Lucky Charms

Yeah, yeah--these guys are good, but they'll be the first to tell you that a little luck never hurts. PGA Tour pros have a powerful, if sometimes twisted, affinity for unseen forces--"My superstition is not to abide superstitions," says Stuart Appleby, "because I'm afraid of bad luck"--and almost every one of them carries something on his person or in his bag to ward off the bogeyman. Here's a sampling.

CRAIG BARLOW A divot tool from the 1995 U.S. Amateur, won by Tiger Woods, at Newport (R.I.) Country Club.

OMAR URESTI A 50-cent piece received as change in Garden City, Kans., in 1991 during the week of his first pro tournament.

TIGER WOODS A tiger headcover embroidered with GOOD LUCK in Thai by his mother, Kultida.

JERRY KELLY A Filipino coin given to him by an anonymous spectator in 1993 at his first Nationwide tour event.

CHRIS SMITH The number 15 on his club, because he believes golfers are athletes and should have a number.

BILLY ANDRADE A chestnut given to him by Polly Mitchell, Andrade's 99-year-old neighbor in Atlanta.

JASON GORE A bag tag bearing a photo of his 17-month-old son, Jaxon.

DEAN WILSON Two 1963 quarters whose dates--minus the 19s--denote a desired score.

SERGIO GARCIA A horn from Naples, Italy, that he wears on a chain around his neck.

JESPER PARNEVIK A cigar (five years old and counting) to be lit only in the case of a win.

MATTHEW GOGGIN The PGA Tour I.D. badge of his coach, Ross Herbert, who died in 2000.

BUBBA WATSON A ball marker engraved with his name, given to him by his wife, Angie.

TOM LEHMAN Hawaiian tea leaves given to him every January at the Sony Open by a friend named Dot.

CHARLES HOWELL A crucifix given by a stranger in a Burger King before a high school match at which Howell shot a 64.

TOM PERNICE Photos in his yardage book of his daughters, Brooke (glasses), 11, and Kristen, 12.

TOMMY ARMOUR III Two Mercury-head dimes and a divot tool bearing an unprintable sentiment on the back.

LUKE DONALD Hawaiian-print golf balls given to him by a marshal behind the 7th hole at the Sony Open.

BRANDT JOBE An 1889 silver dollar and quarters dated with the years that he (1965) and wife Jennifer (1970) were born.

EIGHTEEN PHOTOS

PORTRAITS: SHELLY CASTELLANO/ICON SMI (BARLOW); MATTHEW STOCKMAN/GETTY IMAGES (URESTI); ROBERT BECK (WOODS, WATSON, LEHMAN, JOBE); DAVID WALBERG (KELLY, HOWELL, PERNICE); STAN BADZ/WIREIMAGE.COM (SMITH); PGA TOUR/WIREIMAGE.COM (ANDRADE); STEVE GRAYSON/WIREIMAGE.COM (GOGGIN); DARREN CARROLL (PARNEVIK, DONALD); FRED VUICH (GARCIA, GORE); MARY SCHILPP/PGA TOUR/WIREIMAGE.COM (WILSON); TODD BIGELOW/AURORA (ARMOUR)

EIGHTEEN PHOTOS