Three odd questions

[Baynative]

I'm a newcomer here. I always seem to be puzzled with simple questions. Here's three of them:

1. When Mickelson dropped out of the Tour Championship why didn't they invite #31 (or someone) to balance the field?

2. If that couldn't be accomplished, why didn't they create one threesome instead of making one golfer play alone?

3. There are 4 players who are not on tour, such as Ryan Moore, who have won enough to earn their card. Will they be in addition to the top 125 or will they knock someone off?

[LarryK]

I'm a newcomer here. I always seem to be puzzled with simple questions. Here's three of them:

1. The Tour Championship is for the top 30 players period. No cut. In fact, even with his no-show, Philly Mick "earned" last place money. Not many tournaments offer that gimme.

2. Can't answer that one. Maybe someone else knows. 3. If a player is not within the top 125 on the money list, he hasn't earned "enough" money to "earn" his card. He may have other exemption status as a result of past tournament wins, but other than that he's SOL. I'm not certain what the policy would be if more than one guy in the 125 spot earned exactly the same amount of money for the year.

[iacas]

3. There are 4 players who are not on tour, such as Ryan Moore, who have won enough to earn their card. Will they be in addition to the top 125 or will they knock someone off?

In any given year there are something like 150 exempt players. Consider too that most fields are 144 players, and players from 125-150 on the money list can get in when those 144 spots aren't filled and that they DO get in 15-20 events per year.

125 is just one way of making it. Ryan Moore had six or seven events to earn as much as someone else did to reach 125 last year, and he did that. He's not even on the PGA Tour money list because until next year, he's technically not a PGA Tour member. So he earns his way on not by finishing in this year's top 125 but by another way. Other players keep their cards by using medical exemptions, career money list exemptions, etc. Todd Hamilton, for example, isn't in the top 125 but won the British Open a few years back, so he's still good for a few years to come.