Battle for The 25: Five who could crash the party

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Wetterich currently sits at No. 26th on the Nationwide Tour money list.

There's a lot at stake in the final tournament of the season for those trying to claw their way to the PGA TOUR. In the limited field of 60 players only the top 25 on the final money list after Sunday's round will earn PGA TOUR cards for 2012.

Those golden PGA TOUR tickets are a lot better than anything Willy Wonka could come up with.

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A lot can happen to the winner of the tournament in a short amount of time. Consider Brendan Steele, who won last year's tournament in a four-hole playoff over Colt Knost. That victory set him up for his break-out season on the PGA TOUR, where he won once and made 16 of 27 cuts to finish 52nd in the FedExCup standings. He also earned just under $2 million in his rookie season on the PGA TOUR.

What makes this tournament such a hair-rising experience are the projections near the bubble line of Nos. 20 through 30 on the money list. Last year there were four players who got hot at the right time and slipped into the top 25 to earn a PGA TOUR card during the Tour Championship.

The four players who got in were a Nationwide Tour record, so why not project a little more for this year's tournament. Here's a look at five who could crash the party and do enough to get inside the top 25.

1. Brett Wetterich (No. 26 on money list) -- He's only a little more than $3,000 behind Billy Hurley III for the 25th spot and the PGA TOUR veteran is very capable of making that up and then some. Wetterich, 38, is a former PGA TOUR winner, who won earlier this year on the Nationwide Tour at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open back in March.
Good vibe: He's made his last two cuts with a tie for 10th at the Children's Hospital Classic and tied for 18th at the Miccosukee Championship.

2. Tommy Biershenk (No. 28 on money list) -- He has to be encouraged by his solid play at the Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open where he tied for fourth after shooting 70-68-70-69. The former Clemson player, whose alma mater is 8-0 and looking very good this season, hasn't had a lot of top 10 showings this season. He needs a little less than $11,000 to catch Hurley but because there is no cut this week everybody is going to make some cash. The Nationwide Tour veteran is capable of making a lot of birdies so he's hoping to make up some ground this week.
Good vibe: He's seventh in putting average on the Nationwide Tour, which should help him.

3. Darron Stiles (30th on money list) -- Making up five places in the standings may look easy, but it really isn't. Stiles, however, has had some great stretches of golf this season. Toward the end of the season he had a tie for 10th and two weeks ago tied for sixth at the Miccosukee Championship. You have to like guys who are playing better toward the end of the season. Stiles, a four-time winner on the Nationwide Tour in his career, doesn't hit it far but is accurate.
Good vibe: He ranks sixth on tour in final-round scoring average which could come in handy on Sunday.

4. Paul Claxton (38th on money list) -- He will play in a Tour-record 10th Nationwide Tour Championship so he should be very familiar with his surroundings. Claxton, who has two Nationwide Tour wins in his career, was 10th last year at the Tour Championship. If he could work his way into contention on the weekend he could move up quickly on the list and sneak into the top 25. During one stretch this season he had three top 10s in a span of six weeks.
Good vibe: Going back to a course where he finished 10th last year should help.

5. Bubba Dickerson (42nd on money list) -- He'll have to make up nearly $44,000 to sneak into the top 25 but he can get it done if his putting comes around. Earlier this season it appeared that Dickerson was going to be a force but he ran into a bad stretch where he missed eight-straight cuts. He's since rebounded from that to make five cuts in a row and tied for 32nd on Sunday. The Nationwide Tour veteran with 152 starts, which includes a victory in 2009, could make a run this week.
Good vibe: Sitting where he is on the money list he can probably take a few more chances and that could pay off if he gets off to a good start.

John Dell has covered golf for the Winston-Salem Journal in North Carolina for the last 18 years. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR. You can reach him at johndell@triad.rr.com.