10 reasons why the Fall Series was fantastic

text size

Feldman/Getty Images

Justin Timberlake's involvment with the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open was a bright spot for the PGA TOUR's Fall Series.

It is true that you didn't see many of the big names after THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola was finished at East Lake, but if you stopped watching the PGA TOUR after Vijay Singh's coronation in Atlanta you missed some good stuff.

The Fall Series, the seven tournaments that follow the PGA TOUR FedExCup season, was loaded with drama. There was no Tiger (still rehabbing that darned knee) or Phil (trick-or-treating with the kids) or Vijay (extended hours at the range until the end of Daylight Savings Time), but there were plenty of other great happenings. Here are ten of them:

More

• Essay archive: Remembering 2008 • More on 2008: Year in Review • Awtrey archive • Give us your take on Facebook

No. 10: Martin Laird keeps his card. The young Scot had to grind until the 72nd hole of the final week, but hung onto the 125th spot on the money list to retain his playing privileges. Laird has a good game and could be a good pro. Often that first year is the toughest and Laird survived.

Why point out Laird? Here's a brief snippet of a conversation with Laird the year he won the Nationwide Tour's Athens Regional Foundation Classic.

Local radio guy: "Martin, since you're from Scotland, you've probably eaten haggis. I can't imagine eating sheep intestines and thinking it tasted good."

Martin: "Do you know what's in a hot dog, mate?"

Been a Martin Laird fan every since.

No. 9: Former Ryder Cuppers make their move. It had largely been a forgettable season for J.J. Henry and Vaughn Taylor, two members of the 2006 Ryder Cup team. But they played better in the extended season and showed enough signs of life that it could carry over for 2009. Taylor is a quiet guy, but rock solid. Henry is one of the most outgoing and cooperative guys around.

No. 8: The Turnesa tradition of success. When Marc Turnesa won the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospital for Children Open, he joined a long line of family members as PGA Tour winners and erased the memory of blowing one a few weeks earlier in Mississippi. Being part of a winning family isn't a bad tradition. It's certainly better than being known as "the Turnesas, who bring fruitcake to Christmas dinner."

No. 7: Television coverage provided by GOLF Channel. After two full years of experience covering tournaments every week, GOLF Channel does it as well as anyone. Nick Faldo is more free-wheeling and Rich Lerner is quite talented. They'd better watch it, though, or a network might steal Frank Nobilo; he's very, very good.

No. 6: Justin Timberlake's presence. He seems like a nice guy and his involvement with the Shriner's Hosptial for Children is certainly commendable. But someone needs to get Justin a new hat. And a razor. (Please consider that advice comes from a 50-year-old man, not an 18-year-old girl, who failed many times to "Bring Sexy Back.")

No. 5: Welcome back Will: Who doesn't enjoy being around Will MacKenzie? He was No. 178 on the money list until he won the Viking Classic, beating Turnesa and Brian Gay in a playoff. Now he's got a fresh set of downs and doesn't have to live in that van down by the river, even though he's done it in the past.

No. 4: Palmer wins a PGA TOUR event. OK, it wasn't that Palmer; it was Ryan Palmer, who won for the first time since 2004. But didn't it make you feel good to see the Palmer name on the leaderboard? Kind of made you want to hitch up your pants.

No. 3: Cameron Beckman shot a 63 in the last round to win the Frys.com Open. The veteran was No. 176 on the money list and had already sent in his entry fee for q-school. (Don't worry: the TOUR office will shred the check.) The $900,000 will come in handy. The two-year exemption is even sweeter.

No. 2: Zach Johnson returns to competitive golf with a victory. It had been a terrible year on the course for Johnson, who failed to get to the second week of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. Zach should be able to use the victory to jump-start his ascent back to the top 30.

No. 1: Davis Love III wins at Disney. Sea Island's unassuming warrior won for the first time since 2006, giving him victory No. 20 and earning him a lifetime exemption for reaching that milestone. It was a poignant moment; even the pony on his Polo logo was tearing up. Chances are pretty good that Love will win again before riding off in a buggy reserved for a Ryder Cup captain.

Stan Awtrey is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily reflect the views of the PGA TOUR.