Tour status was in the cards

Brad Adamonis has set his sights on the Sony Open in Hawaii - again. The thing is, unlike his previous two trips to Honolulu, this time he won't be making the 5,000-mile trip to chance a Monday qualifier. No, this time he'll be bringing along his PGA Tour membership card.

"I just can't wait to get out there, to try and execute a good golf game," said Adamonis, whose fourth trip to the final stage of the annual Q School worked like a charm. Rounds of 72-68-70-68-67-69 got him into a share of ninth place at 18 under par, easily earning him his first PGA Tour card. "It's been a dream of mine for years. I don't know where it's going to lead me, but . . ."

But first things first: Hawaii.

Specifically, Waialae CC in Honolulu, where spectacular sunrises greet the competitors in the first full-field event on the PGA Tour calendar next month. Adamonis, who will turn 35 a few days after that tournament, twice flew to Honolulu to try to Monday qualify for the tournament, decisions he laughs about now, because both times he failed.

"What a waste, as it turns out," he said. "It's a long way to go for one round of golf."

OK, so he's not guaranteed more than two rounds this time, but it's different. With full status, Adamonis can plan a schedule and he has pretty much done that. He isn't eligible for the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship in Maui, but starting with the Sony, Adamonis looks at a seven-week stretch in which he figures to play five times. Only the FBR Open in Phoenix and the Northern Trust Open at Riviera are unlikely, so he likes the way things are unfolding.

Now, the challenge is to take advantage, something Adamonis feels he's done in some small way. That's because two years ago he went to Q School almost on a whim and somehow made it through to secure Nationwide Tour status. His father, Dave, a popular figure within Rhode Island and New England golf circles, was very sick back then and a lengthy hospitalization led to some changes within the family. Dave Jr. took over his father's command of the golf program at Johnson & Wales University in Miami and to make things easier, Brad helped out, too.

"I didn't have a card back then, and my wife and I had just had a baby, so I wasn't playing much," said Brad. "I was teaching [at Johnson & Wales] and if I didn't make it through [Q School] that year, I probably would have quit and done something else."

Adamonis played poorly down the stretch and lost his grip on his PGA Tour card. That was the bad news. The good? He got out onto the Nationwide Tour, where he's been a regular.

"The Nationwide Tour is really close to the PGA Tour, but to actually be a [PGA Tour] member is pretty good," he said.

Pressure putt

Her first route to LPGA Tour membership came up $3,409 shy, a sixth-place finish on the Futures Tour money list when only the top five earned exemptions. Her next route was similarly close, but Liz Janangelo didn't fall short a second time. Instead, the West Hartford, Conn., native came through with a clutch effort to earn her card for 2008. "That's a putt I'll remember for the rest of my life," said the onetime Duke standout, whose birdie at the 18th hole in the fifth and final round enabled her to finish at 4-under 356 and get in on the number. The 8-foot birdie roll came after a brilliant 7-iron approach from 153 yards at the LPGA International GC in Daytona Beach, Fla. Knowing only 17 cards would be awarded, Janangelo knew she needed birdie at the final hole and doesn't deny that it was all she could think of as she stood over the putt. "I said to myself, 'This is why I play golf,' " said Janangelo. "I knew I was going to make that putt." . . . Two of the other players who earned their cards came into the week as amateurs - Shanshan Feng, 18, and Sandra Gal, 20. When they finished at 355 and 356, respectively, it was decision time, though both went the same route - they turned professional. Feng's choice was easy. She came from China to attend a junior golf academy in South Carolina, so professional golf was her goal and now she's the first woman from her country to have LPGA Tour membership. But Gal was a different story. A senior at the University of Florida, she had her education to consider, as well as her teammates, and when her coach, former LPGA Tour player Jill Briles-Hinton, approached Gal after the final round, well, the pressure was on. In the end, she opted for the pro world. "I do feel remorse [about leaving the Gators]," Gal told Golfweek. "But it was my decision [to compete in] this tournament. They play well without me and I'm sure they'll step it up." . . . Perhaps the most notable crash at the final stage of LPGA Tour Q School belonged to heralded 20-year-old Taylor Leon. Tied for fifth and easily within the cutline entering the fifth and final round, Leon made a triple bogey at her 17th hole, shot 76, and tumbled into a share of 20th. She will return for another season of Futures Tour play in 2008 . . . Anna Grzebien of Narragansett, R.I., another former Duke star, shot 360, finished tied for 25th, and will have her Futures Tour card next season.

Fantasy a reality

After nearly winning at his second-stage site, Pat Bates couldn't carry that momentum any further. Finishing at 3 under, Bates was tied for 106th at the final stage; thus the former Mass. Open winner and University of Florida standout is assessing his career options. Having spent a good portion of his teenage years in the Manchester area, Bates has an affinity for the Boston area and is laying the groundwork for a fantasy camp for golfers looking to escape to Port St. Lucie, Fla., and stay and play with him at the PGA Village. For further information, you can call Bates at 561-213-5389 . . . Michael Welch of North Quincy and Tim Acquaviva of Andover shot a scramble-format 58 to win a Florida Professional Golf Tour tournament at the Golden Bear Club at Keene's Point in Windermere, Fla. Rhode Islander Rodney Butcher teamed with David Kirkpatrick to finish second, one shot back . . . Congratulations to University of Rhode Island golf coach Tom Drennan on his election into the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame . . . Golf Digest's annual tribute to the best courses includes a category for "best private remodel" and tops on that list is TPC Boston in Norton. Thanks to the exposure it received from the annual Deutsche Bank Championship, the work done by Gil Hanse, Jim Wagner, and Brad Faxon was justly praised for the dramatic improvements, both aesthetically and strategically . . . Speaking of Faxon, he got a chance to put his game to the test for the first time since he had foot surgery in September. Taking part in last weekend's Shark Shootout in Naples, Fla., Faxon and Justin Leonard shot 68-65-64, but that was good for just joint 10th in the 12-team field. Faxon got another chance to knock rust off his game when he played in a pro-am out in Thousand Oaks, Calif., as a prelude to this weekend's Target World Championship.

Sunday divers

Sunday was not the best of days for a trio of world-class players in tournaments throughout the world. The biggest collapse was authored by Ernie Els at the Dunhill Championship in his native South Africa as he took a two-shot lead into the 72d hole, made a triple bogey, and lost by one to John Bickerton. US Open champion Angel Cabrera also squandered a lead, though not as dramatically, in losing the Argentina Open to Marco Ruiz of Paraguay. In front by two shots through 54 holes, Cabrera closed with a 76, while Ruiz had a crisp 69. Meanwhile, Rory Sabbatini took a one-shot lead into the last round of the Australian PGA Championship, but ballooned to a 74 and finished eight behind Peter Lonard, whose bogey-free 65 included birdies on four of his final five holes. Clearly the most stunned was Els, who wrote on his website that it was "about the most disappointed I've ever felt walking off a golf course. I was gutted at No. 18." That final hole is a par 5 with a virtual island green, and from 190 yards Els hit a 6-iron a bit heavy and watched it land in the water. He took a drop, then hit a wedge over the green and into the water. A pitch to 6 feet left him a chance to at least force a playoff, but he missed. "I'm shocked. I was busy signing a ball for a young boy when all of a sudden I got told I might be in a playoff," said Bickerton. "And then a few minutes later everyone was saying congratulations. I couldn't believe it." Bickerton shot a final-round 68 and Els signed for a 73 . . . AT&T told the PGA Tour that it will not continue as title sponsor of the tournament at TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth, Ga., after the 2008 event. It doesn't put much of a dent in the company's commitment to pro golf, however, for it will continue to sponsor the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, the AT&T National Hosted by Tiger Woods, and two Champions Tour events . . . As part of a recent USO/Armed Forces Entertainment tour, six representatives from the world of golf visited American troops in Iraq. Major champions Tom Watson and Tom Lehman were joined by famed instructor Butch Harmon, CBS reporter David Feherty, and Champions Tour members Howard Twitty and Joe Inman for what was billed as "Operation Links."

Money risk for Sisk

An annual dilemma awaits Geoff Sisk and other Nationwide members - to go, or not to go? To Panama, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand, that is. Those are the locales for the first four tournaments of the season and while the urge is to get out there and get off to a strong start, Sisk knows rational thinking is needed. "Obviously, it comes down to finances," said Sisk, who made a valiant run at Q School, but closed with a 77 to tumble into a share of 62d. That affords him Nationwide Tour status, so he's starting to give some thought to his 2008 season. He's sure he'll play in Panama, but hasn't made up his mind about the others. The trip down under could cost $8,000 to $10,000, and very few players recoup that investment. While getting a jump on the money list is an attraction, there's no guarantee a fast start means you've got it made. Miguel Carballo won in Panama in 2007, while Hunter Haas and Jim McGovern were tied for second, but none of them finished inside the top 25 on the money list to earn their PGA Tour cards in that manner. (Carballo and McGovern did advance by going to Q School.) On the other hand, Richard Johnson topped the money list with $445,421, but he only played in Panama, not in Australia or New Zealand, while Roland Thatcher played in all three, but missed the cut in two of them. No one who finished in the top 10 on the money list earned checks in all three, so it's an indication that you don't have to jump in feet first from the start. Then again, Scott Sterling won the tournament in Australia to earn $113,684 and that went a long way toward securing his 21st-place finish on the money list (good for a PGA Tour card), because he made just $102,639 in the next 27 events. All of which is to say that there is no blueprint; it's golf, and you can go about it in a number of ways, so long as you play well . . . The Mexico stop is new to the Nationwide Tour this year, but once again the domestic portion of the schedule won't start until March in Louisiana, so if you don't travel early, you better find something to keep you busy.

Jim McCabe can be reached at jmccabe@globe.com.