It was a fun week of golf, with a lot of low scoring and close action.  In the end, one player pulled away down the stretch and most of the top-25 was full of familiar names, especially familiar Texan names.  It's interesting sometimes that regional knowledge of a course can mean a lot more than anyone realizes; and that usually seems to be the case in these "lesser" tournaments to a degree.  As far as players improving on their money list spot; there weren't as many as you'd like, and there were more than a few missed opportunities, but there's still five tournaments in the Fall Series left to go, so there are still some chances left.  With that, let's take a look at this week's best.

Zach Johnson - A hearty welcome back to the winner's circle to Zach Johnson, who posted his first win since the AT&T Classic back in May of 2007.  This year has been one big, long grind for Johnson; but he still managed to be sitting at 125th on the Money List (the Masters Champion has four years of a five-year exemption left) and used his knowledge here to shoot 69-66 to get him in position for the weekend, where he shot a blazing 62-64 to wrap it up at -19, two shots clear of the field.  He did a couple of things he had gotten away from this past year.  He finished T-4th in Driving Accuracy, which is no surprise.  He was 36th in Driving Distance, which is no surprise either - probably a little better than expected.  He was T-3rd in Greens In Regulation, which is one of his better performances on the year; but the most encouraging sign was the return of the putter.  He was T-16th in Putts Per Round and 17th in Putts Per GIR; which was one of his best efforts since last year.  A permanent return of Johnson's putter would mean that he would rejoin the "elite" mix that he flirted with for the better part of 2007, and would mean a much brighter future other than "Hey, isn't that Rich Beem?"  Great job from Johnson this week, and hopefully we'll see more in 2009.

Justin Leonard - Ok, considering the criteria, Leonard probably shouldn't be on this list; but I had to toot my own horn a bit, because I have had a PGATour.Com - like run recently; mainly due to everyone I picked ended up missing the cut, it seemed.  However, Leonard redeemed me a bit, and if not for a simply sick weekend from Johnson, could very well have had a top-5 finish.  As it was, he finished in a T-10th after shooting 70-69 to start, and recovered with a 64-66 on the weekend to shoot -11, which was eight shots back.  He did exactly what you'd expect this week.  He was T-4th (with Johnson) in Driving Accuracy, and was a surprisingly decent T-27th in Driving Distance.  He was T-18th in Greens In Regulation and was decent (but not great) with the putter, T-29th in Putts Per Round, 15th in Putts Per GIR.  Good, not great, and that's probably why he didn't win.  However, Leonard loves Texas courses, and after his best season since 2004; that's something that everyone should put in the ol' memory bank for 2009.

Chris Stroud - This week's Who is He ended up in a T-6th, shooting 66-64-69-68 for -13, which was six shots back.  Stroud led after two rounds, and had a golden opportunity to mess around and get himself a 2009 Tour Card.  As it was, Stroud moved from 209th on the Money List to 172nd, which is a great start; but he'll need to have a couple of more top-10s to really have a legitimate chance at the top-125.  Stroud's putter, usually his undoing, was his main strength this week.  He was T-56th in Driving Accuracy, T-27th in Driving Distance and T-35th in Sand Saves.  But he was T-8th in Putts per Round and 16th in Putts Per GIR; and that really kept him in the mix.  He certainly could have helped himself out with the driver, and he's going to need to concentrate on that for 2009.  He's got a chance to turn it around over the last month or so, but he's going to really need to put the hammer down to have a chance to work out his driving kinks on the PGA Tour next season.

The ScreamingSports.Com Golf Department would like to extend our thoughts, prayers and best wishes to the Seve Ballesteros family - and our hopes for a speedy and full recovery.