Quick hits from q-school: Brigman goes low to jump up

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Sure Harrison Frazar hit the magic 59 in the fourth round, but D.J. Brigman was the first to think about it when he shot 9 under.

LA QUINTA, Calif. -- Sure, there was one swing he wanted to have back.

D.J. Brigman couldn't be too disappointed, though. Not with a round of 63 on the Nicklaus Course at PGA West that moved him from a distant 85th to the cutoff number for the all-important group of 25 who will earn their PGA TOUR cards on Monday.

Brigman now has a four-day total of 14 under as he tries to earn his fourth trip to the PGA TOUR. And had it not been for that waterlogged tee shot that led to a double bogey on his 17th hole of the day, the 32-year-old from New Mexico would have been in even better shape with two rounds remaining in this marathon test.

RELATED LINKS

Leaderboard: Day four
Lowest rounds of 2008
Frazar leads by four shots
Frazar's scorecard
Analyzing Frazar's 59
Quick hits: Brigman's day
Fourth-round notebook

"Other than that, I hit it where I was looking all day long," Brigman said. "It was a fun day. I hit a lot of them pretty close where you don't have to stress about it very much. That's the way this week's going. It's so different than in years past that I've been here. I knew I needed a good one today, and I was pleased that I was able to do it under the pressure."

Brigman knows about q-school pressure, too. This is his sixth trip to the finals. He earned his card with a tie for 13th in 2004 and finished one stroke shy in 2006. So while he was pleased by his performance on Saturday, Brigman wouldn't allow himself to get ahead of himself.

"It's satisfying, but you can't really relax," he said. "It's two more days. Yesterday, I was talking with the guy I'm staying with, and it's like the leaders aren't even safe this week after three days, where usually a couple of guys have played well enough that all they have to do is play pretty solid. This week, it's a go-low week.

"It's satisfying, and I might have a beer tonight to celebrate, but after that it's back to grinding."

Still, Brigman, who started on the back nine, did admit to entertaining thoughts of golf's Holy Grail -- a 59 -- after he moved to 9 under at No. 5 with his fourth consecutive birdie. And even after he parred No. 6, Brigman thought there was still an outside shot, but a birdie instead of an eagle at the par-5 seventh effectively ended his chances.

"It might have been a little different in a tournament situation," Brigman acknowledged. "This week is just finishing inside the number. In a tournament situation, you might play a little more aggressively."

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John Huston lives in Palm Harbor, Fla. -- hence the Tampa Bay Buccaneers cap he was wearing Saturday -- but he certainly feels comfortable in the desert.

Huston

He's finished in the top 10 six times at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, including second to Mark Brooks in 1996. And the seven-time PGA TOUR champion is playing well again this week at q-school, where a second-consecutive 65 has put Huston in a tie for 10th at 15 under.

"We have a long ways to go," Huston said. "But I was very fortunate today and got a couple of nice breaks. Fortunately, I took advantage of it, and I putted well, too. But there's still a long way to go."

Those breaks came when his ball landed on the railroad ties at Nos. 9 and 13, stayed out of the water and Huston went on to par both holes. His luck had gone the other way on Wednesday, though, when an under-the-weather Huston opened with a 74.

"One or two little hiccups, and you can make a big number out here quick," said Huston, who had eight birdies and just one bogey Saturday. "I think everybody's got their own game plan for each golf course, and hopefully -- by the end of the week -- you will have played well and scored well, and it will take care of itself."

Huston was pleased to have fought his way back into contention after failing to break par in the first round. He knows he needs to continue to push forward in order to earn one of the TOUR cards that go to the low 25 and ties when 108 holes are complete on Monday.

"I think everybody has got a pretty good idea of what it takes," Huston said. "Hopefully, you get on a roll, and you start playing more for winning than you do making it on the number. That's when it's hard -- when you're focused on making (it) on the number. If you can get towards the lead and have that cush going into the last day, that certainly helps."

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Seven months ago, Webb Simpson was finishing up another All-American season at Wake Forest. After graduation, he went on to play in five PGA TOUR events and make eight Nationwide Tour starts, finishing second twice on that circuit.

Simpson

The comfort zone the 23-year-old gained is paying dividends this week, too, as he attempts to earn his PGA TOUR card. Simpson is 13 under and one stroke shy of the number with two rounds remaining.

"It helped playing the PGA TOUR events and Nationwide Tour events because I got used to playing around these guys," he explained. "It's not a surprise seeing a big name. So that factor was helpful. And I played in Utah and Boise, so I played kind of out here in the desert, too, so all that experience was good."

Simpson likes the target golf required by the two courses at PGA West. After shooting in the 60s each of the first three rounds, he wasn't pleased with Saturday's round of 2 under, but he knows there are still 36 holes remaining.

"I have played well overall the last four days," he said. "I seem to always look for the things I'm doing wrong. I want to work on those this afternoon and go out and shoot low ones the next couple of days."

Concentrating on the task at hand has been the key to his success this year. "I try to act like once the round starts, that's the only thing I have to worry about," he said. "Whatever has happened or whatever is going to happen you've just got to stay in the moment. Hit that one shot as well as you can."

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The 163-man field for q-school shows an interesting mix of experience vs. untested talent.

There are 81 players who have held PGA TOUR membership at some point during their careers. At the same time, 82 would be rookies on TOUR in 2009.