Stuard weathers q-school storm, but others not so lucky

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Brian Stuard had to go to the finals after finishing 26th on the Nationwide Tour money list. The top 25 earned cards.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Standing in the 17th fairway Monday, Brian Stuard had to be wondering if his path to the PGA TOUR was going to hit another dead end.

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He appeared certain to clinch his card at last year's q-school when he started the final round tied for sixth -- only to shoot a final-round 74, the highest score among the top 70 finishers, and fade to 34th place.

Six weeks ago, he faced an 8-foot birdie putt on the last hole of the Nationwide Tour Championship, only to miss the putt -- and his TOUR card as he finished 26th on the money list.

Stuard once again seemed set to lock up his card in Monday's final round of the PGA TOUR's Qualifying Tournament when he birdied three of his first six holes at Bear Lakes Country Club to move four shots above the line of top 25 finishers. But after playing his next nine holes in 4 over, Stuard had fallen out of the top 25.

Was Stuard wondering if he was on the verge of another heartbreaking collapse?

"I thought about that for a minute or two," Stuard said. "Then, I told myself to get over it."

That mindset helped Stuard finally get over the hump. He almost holed his 97-yard sand wedge to the par-5 17th hole, the ball stopping just inches away. He almost duplicated that feat on the par-4 18th, his 7-iron from 170 yards just missing the hole and rolling 4 feet away. The ensuing birdie moved Stuard (72) into a 19th-place finish and onto the PGA TOUR in 2010.

"I've been close a couple of times, so it was nice to finally finish strong," Stuard said. "The only thing I can compare this day to is trying to win a tournament."

Then again, there's not much to compare the pressures of the final day of q-school. Once again, this afternoon served up more than its share of clutch finishes and bitter disappointments.

Besides Stuard's late heroics, four other players moved into the top 25 with strong finishes: David Lutterus of Australia shot a brilliant 64 to move from 28th place (two shots out of the top 25) to eighth place; Brent Delayoussaye had a 69 to climb from 32nd to 23rd; Cameron Tringale fired a 69 to move from 42nd to 23rd; and Shane Bertsch made the biggest move of all, his 65 lifting him from 50th place to 15th.

"I was searching for it all week, but I kept plugging away," Bertsch said of his swing. "I told my wife, if I could play these last 22 holes in 8 under, that might be good enough. It's crazy how things turn out."

Lutterus can attest. He was a rookie on the PGA TOUR in 2007, but managed just one top-25 finish in 23 starts. But he earned the most important top-25 finish of his career Monday despite spending this year playing on mini-tours and having to advance through all three stages. At 24, the 6-foot-4, 220-pounder had just played the round of his life.

"Definitely," he said. "Today was good, man. That was incredible."

As expected, Rickie Fowler made it through his first q-school, shooting a 70 to finish tied for 15th place. He was close to the line after a first-hole bogey, but eagled his third hole and stayed inside the top 25 the rest of the day.

"I felt a little more pressure coming down the stretch," said Fowler, who lost in a playoff this year at the 2009 Frys.com Open. "But I got it done."

Pernice

The final day of q-school wouldn't be complete without the usual late-hole collapses. This time it was two-time TOUR winner Tom Pernice Jr. and unheralded James Hahn who felt the most pain. Pernice double-bogeyed No. 18 to miss by a shot, while Hahn four-putted his final hole from 70 feet to miss by two shots.

Pernice at least will get some TOUR starts because of his former champion's status and he's also fully-exempt on the Champions Tour because he won this year after turning 50. But that was little consolation to the oldest player in the field after his tee shot at the final hole hooked into the water.

"I didn't come here not to make it," Pernice said. "Just a bad shot at the wrong time."

Hahn needed to par his final hole, having not made a bogey during his round. But his drive landed in a fairway bunker and his 7-iron left him 70 feet away. His first putt stopped 10 feet short, he missed the critical par try and inexplicably missed the 2-footer for bogey.

"Let's go ahead and talk about it, because I'm sure I'll be thinking about this for a year," said Hahn, who still gains full-exempt status on the Nationwide Tour. "I knew what I needed to do and just couldn't do it."

Hahn said it didn't matter to him when he eventually missed finishing in the top 25 by two shots, meaning the last missed putt didn't hurt him.

"I don't care if the number was 6 under or 12 under," he said. "What's disappointing to me is I didn't perform when I needed to. But a year ago, I was ready to hang up the sticks, so this isn't the worst thing."

Medalist Troy Merritt (69-410) was among nine PGA TOUR rookies to make it through q-school, joining Martin Flores (fourth), Billy Horschel (seventh), Graham DeLaet (T8), Chris Wilson (T12), Fowler, Tringale, Stuard and Delahaoussaye.

Still, excuse them if they weren't celebrating too mightily at their success. Not after six days of grinding away, mentally and physically, with their careers at stake. Asked what he was going to do to enjoy the moment of finally reaching the PGA TOUR after all the near-misses, Stuard shrugged his shoulders.

Sit down and take a couple of deep breaths," he said.

He, like the 24 others, can breathe easier.