A (mostly) A to Z look at q-school and what's at stake

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Boo Weekley is back at q-school for the first time since 2005 after earning just under $280,000 in 2011.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- There are more than 150 players in the field for the final stage of q-school, which begins Wednesday from PGA West. Here's an A to Z look at some of the notable or interesting names trying to secure a future on the PGA TOUR for next season.

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Tommy Armour III. At 52 years old, Armour is the oldest guy in the field. For the first time since 1982, he didn't make a start on TOUR -- though he did make 23 of them on the Champions Tour, where he recorded four top-10s. The last time Armour went through q-school? 2001.

Rich Beem. He played with a major medical extension in 2011 because of a back injury but failed to earn the required cash to equal or better the 125 position on the 2010 money list. Beem's one and only trip to q-school came in 1998, his first year out.

Daniel Chopra. He secured his TOUR card by finishing 19th on the Nationwide Tour money list after a win and two other top-10s so he's only looking to better his position with a trip to q-school.

David Duval. There was a time in his career when the former No. 1 player in the Official World Golf Ranking didn't even have to think about q-school. But those days are long gone and Duval knows it after finishing outside the top 125 for the eighth time in the last nine years. He played well in second stage to advance to the finals in what is his second trip to q-school since 1993.

Bob Estes. After battling wrist injuries early, Estes made a dozen starts on TOUR and nearly won, finishing second at The Greenbrier Classic. In all, though, he made just five of 12 cuts.

Steve Flesch. The good news for Flesch was that he qualified for the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup for a fourth time in five years. The bad news was that he ended his season outside the top 125 on the money list for a second straight year. That, by the way, is just the second time Flesch failed to finish in the top 125 since his rookie year in 1998.

Jason Gore. After winning on the Nationwide Tour in 2010, Gore had just one top-25 in 10 starts in 2011. He also made six starts on the PGA TOUR. The last time he was a regular on the TOUR was in 2009 when he made 24 starts.

Billy Hurley. His card already secured via the last spot in The 25 on the Nationwide Tour, Hurley's story still amazes. High school kid enrolls in the Naval Academy after a golf career that drew little attention, goes on to win six tournaments senior year, gets named Patriot League Player of the Year and plays on 2005 Walker Cup team, then barely plays for five years while fulfilling military obligations before spending one year on Nationwide Tour. You can't make this stuff up.

Lee Janzen. The eight-time TOUR winner made just 11 of 19 cuts in 2011 and failed to finish inside the top 125 on the money list for a second straight year. He's hoping for a better outcome at q-school this time around after finishing 118th a year ago.

Bio Kim. The player tied with Bob May for the shortest name in the field had five top-25s on the TOUR this year. That was the good news. The bad news is that he also missed 15 cuts in 25 starts. He's been here before, however, tying for 11th a year ago.

Luke List. Remember List? He was the runner-up to Ryan Moore at the 2004 U.S. Amateur. He spent the last couple of years playing on the Nationwide Tour after turning pro in 2007. He had a couple of top-10s this year, including a runner-up, but finished 38th on the money list.

Len Mattiace. It wasn't all that long ago that Mattiace was contending in the Masters -- 2003 to be exact when he lost in a playoff to Mike Weir. Later that year he tore ligaments in both his knees in a skiing accident and he hasn't been the same since. Mattiace last played full-time on the TOUR in 2006 and he missed all eight cuts this year -- five on the TOUR, three on the Nationwide Tour. On the upside, Mattiace played well in the second stage to make it to the finals.

James Nitties. Famous for listing 'girls' and 'clubbing' as his interests in the PGA TOUR media guide, the Aussie is trying to get back to the TOUR after spending 2011 on the Nationwide Tour, where he had two top-10s, including a win, before finishing 26th on the money list.

Greg Owen. The Englishman returns to q-school for a second straight year after two top-10s -- and nine missed cuts -- in 23 starts on the Nationwide Tour. It will be his third trip since 2007 and though he wasn't successful in the last two, he did tie for fourth in the event in 2004.

Tim Petrovic. Not much went right for Petrovic, the 2005 Zurich Classic of New Orleans winner, in 2011. He made just 15 of 29 cuts and failed to record a top-10 for just the second time in his career since 2002. As a result, he finished a career-worst 146th on the money list.

Alexandre Rocha. The 34-year-old is well-traveled with wins in South America and Canada and stints on the European Tour and PGA TOUR. He got to the latter thanks to a pairs of 68s the final two rounds of last year's q-school finals, where he tied for 22nd. Unfortunately for Rocha, just one of two Brazilians to ever play on TOUR, he missed 11 of 22 cuts and had just one top-25.

Sam Saunders. The grandson of Arnold Palmer. That's almost all you need to know. Here's what else you should know: He played in 13 events between the PGA TOUR and Nationwide Tour this season, tying for 15th at Pebble Beach and 10th in Panama for his best finishes. This is his first trip to the final stage of q-school.

Ty Tryon. This marks the second straight year Tryon has advanced to the final stage after going 10 years without doing so. He tied for 114th last year, so his starts were limited this year. In nine events on the Nationwide Tour, he made the cut just once.

Omar Uresti. For one, he's the only player whose last name starts with the letter "U." For another, Uresti brings with him a ton of experience -- he was a member of the PGA TOUR in 1995-2000, 2004-06, 2008 and 2010, and the Nationwide Tour in 1993-94, 2001-03, 2007 and 2009. This year, Uresti made the cut in just 10 of 27 events on TOUR with one top-10. Last year at q-school, he tied for 15th.

Boo Weekley. Plagued by injuries and age, Weekley's results have steadily declined since 2008. He earned less than $1 million for a second straight year with just over $279,000 this year after 10 missed cuts and two WDs in 23 starts. This marks Weekley's first trip to q-school finals since 2005.

Ryan Yip. The 27-year-old Canadian is playing in his first q-school finals. A little more background: He won the 2002 Alberta Amateur and was a semifinalist at the 2006 U.S. Amateur and the Canadian Amateur and played collegiately at Kent State, where he won three tournaments and was named Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year in 2003 and the MAC Co-Golfer of the Year in 2005.