So many big names, so few spots at Champions q-school

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Fulton Allem, the South African who won three times on the PGA TOUR, has been trying to make a career out of the Champions Tour.

It's the last chance to qualify for the second chance tour in 2011.

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Since its earliest days, the Champions Tour has earned the distinction of being a second opportunity at forging a career at the highest levels of tournament golf. It offered a mulligan at a pot of gold for senior golfers, age 50 and above, and the history of the circuit is replete with stories of players taking advantage in a big way.

When the field of 78 golfers tees it up Tuesday at TPC Eagle Trace in Coral Springs, Florida, the reach for the rainbow will be a foremost motivation. Some have experienced the satisfaction of winning on the PGA TOUR. For those who have not, the goal is to correct the omission.

The Final Qualifying Stage is a 72-hole event in Coral Springs, Florida. Prize money is $30,000 for the medalist, but success won't be measured strictly in dollars and cents.

The top five finishers will earn fully exempt status in the full-field events on the 2011 Champions Tour. It's hard to put a dollar value on that because the potential rewards, like the hopes and dreams, are limitless. The low 12 finishers will gain regular membership.

The top 30 and ties are eligible to apply for a category designated as associate membership. It allows them to enter weekly event qualifiers.

In addition to those who have qualified for the Final Stage, there are several categories of exemptions into the field. Those include the top five finishers in the 2010 Senior PGA Professional National Championship, the top players on the European Seniors Tour and Japan Golf Tour Orders of Merit (money lists), golfers in the top 75 of the 2010 Champions Tour All-Time Money List as of November 1, 2010, and not otherwise exempt.

There is also a category, on a two-time only basis, for players who have won an official event (awarding official money and official victory status, excluding team events) on the PGA TOUR or the Champions Tour, or are a PGA TOUR Veteran Member.

The field for the Final Qualifying Stage is intriguing because so many of the names are familiar. It consists of former winners on both the PGA TOUR and the Champions Tour along with golfers from a kaleidoscope of backgrounds.

Some of them were winners as recently as 2009 when Phil Blackmar won the AT&T Championship 13 months ago. Mike Goodes also stepped into the winner's circle in 2009 at the Allianz Championship.

For others, victory has been more elusive. Fulton Allem won three times on the PGA TOUR between 1991 and 1993 and has three runner-up finishes on the Champions Tour. Ronnie Black won twice on the PGA TOUR and finished 41st on this year's Champions Tour money list.

Mark Carnevale won the 1991 Chattanooga Open on the PGA TOUR. He made his Champions Tour debut with four events this year, with a T45 finish at the 3M Championship his best. Now he's at the Qualifying School searching for a full-time gig on the Champions Tour.

Skinner

In contrast to Carnevale, whose career focused on tournament play, Sonny Skinner arrived on the Champions Tour this year from the club professional ranks. Skinner, a longtime club professional from Albany, Ga., made his debut at Prestonwood Country Club in Cary, N.C., in the SAS Championship. He posted a very respectable T20 finish after winning a qualifier to get into the field. Skinner is a goal-setter, and his immediate goal is clearly defined.

Several Champions Tour veterans will attempt to return through the Final Stage. The list includes R.W. Eaks, Bobby Clampett, Keith Clearwater, Gene Jones and Steve Haskins, who successfully qualified a year ago.

Haskins reached the final stage of the PGA TOUR Qualifying School 14 times in 17 years, but never made it all the way. A year ago, in his first try at the Champions Tour Qualifying Tournament, Haskins finally closed the deal. He made good on his shot at a second chance career and this week he'll try to do it again.