School Daze

The drama of Qschool is a familiar one. On the one hand you have this year's victor at OrangeCounty National in Orlando, 38-year-old two-time Tour winner Frank Lickliter,who lost his game after changing his swing but dominated the final stage afterback-to-back 62s in the first two rounds. On the other, there are young gunslike Colt Knost, the U.S. Amateur champion, and Chris Kirk, an All-America atGeorgia, who didn't come close to getting their cards. Neither did former RyderCupper Chris Riley, who appeared to be rounding back into form last summer. Butthis year there was a new twist on the spectacle. It involved Matt Every(right), the 2006 college player of the year during his senior year at Florida,and Seung-su Han, a junior at UNLV.

After his junioryear Every made the cut at the 2005 U.S. Open and earned an exemption intothe second stage of Tour qualifying, but he would've had to turn pro to tryQ school, thus ending his college career. Every petitioned the NCAA tomake a change that would allow players to go through Q school and thenhave 10 days to decide whether to turn pro or remain in school. College coachesfeared an underclassmen talent drain like the one in basketball, and officialshemmed and hawed until it was too late. Every skipped Q school and wentback to campus. Shortly thereafter the NCAA ruled in Every's favor. Thanks fornothing.

Enter Han, a21-year-old from South Korea who became the first to take advantage of the newrule and thereby the first amateur to reach the Q school final. Boom,instant subplot: What if Han cashed in on the Every Rule while Every himself,having already delayed his dream for a year, missed the mark?

In the end Everyfell two shots short of making the PGA Tour, finishing 33rd, while athird-round 79 dropped Han to the bottom of the field. (He finished 149th.)That leaves Every with fully exempt status on the Nationwide tour and Han withconditional status (which means perhaps 10 starts) and a decision tomake.

There were othernotable names in play at Q school. Bob May, the foil for Tiger Woods inthe 2000 PGA at Valhalla, saw his comeback from back surgery fall short as hefinished 27th. Gibby Gilbert III, grandson of former Tour winner GibbyGilbert, placed 93rd. Casey Wittenberg, the runner-up at the 2003 U.S. Amateurwho left Oklahoma State after only a year and spent '07 on the Hooters tour,placed 80th and at least upgraded to the Nationwide. His gallery includedlongtime friend and LPGA pro Paula Creamer. . . . On the LPGA tour '07 rookieJane Park, 20, won the qualifying tournament.

For Sale

Greg Norman's spectacular Florida estate hits themarket

WHAT Chez Norman

WHERE Hobe Sound, Fla.

COST $65 million

HOOK The property, eight acres' worth, fronts both theAtlantic and the Intracoastal Waterway. Six buildings, including a guesthouseand coach house, offer 16,000 square feet of space featuring nine bedrooms and11 bathrooms. There's a pool and a tennis court, and garage space for 17vehicles.

FRINGE BENEFIT You'll never go thirsty thanks to a2,500-bottle wine cellar.

For more photos of the Norman compound, go toGOLF.com.

"Q school was one time when it paid not tohave a clue."--PEPPER MILL, PAGE G32

KEY STAT

6

Players who went from the prequalifier all the way toQ school finals.

PHOTO

THE CORCORAN GROUP (NORMAN ESTATE)

PHOTO

JOHN MUMMERT/ USGA (EVERY)

PHOTO

DAVID CANNON/GETTY IMAGES (ZOELLER)

 FuzzyLogic

Fuzzy Zoeller brought his daughter Gretchen to the Father-Son Challenge, wherehe was bowled over by a near-miss birdie on the 15th hole. Larry and JoshNelson won the event.