Backspin: Slocum never thought about quitting

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If the first two weeks of the Fall Series are any indication, there will be no shortage of interesting storylines.

Like Heath Slocum.

Or Bill Haas.

Or Troy Merritt.

Let's start with Slocum, whose victory on Sunday at the inaugural McGladrey Classic was not only his second in just over a year, but one that moves him inside the all-important top 30 on the money list, for now anyway.

It also comes more than a decade after ulcerative colitis nearly derailed Slocum's career before it even got going.

"I mean it was a year and a half straight of just -- of diarrhea, arthritis, lost lots of weight," Slocum said. "I ran a fever, for about a year straight. Low grade, but still, anybody who's ever had a fever kind of zaps all your energy."

Asked if he ever thought about quitting, Slocum said, "No, not without giving it another shot."

"I was bound and determined to do whatever I could to fulfill my dream," he continued. "If I failed, at least I tried. And luckily my game actually got better from the time that I was playing before when I had Nike Tour status, and I'll be honest, I think it was just mental. I just kind of had a different attitude about it. I didn't get upset nearly as much. I appreciated what I had. All of a sudden it lowered my scores and from there I just started riding that wave and kept improving and improving."

As for Haas, his improvement has been steady. In 2007, he was 126th on the money list. In 2008 he was 73rd, then 41st last year and is now 18th following a runner-up finish at Sea Island a week after his second victory of the season.

That assures Haas a spot in the top 30 for the year and means he'll be in next year's Masters and U.S. Open, among a number of other tournaments, including THE PLAYERS Championship.

"I'll take 18 every year on TOUR," Haas said. "Obviously we all set our sights high to Ryder Cup, No. 1 in the world and all that, but if you consistently finish Top 30 on the money list out here, you're doing something really good.

"That was my goal. I got it. I think I'm done [on TOUR this year]."

Then there is Merritt, who began the final round in a tie for second, just one shot out of the lead before imploding with a 75. But he still had a chance to stay in the top 125 with a 16-footer for par on the last. He missed it, made bogey and dropped from 123rd to 126th.

Had Merritt ended the day in a tie for second instead of a tie for 33rd, he would have all but secured his card for next season. Now he, and a lot of other guys, will have to fight to get back into the top 125.

Stock up

Bill Haas: A week after winning, Haas finished second, which secures his place in the top 30 on the money list for the year. Not bad, especially considering he wasn't exactly feeling 100 percent following a victory party last Sunday and didn't arrive at Sea Island until late Tuesday night. David Toms: Get him in the south and the old Toms comes out with him hitting fairways and greens and contending. The McGladrey Classic was just Toms' second top-10 of the year, but he's played well for a few starts now with a tie for 11th at the Viking Classic and a tie for 15th at the BMW Championship. John Senden: It's been a pretty good couple of months for the Aussie with just over half his earnings for the year coming in his last five starts, which included a T9 at McGladrey. The good news is at 74th on the money list, Senden is secure for next year. The bad news is he has a long way to go to crack the top 30.

Stock down

David Duval: Its been a rough couple of months for Duval with five missed cuts, including three in a row, over his last eight starts. It got downright ugly on Friday with a 10 on the opening hole of his second round at Sea Island. Boo Weekley: Hes missed three of his last four cuts and has broken 70 just once over that span. Weekley does have three top-10s this year, but he has just one since May when he finished ninth at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Todd Hamilton: The one-time British Open champ opened with a very good 67 but wasnt able to build on that as he finished in a tie for 62nd. In his last six starts prior to the McGladrey Classic, Hamilton missed the cut in every one of them. It looks like it will be back to q-school for Hamilton, or continuing splitting his time between the European Tour and this TOUR.

THE BACK NINE: 9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. When Tim Finchem saw Tom Pernice Jr. at a party at Davis Love III's house last week, the Commissioner asked him what he was doing there. It was a logical question since the Senior Players Championship was going on the same week. It turns out the 51-year-old Pernice still wants to and thinks he can play on TOUR. "I felt that my game is good enough that I could still compete," said Pernice, who finished in a tie for 15th at Sea Island. "I've always said that little white ball doesn't know how old you are." Always a career grinder, Pernice, who hasn't won since 2001, has some work to do, though at 138th on the money list.

2. As the hero of the 1999 Ryder Cup, Justin Leonard knows the opposite of what Hunter Mahan felt in Wales last Monday. But he also knows the loss can't be pinned on just Mahan. "So many people are focusing on him because he was the last player to have a chance, but so much golf was played before that," Leonard said last week. "And I'm hoping he remembers that." While Mahan took the loss extremely hard, Leonard thinks he'll get over it. "Hunter's strong. He'll be okay," Leonard said. "Look at the putt [Bernhard] Langer missed in '91. That could have been a career-ender. He's had a pretty nice career."

3. Joe Durant has always been considered one of the nicest guys on TOUR -- he was the person Heath Slocum turned to when he was going through his bout with ulcerative colitis. Last week he did nothing to dissuade that reputation, saying that he's fine with whatever his place on the money list ends up being because he's perfectly happy playing 18 times a year so he can spend time with his family rather than more weeks on the road. Then, unprompted, he stuck his hand out and shook the hands of every reporter talking to him.

4. Maybe it's just me, but it seems a little odd to see that Lee Westwood will replace Tiger Woods as No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings on Oct. 31 and neither will hit a single shot between now and then. Of course, Boise State would be No. 1 in the BCS standings if they came out today, too. I think I'd have an easier time trying to explain the Pythagorean theorem.

5. Of course the best player in the world right now might be Martin Kaymer. He got his third straight stroke-play win with a victory at the Dunhill Links Championship on Sunday. That makes Kaymer, now No. 4 in the world, the first European player since Nick Faldo in 1989 to accomplish such a feat. He won't be the TOUR'S Player of the Year, but that should move him to the front of the line for the Golf Writers Association of America's Male Player of the Year with four wins this year.

6. The Seaside Course at Sea Island GC is proof you don't have to stretch a course to 7 billion yards to make it difficult. Every player talked about the importance of keeping it in the fairway and hitting the green and the leaderboard backed that up with guys like Heath Slocum, David Toms and Joe Durant. It's short by TOUR standards but it was also difficult.

7. Matt Kuchar tied for 25th at the McGladrey Classic but more importantly it looks like he's all but wrapped up the money title. Looking at the standings, and presuming no one close to him plays the rest of the way, Kuchar won't be caught. Why is that significant? Because it comes with a five-year exemption on TOUR, something that hasn't really been a factor with Tiger Woods usually owning that spot. By the way, Kuchar's near-$5 million would be the lowest total for a money-winner since 1998.

8. Who will be named Rookie of the Year? It should be Rory McIlroy since he was the only rookie to win on TOUR this year. Rickie Fowler will also get a lot of votes, too, as he should. Of course if Fowler wins the Frys.com Open this week, he may get a few more.

9. After seeing the Ryder Cup -- and getting what apparently was a talking to by his wife, Heather -- John Rollins now has his sights set on making next year's Presidents Cup team. "When I missed the BMW and had the four weeks off, my wife and I had a chance to sit down and talk about some things," Rollins said. "She told me to make the team. Just practice harder, work harder. I expect a lot out of myself but sometimes don't put the necessary effort in there to get it out of there. I don't want it to sound like she was chewing me out, but it was sort of a little wake-up call. If you want to play good and make these teams, put the work in and get it done." Message sent.

The Forward Spin

Time is starting to run out for guys trying to get into the top 125, or the top 30, on the money list. That chase will continue with this week's Frys.com Open, the third of five Fall Series events. Also, the tournament, in just its fourth year of existence, gets a new home this year in CordeValle Golf Club in northern California after being played at Grayhawk in Arizona the last few years.

This week's Kodak Challenge hole

HOLE: The par-4, 325 yard 17th at CordeValle Golf Club. THIS WEEK: The 17th at CordeValle is a short, drivable par-4 of 290 to 325 yards. The green is receptive to a long shot for the back of it is bowl shaped, causing balls to roll toward the center of the green. The picturesque hole is fronted by a lake short, right and by the magnificent Clos la Chance Winery in the back. Click here to tour the Kodak Challenge holes | Current Kodak Challenge standings