Q School Confidential

What was once a little-known and rarely covered golf tournament has become, as a result of the sport's growing popularity, a widely attended media event. Q School is the PGA's qualifying tournament, a grueling six-day, 108-hole competition in which golfers play for the chance to earn one of the 35 PGA Tour eligibility cards and the opportunity to win lucrative purses. Competitors include not only rookies and in-between journeymen, but also struggling veterans who have failed to remain in the top 125 ranking at the end of the PGA season. According to Gould, a former executive editor for Golf Illustrated, ""the 108 holes of grim combat take on a morbid repetitiveness,"" especially for those who try, and fail, to qualify year after year; the end of the ordeal is filled with heartbreak. Anecdotes from former players about famous last-hole losses and long, slow collapses give credence to a tour rules official's description of Q School: ""Hours of boredom, moments of terror."" With a reporter's eye, Gould describes dramatic moments from the tour, as well as the Q School's history (it originated in 1965), including stories of many non-famous players. The weekend golfer will appreciate and identify with these players' stories of dogged perseverance, dramatically related in Gould's able account. 16 pages b&w photos not seen by PW. (Dec.)