The final tournament of the 2008 season was about typical for every tournament this year.  There has been lots of great play, lots of compelling story lines, and a lot to take away from the tournament.  This week, Davis Love made me look stupid, and he'll be on Tour for another two years (yay?), but other than that, there were lots of golfers on the outside looking in that made a great effort this week; and while they may have come up short, we may hear from them again in 2009 if they can get through Q-School.  So, for the last time this season, here were this week's Top Tournament Performances.

Davis Love III - I’ll give him credit here; I didn't think he'd have it in him.  Love shot 66-69-64-64 for 263 (-25) to eke out a one-shot lead, and get himself a two-year exemption in the process.  He did what he had to do, make a huge run in the Fall Series to get himself into the field, and honestly, I'd expect more missed cuts from him next year; but he did it, and should be applauded for it.  What was the difference between this week and other weeks?  This week, his putter showed up.  He was T-52nd in Driving Accuracy and T-14th in Driving Distance, T-5th in Greens In Regulation; but he was T-14th in Putts Per Round and T-7th in Putts Per Greens In Regulation, which is much better than where he's been all season, and obviously, good enough to win this tournament.  We will see Love for two more years, for better or worse.

Kevin Streelman - He was one of my favorite stories of the 2008 season, and he made a cameo again this week.  Streelman finished in a T-6th after shooting 64-69-69-68 for 270 (-18, seven shots back).  He's one of the best "out of nowhere" stories we've had in a bit - Tour rookie trying to hang on, wins a tournament late in the year to get a card.  You know, Hollywood stuff (except in the movie it would be the Masters or something).  The great thing about it was, Streelman didn't go away, and was competitive the rest of the season, proving to us (and probably to himself) that he belongs on Tour.  This week, honestly, he finished better than his stats might portray.  He was T-55th in Driving Accuracy, and T-22nd in Distance.  He was T-27th in Putts Per Round, and T-18th in Putts Per Greens In Regulation.  He was T-10th in Greens In Regulation.  Essentially, Streelman "grinded" his way to a T-6th finish and a happy end to a very happy rookie campaign.

Chris Stroud - And the best story of the Fall Series will come to a sad end, and Chris Stroud will not make the top-125 on the money list; despite his T-10th finish this week, and his fourth top-10 in the last five tournaments.  He shot 70-68-66-69 for 273 (-15, en shots back).  He finished T-21st in Driving Accuracy, and 22nd in Driving Distance.  He was T-24th in Putts Per Round, and 18th in Putts Per Greens In Regulation.  He was T-16th in Greens In Regulation, and pretty much continued to play like he was playing.  He'll end the season at 155th on the Money List, and while vaulting over 100 spots in the last six weeks; he'll still fall short of his exemption, and he'll also fall short of automatically qualifying for Q-School, meaning he'll be on the Nationwide Tour next year.  Hopefully he can keep his focus down there, and show up on Tour full-time in 2010.  He will get a Sponsor's Exemption or two in some PGA Tournaments, and who knows, if he can win one ... he may be back sooner that we think.  Good luck to Chris Stroud in the future.

Thank you for reading "Top Tournament Performances" this year.  We'll see you again in January 2009, so we can do it all again.