He's ranked 511th in the World by the OWGR.  He's 190th in the Money List.  He's also putting on quite a show at the Children's Network Classic.  He's about halfway through his second round (as we speak), and shows no signs of letting up yet.  The weather in Orlando has been perfect; the courses appear easier than usual, and the scores are super-low.  We've got ourselves a chance at "lowest winning score" for 2008 here, and it would just make sense.  This year has been exciting and unpredictable, and this tournament should be no different.  So, let's dive right into the final Who Is He of 2008, shall we?

Who Is He: Robert Gamez

Age: 40

Birthplace: Las Vegas, NV, United States

Current Tour: PGA Tour (2-year Winner's Exemption)

Turned Pro: 1989 (PGA Tour)

Earnings:  Nationwide Tour. 18 Events Played, 9 Cuts Made.  Best Finish, T-7th.  $35,571.  PGA Tour. 496 Events Played, 265 Cuts Made.  Wins: 3. $8,512,113.

Why Should We Care: Gamez currently (as of printing) sits in a T-3rd at the Children's Network Classic just two shots out of the lead in a pretty decent field; and in most cases a desperate field.  He's a grizzled vet on Tour, and has spent most of his career on the periphery.   He's a competitive player; and one who has shown the ability to grind out a made cut, even if things aren't working out for him.  And when they are, he's got the ability to snag a top-10, and at times, even a win.  He's shown he's got the goods and raw talent to succeed on Tour; it's just always been a matter of putting is all together.  A win, which would clinch keeping his card this week would go a long way to building his confidence for 2009 one would think.  He's made a lot of money on Tour, it's unclear as to whether he'd go to the Nationwide Tour or not, should be unsuccessful. 

He's got some work to do in his game, let there be no doubt.  He is 148th in Driving Distance, which is fine for a course like Palm, but will probably kill him on Magnolia.  I don't imagine this will be getting any better as years go on either.  He's 7th in Driving Accuracy, which not only helps to offset the lack of distance; and not only is one of the best numbers on tour, but also makes him the 40th best All-Around Driver on Tour.  He's 66th in Greens In Regulation, which is another very solid number, and has served him well at times this year.  He's 79th in Sand Saves, which is right around average and shouldn't be an impediment to him going forward.  The worst part of his game, however, and what seems to be the bugaboo of all players fighting to stay on Tour, is his putting.  He's 169th in Putting Average and 178th in Putts Per Round.  This is one of the reasons why he's never really become a reliable top player on Tour.  It would be miraculous if he could ever find a way to putt the ball well, because if you can putt, you can stay on this Tour, and you never rule yourself out of any tournament.  If you can't; you fight for a card each year.  Gamez is certainly used to this, but it would certainly take the edge off if he could find another way.

This week, however, he seems to be making putts about average with the rest of the field; and for him, that's a huge improvement.  He shot 65 in the first round, which is -7, or two shots behind entering the second round.  Through 12 holes today, he shot 34 on the front nine, and made a birdie on 10 for -3 today, -10 for the championship, and still two shots out of the lead.  He's T-95th in Driving Distance (no surprise there), and T-22nd in Driving Accuracy; which would set off some warning bells until you consider that T-22nd is still 82.6% of Fairways Hit on these pretty easy courses.  Overall, if he keeps his Total Driving in this range, he'll do quite well.  He's T-24th in Putting Average and T-34th in Putts Per Round.  These numbers are slightly high-average for the field, and way above where he normally is.  He's T-17th in Greens In Regulation.  That's pretty good, and shows a much better overall game than he usually displays, but you can tell even still that his game is volatile and way too inconsistent. He's got a track record of inconsistency - but if this tournament is any indication; he might be improving where he needs to be improving.  He needs an outright win, and he knows it.  The pressure might eventually catch up to him, but for right now; he's maintaining contact with the lead (just two shots back), and so long as he's still maintaining contact on Sunday, he's got a chance.