Quick hits from q-school: Browne has eye on two tours in 2009

LA QUINTA, Calif. -- Olin Browne walked out of the scorer's trailer and reached into his golf bag for some balls. He was taking the cover off his putter when four reporters requested a few minutes of his time.

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The Champions Tour might be Plan B for Olin Browne down the road.

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Browne had just put the finishing touches on a round of 66 that included seven birdies and a lone bogey. More importantly, he moved from a tie for 126th to 50th after two rounds of the PGA TOUR National Qualifying Tournament.

"I hit the ball solidly today," Browne acknowledged. "I made a couple of putts. I would have liked to have made a couple more, but that's why I'm going to the putting green right now. So it was a nice comeback round after my round yesterday, and we'll see what happens the rest of the week."

Browne, who was one of Paul Azinger's Captain's Assistants at the Ryder Cup in September, is a three-time PGA TOUR champion and he has four wins on the Nationwide Tour. His best finish in 2008 was a tie for 43rd, though, and he finished a career-high 204th on the money list -- hence the trip of q-school to improve his playing chances next year, rather than simply relying on his status as a past champion.

At the same time, Browne, who got hooked on golf while he was attending Occidental College in Los Angeles, turns 50 on May 22 of next year. So he has another option -- although he doesn't want to cross that bridge right now.

"I'm doing this because I want to keep playing," Browne said. "I want something to do. So whether I turn 50 in May and go play the Champions Tour or whether I continue out here or whatever, that's why I'm doing it."

Browne doesn't know when he'll make up his mind whether to stay on the PGA TOUR or migrate over to the Champions Tour in the spring of 2009.

"I'll tell you what I'm going to do," he said. "I'm worried about what I'm going to do tomorrow. And then after tomorrow, I'll be worried about what I'm going to do the fourth round and so on through the end of this week. Then I'm going to figure out what I'm going to do (next year)."

And then he was off to the putting green.

DELIGHTED TO BE IN THE DESERT: Jay Williamson could afford to smile after Thursday's round of 68 on the Stadium Course left him in a tie for 11th at 9 under with Bryce Molder, Mark Brooks, Major Manning and Ted Purdy.

The veteran, who played in the first three events of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, fell outside the top 125 on the money list when he missed his last six cuts during the Fall Series. At 137th on the money list, he'll have status on TOUR next year, but a good finish come Monday's sixth and final round could be quite a boost for the St. Louis resident.

"If you've got to go to Hell Week, you can't beat the weather," Williamson said good-naturedly as he looked up into the sun-drenched sky.

Williamson, who has only made one bogey in his first 36 holes, hasn't been to the finals of q-school since 1998. Ironically, that event was also held in the California desert and Williamson tied for second.

Good omen, perhaps?