week.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- If there is such a thing as the golfing Gods, they should make sure J.P. Hayes gets all the "member's bounces" and lip-ins he needs to advance through this week's PGA TOUR National Qualifying Tournament.

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They owe him one.

Hayes has played on the PGA TOUR since 1992, winning a pair of events and earning $7 million. But he became more well-known last fall for something he did off the golf course.

During a second-stage qualifier, Hayes was in his hotel room one night when he realized he had inadvertently used a ball that was not approved by the USGA for tournament play. Hayes had two options -- quietly switch balls without saying a word, or disqualify himself, which would have meant Hayes lost any chance of earning fully-exempt status on the PGA TOUR in 2009.

Hayes chose the latter, informing TOUR rules officials of his error even though it assured he would have greatly reduced playing opportunities this year.

"I had no choice: Either you cheat or you don't," Hayes said. "I'm not a cheater."

Within days, Hayes was hailed for his honesty; a USA Today columnist even said Hayes should be considered as Sportsman of the Year. He received interview requests from folks like Charlie Gibson and Dan Patrick among the more than 300 calls that lit up his phone.

Hayes admitted he was shocked by the reaction, saying not only was he simply doing the correct thing, but that almost every PGA TOUR pro would have done the same.

Hayes was rewarded for his move, receiving five unsolicited sponsor exemptions into tournaments this year, helping him get 15 starts. But after earning about $300,000 this year, Hayes found himself back at q-school.

This time, Hayes made it through second stage and, after a snazzy 9-under 63 in Friday's third round on the Links Course at Bear Lakes Country Club, he finds himself tied with Troy Merritt for the lead at 12-under 204 halfway through the six-round grind and in good shape to earn his card by finishing in the top 25 and ties.

If there's such a thing as karma, Hayes should get every good break possible this week. But Hayes doesn't share that opinion. Not one bit.

"The golfing Gods are hard to read," Hayes said. "I don't ever feel like they owe me anything."

Hayes clearly has been uncomfortable with the attention he received since the incident. In addition to the 300-plus calls, he was asked by several corporations to give speeches on ethics. He politely declined.

"I never considered myself a spokesman for ethics," Hayes said, "much less business ethics."

Hayes said he also had two options after the DQ -- throw a pity party for himself or make the best of the situation. Again, he chose the latter. He enjoyed the extra time he spent home with his wife and two children, which was something new for the 45-year-old pro who routinely played at least 25 tournaments a year.

"My kids enjoyed me being around more," he said, "and I'd like to think my wife did, too. I enjoyed being at home. I've been out here a long time. Regardless of what happens this week, I'm never going to play 30 tournaments a year again."

If Hayes keeps his game headed in the proper direction this week -- he has improved from 74 to 67 to 63 in the three rounds -- he'll have more of a say on when he'll play next year without having to rely on sponsor exemptions.

Hayes insists that what happened at last year's q-school won't have any bearing on what he does the next three days. He says he now thinks of the incident only when asked.

"I certainly don't want to be made out as a hero," Hayes said. "I'm just a player who did the right thing. If it's served to remind people what a good game we've got, that's great. But I've already moved on."

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LOW SCORES RULE THE DAY: It was a day when the leaderboard bled red numbers.

The only thing that stopped the barrage of birdies and eagles in the third round of the PGA TOUR's National Qualifying Tournament was the weather -- play was delayed for 91 minutes in the morning because of a storm, then suspended at 4:05 p.m. when another storm hit with 20 players left on the course.

Troy Merritt, who is tied for the lead with Hayes at 12-under, was on the 17th hole at the Links Course at Bear Lakes when play was stopped. Merritt and 19 other players will resume their third round at 9 a.m. Saturday, with the fourth round scheduled to start at 7:30 a.m.

Fourteen players shot 66 or lower Friday, led by Hayes and Tommy Gainey with 63s. TOUR veteran Joe Ogilvie shot a 64 that was matched by Graham Delaet. Firing 65s were Brenden Pappas (who's tied for third place with Delaet at 11-under), Chris Riley and Omar Uresti. Posting 66s were Rickie Fowler -- who flirted with a 59 when he was 10-under through 13 holes before stumbling late -- Scott Stallings, Matt Jones, Brian Stuard, Brent Delahoussaye and J.J. Killeen.

"This is absolutely the easiest these courses are going to play," said Ogilvie, who's tied for fifth with Billy Horschel (67), Andrew McLardy and Jay Williamson. "I think par was about 68 today."

Fowler looked like he might break 60 when he birdied the 13th hole to get to 10-under. He needed three birdies on his final five holes to join David Gossett and Harrison Frazar as the only players to shoot 59 in q-school.

But Fowler parred the 14th, bogeyed the 15th, double-bogeyed the 16th and bogeyed the 17th. This was not a pleasing 66 as Fowler fell from the lead into a 13th-place tie.

"It's disappointing to finish like that," he said. "But I shot 66, I moved up the leaderboard and there's a lot of golf left."

And a lot of birdies and eagles to be made. Some of them Friday were unconventional.

For instance, Joe Affrunti made a hole-in-one on the 218-yard 13th hole on the Lakes Course. And four players -- Riley, Stuard, Brandt Jobe and Ray Beaufils -- made eagles on par-4 holes.

NOTES: Former world No. 1 David Duval is T36 after a 69 ... Barrett Jarosch (68/207) leads the field with 20 birdies ... Tom Pernice, at 50, the oldest player in the field, is T20 after a 68. He already has status on next year's Champions Tour.

Craig Dolch is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.