By John Reger LA QUINTA -- It only took a second to realize if Chris Stroud had earned his PGA TOUR card. He came off the 18th hole at the Stadium Course at PGA West with a smile that got bigger the closer he walked to the scoring trailer. When he reached the trailer, he paused, hugged his caddy, Andrew Fischer and then walked up the steps to sign his scorecard and make it official. Stroud entered the final day at the PGA TOUR National Qualifying Tournament tied for 34th, outside the top 30 and ties needed to earn his playing privileges for 2007. He had never made it to the finals before and it appeared the 24-year-old would be playing on the Nationwide Tour. Stroud quelled his nerves and shot a 4-under 68 and finished 11-under par, tied for 16th and three shots better than he needed to earn his card. “I thought about today and I wanted to really go out and try and win the golf tournament,” said Stroud, who had failed to get out of first stage his two previous attempts. “I knew I couldn’t win if I didn’t get some help, but I figured if I shot 65 or 66 and the guys at the top didn’t shoot well, I could get close.” Stroud used a philosophy that many of the golfers who were on the bubble when the day began used. Rather than playing safe, they attacked the golf course and for many it turned out to be the right strategy. Brendon De Jonge began the final round also tied for 34th and had a similar mindset. “I just wanted to play a good solid round,” De Jonge said. “Anytime you relax a bit on this golf course it’s going to come up and bite you.” This was the fourth consecutive trip to the finals for De Jonge and while he was focused and aggressive on the course, made sure to relax off of it. “I did nothing to do with golf,” De Jonge said. “I would take it easy, watch football. It was nice, I stayed in a house so we weren’t cramped up in a hotel room. I had a couple of friends come down and that was good for me.” Tom Johnson was tied for 29th and was nervous going into the final round, but was reassured by a friend. “I talked to my friend who lives out here,” Johnson said. “He really calmed me down. I had a great game plan. It sounds like a cliché but it really was one shot at a time. If I started thinking ahead, I just tried to block it out.” Johnson reached the 16th hole and was at 12-under par, safely above the cut line for playing privileges. A bogey there dropped him to 11 under, but he made par on the island par-3 17th. When he reached 18 he thought he had his TOUR card and promptly blocked his drive right. Two shots later, he chunked a wedge and started letting the negative thoughts creep back in his head. “I didn’t know what the number was,” Johnson said. “I was thinking I could double bogey and miss by a shot. I just wanted to play smart, get my bogey and see where I was at.” He made bogey, beat the number by two strokes and celebrated in the clubhouse with his friends. Some players didn’t even know they got in. Bob May, who began the round tied for 39th, walked off with friend and coach, Tom Sargent, convinced his 8-under par had missed by a shot. He got some help and finished right on the number and will be back on the PGA TOUR. Alex Cejka was in the same threesome as May and finished at 10 under. Even though he was safely assured that he would get his TOUR card, he didn’t want to believe it. “I’m just glad it’s over,” Cejka said. “It’s been a long month for me. I did Q-school in Europe two weeks ago and now did it here. Now I think I am going to go throw up.”
Here are the 40 players who earned their 2007 PGA TOUR cards and their
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