Superlatives for 2010 Q-School rookie class

Photo by Tracy Wilcox

Billy Mayfair and Ben Martin after earning PGA Tour card at Q-School.

WINTER GARDEN, Fla. – As if a PGA Tour card wasn’t reward enough, I want to offer some awards to this year’s Q-School rookie class:

? MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED: Kyle Stanley. The 2009 Ben Hogan Award winner as the best player in college and amateur golf, Stanley is considered to be the most talented among this year’s class. He almost earned his Tour card via this year’s Nationwide Tour, finishing 35th on the money list. He’s also made the cut in five of eight PGA Tour starts as a professional. He finished 19th at the ’09 Travelers Championship and made the cut at the ’09 U.S. Open as an amateur.

??MOST POPULAR: Will Strickler. Never want to see a player bogey his final hole at Q-School, but a bogey-5 on the final hole allowed Scott Gordon and former Florida teammate Billy Horschel to earn PGA Tour cards.

? BEST ALL-AROUND: Ben Martin. He was the No. 2 student in his graduating class at Greenwood (S.C.) High School. He earned a degree from Clemson in financial management.?

? BEST HAIR: Andres Gonzales. He was compared throughout Q-School to former Major League baseball closer Rod Beck because of his shoulder-length locks and fu-manchu facial hair.

? BEST HAIR (honorable mention): Nate Smith. From the left-leaning surfer town of Santa Cruz, on California’s Central Coast. Smith’s shaggy hair and facial stubble stay true to his hometown’s ethos.

? BEST SCHOOL SPIRIT: Gonzales. He picks up this award for using his Ping Hoofer from Capital High School in Olympia, Wash., at Q-School.

? MOST IMPROVED: Martin. He was the No. 2 player on his high school team, and the fifth-best player in his five-man recruiting class at Clemson. He was an All-American, but played in Stanley’s shadow in college. Ever since being runner-up in the ’09 U.S. Amateur, he’s reached a new level. Martin won his first college title that following college season and tied for ninth at the NCAA Championship. He won in just his second start as a pro, on the eGolf Professional Tour, then made it through three stages of Q-School. Though he didn’t win Q-School, he put together arguably the most impressive performance last week. He was tied for second after the first and second rounds, was the outright leader after the third and fourth rounds, and shared the fifth-round lead with Billy Mayfair. He finished one shot back of Mayfair.

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McIlroy not bothered by PGA rookie snub

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Rory McIlroy wasn’t the least bit bothered by getting snubbed as the PGA Tour rookie of the year because the 21-year-old from Northern Ireland never considered himself a rookie.

In a vote of the players, Rickie Fowler was voted the top rookie on the PGA Tour, even though he didn’t win a tournament.

McIlroy, who turned pro in Europe in 2008, won the Quail Hollow Championship against one of the strongest fields of the year. He tied a major championship record at St. Andrews with a 63 when he tied for third at the British Open, and he tied for third in another major at the PGA Championship.

Neither of them reached the Tour Championship.

“It’s fine,” McIlroy said Sunday after making four birdies in his last five holes at the Chevron World Challenge to finish fourth. “Look, I really didn’t want it. I’m not a rookie.”

The PGA Tour considers him a rookie because it was his first full year on tour, which is why McIlroy was on the ballot with Fowler, Puerto Rico Open winner Derek Lamely and Alex Prugh.

The tour does not reveal how many players voted or the results.

The 21-year-old Fowler did not turn pro until the fall of 2009 after playing in the Walker Cup. After going through Q-school, he had runner-up finishes in the Phoenix Open and Memorial, and became the first tour rookie picked for the Ryder Cup team.

“When I joined the PGA Tour, I was top 10 in the world,” McIlroy said. “Rickie had an unbelievable year. He deserves it.”

Without polling the players – assuming they even voted – it was difficult to know if McIlroy was snubbed because players don’t consider him a true rookie, or because he announced last month that he would not take up U.S. membership for next year.

“It might be a little of both,” McIlroy said.

The interpretation of a “true rookie” has not been a problem before. Vijay Singh won the award in 1993 when he was 30, having won in various parts of the world. Todd Hamilton was 39 when he won the award in 2004 on the strength of two victories, including the British Open. Hamilton had played almost exclusively in Asia until that year.

Dustin Johnson, who said he did not vote, was not aware the award had been announced Saturday night.

“He’s going to get votes because he had a decent year,” Johnson said of Fowler. “But McIlroy is going to win. He’s got to win.”

Told the result, Johnson added, “Rickie won? Maybe he’s an American. I don’t know why.”

McIlroy said the award was not among his goals for the year.

“I’m happy for Rickie that he got it,” McIlroy said. “Coming straight out of college, playing the Walker Cup in 09, the Ryder Cup, winning nearly $3 million, getting to 25th in the worth. It’s a great first year. That’s what a rookie should be – the first year. I don’t feel like I should have been eligible.”

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Munoz laps competition in rookie race

GUADALAJARA, Mexico – On Tuesday at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, I offered a simple congratulations to Azahara Munoz as she made the turn during a practice round with veterans Juli Inkster and Pat Hurst (who are almost joined at the hip out here). A few moments later Inkster, who must have asked someone what in the world I was talking about, turned around and said, “I just played nine holes with the Rookie of the Year and didn’t know it!”?

Munoz blew away the competition so completely that she wrapped up the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award last week in Japan. Her 313-point lead over Amanda Blumenherst was insurmountable. Munoz had two top-10 finishes and 10 additional top 25s.

“I never really set goals, but when all the media started asking me I thought, well I guess that can be my one goal,” Munoz said. “It’s nice because you can only win it one year.”

Munoz is playing in her sixth consecutive event this week in Mexico, and she has learned her lesson. Six is too many.

“I hit the wall in Korea and by Japan I was done,” she said. The only thing keeping her motivated for the finish is the thought that she can return home to Spain in a few days to rest before the Tour Championship.

At the start of the season, the Arizona State grad said her irons “were awesome.” She’s been struggling with her long game of late, but managed to open with a 2-under 70 in Guadalajara.?

Not surprisingly, Munoz is quite popular here in Mexico, though she has found the request to autograph fans’ arms to be rather bizarre. Not exactly a lasting memento from the year’s best rookie.

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