FanHouse Ryan Moore

Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Justin Leonard and Ryan Moore. Those are just some of the elite names on the list of people that have bypassed PGA Tour Qualifying School because of elite play when they were youngsters.

Rickie Fowler has a chance to join that group with a top-10 finish this week at the Children's Miracle Network Classic, the last official tournament of the year on the PGA Tour and Fowler's lone shot to earn somewhere around $70,000 or more to make it in the top-125 and avoid the final stage of Q-School.

Some interesting components come about here. First, Fowler was playing his best golf the last two tournaments, finishing t-7 at Justin Timberlake's tournament and a playoff loss at the Frys.com Open in Phoenix. That means, if Fowler could somehow put together another high finish, he would have earned his card in three tournaments!

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Tiger Woods plays golf all over the world, all the time, and tends not to discriminate when trophies come his way in different languages. Unfortunately, none of those trophies Woods holds are covered in Mandarin, but that could change if Tiger keeps it up at the HSBC Champions.

After two rounds in Shanghai, Tiger can't stop shooting 67s, and with a birdie on his final hole on Friday, Woods is tied for the lead at 10-under with first-round leader and fellow countryman Nick Watney.

Watney, ranked 32nd in the world, followed up his course record 64 on Thursday with a 2-under 70 to tie Woods and will be paired with Tiger on Saturday with a list of impressive golfers chasing, including 2007 HSBC champion Phil Mickelson, who is 9-under, just one shot back.

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If you didn't know any better when checking the leaderboard of the HSBC Champions, you'd think it was just another PGA Tour event. Unfortunately, it's not, but with all the American flags hibernating near the top, five of the top-12 to be exact, you'd think this tournament was being held in the States, not in Shanghai, China.

Nick Watney, an American, set the course record at Sheshan International Golf Club on Thursday with a 8-under 64, but near his heels are a few well known names, including Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, playing in this event together for the first time.

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Rickie Fowler was asked on Friday, after a second round 64 put him in a tie for the lead at the PGA Tour's Frys.com Open, if he was still planning on going through Q-School next week to try and earn his tour card for 2010.

"Right now that's still the plan. First stage is starting next Tuesday," Fowler told PGATour.com.

The crazy thing is, he might not have to if he keeps this up. Fowler, just 20-years-old and playing in his second event on the PGA Tour as a professional, is tied for the lead at 11-under after rounds of 65-64, making one more eagle (2) than he's made bogeys (1) the last two days at Greyhawk Golf Course.

I've played both courses at the wonderful Greyhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., sitting in the shadows of Pinnacle Peak, a few miles north of the more well known TPC Scottsdale and it's raucous FBR Open. I'll tell you this -- that course isn't as easy as the PGA Tour players are making it look after the first round of the Frys.com Open.

Nick O'Hern is leading the par slaughterfest after his 7-under 63 skipped past Bob Heintz and Heath Slocum's 64s, four others at 65 and 15 players at 66. The problem is, after the Presidents Cup, is anyone besides us golf enthusiasts (Read: driver nerds) paying a lot of attention?

See, after the FedEx Cup, the PGA Tour kicks off what is called the Fall Series, that includes the last two weeks, the Frys.com, and two more tournaments that end in mid-November. Basically, the Fall Series is a fancy name for the more definitive name, "Race to Gain More Money and Earn your 2010 PGA Tour Card." Okay, lengthier, but more truthful. Players that struggled all season have a chance to go out in these tournaments and earn more money, hoping to find themselves in that coveted top-125 which keeps them with a good paying job for another season.

In an effort to keep our golf visitors well informed on what is going on around the Internet, Range Balls is our weekly link dump. Every Tuesday during golf season, we will toss out some of the most interesting things we came across. If you have a tip, e-mail us at fanhousegolf@gmail.com. Enjoy the links.

-- Stephanie Wei sat down with Ryan Moore for a video interview. The video is below. [Wei Under Par]

The Moore You Know from Stephanie Wei on Vimeo.

FanHouse is fighting the rain at Greensboro's 2009 Wyndham Championship.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Ryan Moore never really looked like a candidate to win the Wyndham Championship. It's not that he's untalented by any means (in fact, nothing could be further from the truth), but a third-round 70 seemed to doom the unsponsored youngster. But he fought back several times late in the afternoon at Greensboro and won his first ever PGA event in five seasons on the Tour.

Only four other players in the top-20 shot above 70 during a third round that saw Sergio Garcia make tremendous leaderboard moves, and Moore was, for most of the day, well behind the leaders. But a scorching 31 on the back nine that featured five consecutive birdies from holes 12 to 16 suddenly vaulted Moore into the lead by himself.

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This week's Wyndham Championship is the last tournament of the year for players to earn a little more cash, and jump a few more spots in the FedEx Cup point standings, hoping to make their way into the playoffs that kick off next week. Basically, it is the best shot for people that aren't having their best year to do a little more to make sure they aren't left out when the Barclays begins and only the top-125 on the FedEx Cup point list are invited.

On a weather-shortened Thursday at Sedgefield Country Club, a few players did just that. Chez Reavie, who won the Canadian Open last season but has struggled mightily in '09, shot a 6-under 64, his best round of the year, to tie Brandt Snedeker and Ryan Moore atop of the leaderboard. All three leaders have had lackluster years, but Reavie is the one that needs the biggest boost.

In an effort to keep our golf visitors well informed on what is going on around the Internet, Range Balls is our weekly link dump. Every Tuesday during golf season, we will toss out some of the most interesting things we came across. If you have a tip, e-mail us at fanhousegolf@gmail.com. Enjoy the links.

-- The AT&T National is this week, which means Tiger Woods, the host, will be in the field. Yellowpages.com is offering two free tickets, and all you have to do is write in about your favorite July 4th golf memory. Submit them and maybe you can see Tiger for free. [Dogs That Chase Cars]