Editor's note: John Maginnes, a 10-year TOUR veteran who now works as an analyst for the PGA TOUR Network on XM Satellite Radio, has been sharing his expertise on PGATOUR.com this year. He put into perspective the overwhelming pressure players feel at the final stage of the PGA TOUR National Qualifying Tournament.

By John Maginnes
Special to PGATOUR.com

Congratulations to the 40 players who survived q-school. Whether you are a rookie or a veteran, you remember today for the rest of your life. You may go on to challenge Tiger for the No. 1 spot in the world. You may break records along the way. Somewhere in the echoes of your memory, though, will be the recollection of today. It is permanent. I don’t care how many finals you play or how many times you are successful you will remember today.

So let the celebration begin in earnest. Q-school celebrations tend to be a little briefer than some, though -- mostly because you have competed in the single most diabolical tournament in golf, and you just want to sleep. If you have a pulse you haven’t slept all week, and neither has your family.

Some q-school accomplishments are greater than others. I want to recognize some of the veterans whose careers were backed into a corner. I have a soft spot for the old guys, probably because I am one. Glen Day came back swinging this week. Welcome back to the TOUR. Paul Stankowski and Bob May have overcome career threatening injuries. Each found his own motivation and was duly rewarded for the effort.

Dicky Pride, Michael Bradley and Marco Dawson -- my hat is off and my drink is raised in your honor as well. The game is constantly evolving and moving away from all of the players who managed to succeed at q-school well after their 35th birthdays. Each of these players has the scars of a veteran, some external, but most internal and self-induced. I salute you for doing what I cease to have the courage to do, although I learned a long time ago never to say never especially when you are talking about golf.

On the other end of the spectrum are the rookies. A few of you probably still get carded when you try to get into R-rated movies. Next year, show them your TOUR card instead of your driver’s license and you will probably get in for free. There is no excitement like playing in a PGA TOUR event as a member. Some of you already have had success when you’ve gotten the opportunity to play. Anthony Kim competed in two PGA TOUR events in 2006 and finished second and 16th. Watch out for him in 2007.

The final toast of the night goes to the eight players who negotiated all three stages of q-school. This is an accomplishment without compare in sports. Take a deep breath, boys. It’s over. You have survived golf’s purgatory.

Over the past several weeks, I have tried to give you snapshots of what it was like for me when I was under the immense q-school strain. No written words can really embody what the experience was like. That is the nature of rights of passage. That, and the fact that you don’t truly appreciate the experiences until you are looking back.

The golf community is a better place today than it was yesterday. Congratulations to the 40 of you who are responsible for that.