Wii Talk » That was something you usually didnt do in

MANCHESTER, England -- Its the cut-throat side of European golf that often gets overlooked, a six-day slog in northeast Spain where dreams are made and careers can be shredded.For 156 players, a week at school couldnt get much tougher.Next Thursday, 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) away from the opening round of the European Tours lucrative, season-ending World Tour Championship in Dubai, the final stage of the tours Q School will reach its climax just outside Barcelona.The best 25 finishers will get a tour card for the 2017 season, opening the door for sponsorship and manufacturing deals, the chance to travel the globe and play on some of the worlds great courses, and the big purses that come with it. Since 1985, 14 graduates from Q School have gone on to win a major, including Darren Clarke, Vijay Singh, Justin Rose, and Louis Oosthuizen.For the rest, acute disappointment, a year slumming it on lower-tier tours, even a return to work at the local golf club.Its career-defining, says Jack Harrison, an Englishman on his third visit to Q School. Its what we aim for, really, getting that card. It would change my life drastically.Harrison used to work as a club pro at Wildwood Golf Club just outside London but has recently been playing in the Sunshine Tour in South Africa, picking up some cash there and also from the odd event on the lower-tier EuroPro and Challenge Tours.Playing on the European Tour has been his dream, though. He grew up admiring Sergio Garcias style of play, and has always wanted to get closer to the Spaniard to learn the game. That could be a reality soon.Its all about not thinking of the carrot at the end, said Harrison, who birdied the second playoff hole at the second qualifying stage at Castellon on Monday to earn one of the last spots in the finals.Then there is Chase Koepka, one of six Americans looking to capture a European Tour card. He is the younger brother of Brooks Koepka, a winner on the U.S. PGA Tour and a Ryder Cup rookie this year.Brooks Koepka began his pro career by playing in Europe, winning four times on the second-tier Challenge Tour and then on the European Tour at the Turkish Airlines Open before switching to the U.S. PGA Tour. Chase, who at age 22 is four years younger than Brooks and lives with him in Florida, wants to tread a similar path.Its a great place to learn and improve your golf game, Chase Koepka said in a phone interview from Spain, where he was preparing for the finals. Its the best place for me to develop my golf game. You play in a lot of different conditions over here, a lot of different types of golf courses, which ultimately made my brother a lot better player. I hope it does the same for me.Around 1,000 golfers with a handicap of scratch or better entered Q School -- via a completed application form and a payment of 1,800 euros (now $1,960) -- and 71 of them have come through the pressure-filled first two stages. They will join 85 exempt players at PGA Catalunya for the grueling final event, which is played over six rounds and 108 holes. The cut comes after Day 4 and trims the field to 70 plus ties.Therell be 25 different nationalities competing in Spain, and some well-known players who are battling to save their top-level careers.Y.E. Yang, winner of the 2009 U.S. PGA Championship, will tee up after failing to earn a top-10 finish on the European Tour all season and making the top 20 only twice. The South Korean is 44, and the seven-year tour exemption for his major victory is up this year.Tom Lewis, who shot to fame when he led the 2011 British Open after the first round and eventually finished it as leading amateur, is at Q School for the first time after a highest finish of 26th this season.Edoardo Molinari, a former Ryder Cup player and U.S. Amateur champion, is back at Q School for the second straight year.Eddie Pepperell has been viewed as one of British golfs brightest prospects but he narrowly missed out on automatically keeping his card and must also qualify.Describing how his downturn in fortunes has affected his life, Pepperell wrote in a personal blog: I never envisaged that struggling on the course with my golf would have the impact it did on my mood. My quality of life waned as my golf deteriorated gradually.Especially for older players whove had a taste of golfs high life or who have families and mortgages to pay, the next week will be extremely stressful and potentially demoralizing.One bad shot could mean 12 months in the golfing wilderness.At the end of the week, Koepka said, the guys playing six rounds are going to be exhausted. Youll have to be pretty strong mentally out there. It does take its toll on you.Play starts on Saturday. Nike Off White Cheap China .com) - The Chicago Blackhawks aim for their third three-game winning streak of the season when they host the struggling Edmonton Oilers in Sundays battle at the United Center. Buy Nike Off White Shoes . Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions. http://www.nikeoffwhitecheap.com/ . Oyama had six birdies and two bogeys at Kintetsu Kashikojima in the event also sanctioned by the Japan LPGA Tour. "I have been having this neck ache thats been affecting my golf recently," Oyama said. Discount Nike Off White Free Shipping . The Dane followed up his first European Tour title last weekend with eight birdies and just a single dropped shot on Thursday for a one-stroke advantage over South Africas Allan Versfeld and Portugals Ricardo Santos. Nike Off White Cheap Wholesale . He says so-called TRT is only one problem and he wants to go even further than the ban. "Its about time," St-Pierre told reporters at a promotional event in Montreal on Friday. "I think its a good thing. MILWAUKEE -- Before his team departed Pittsburgh for Milwaukee, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said he wasnt daunted by the franchises lack of success in the Brew City.And now, after winning three in a row to take a series at Miller Park for the first time since 2013, HurdleI said before we left that we were due, Hurdle said. We havent played well here. You have to go out and play. Its very refreshing to come here and do it the way that we did it tonight on top of the other games; 3-2, 5-3 last night. Both of them were push and shove back and forth and this one was another one where we battled and came back. We have a tough team. We have a gritty team.Pittsburgh will go for the sweep Sunday when right-hander Ivan Nova takes the mound looking to build off his best start of the season.Making his fourth start for Pittsburgh since being acquired from the Yankees, Nova went the distance his last time out, allowing just a run on six hits and a walk while striking out six in a 7-1 victory over the Astros.We couldnt really get the ball on the barrel and mount any sort of rally against him, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. When he needed a ground-ball, he got it.Nova was 7-6 with a 4.90 ERA in 21 appearances (15 starts) with the Yankees this season but since joining the Pirates, hes 3-0 with a 3.20.He credits a llighter atmosphere as a big reason for his turnaround.ddddddddddddAll you do is stop and laugh sometimes, Nova said. That was something you usually didnt do in New York.Milwaukee hands the ball to right-hander Chase Anderson, whose first season with the Brewers has been a rocky one.Acquired last winter from Arizona, Anderson has gone 7-10 with a 4.99 ERA in 25 appearances (24 starts). He hasnt allowed more than three earned runs in any of his last 10 starts, but hasnt gotten past the fifth inning in all but one of those outings.He took no decision in his last start, going five innings against the Rockies while allowing three runs on six hits and a pair of walks while striking out seven.He got through it, Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. (Nolan) Arenado is such a dangerous hitter. Hes pretty locked in right now. He got a first-pitch changeup on him and hit it well (for a home run). The fifth was a big inning for him to get through. He made some big pitches in the fifth to get through it.The Pirates are going for their first sweep of the Brewers since taking a three-game series last April at PNC Park. It would be their first sweep in Milwaukee since April 30-May 2, 2004. ' ' '