These days, most big-name pros have tossed the clubs in a closet, popping out only for a quick tourney to please sponsors or give the kids a vacation. But for a select -- and very nervous -- few, the next couple weeks will determine how their entire 2010 will play out, as they try to get into the top 125 on the money list and win exemption for next year.

We detailed yesterday how close Rickie Fowler is to cracking the top 125 and therefore jumping straight into the Tour without all that messy Q School business. (He's already exempted out of the first stage.) But he's by no means the biggest name searching for that elusive top-125 card.

No, the big name belongs to David Duval, who has burned through virtually all his exemptions and now faces the ugly possibility of losing his card. Since his amazing run at the U.S. Open, he's missed six of seven cuts and now sits at No. 125 on the money list. So much for the career revival, huh? (As we suggested here a few months ago, the hosannas of Duval's return may have been a bit premature.)

Oh, and remember his fellow Open challenger Ricky Barnes, he of the painter's cap and the Open lead at Bethpage? Yeah, he's missed six of nine cuts since then, and sits at No. 121. He too is hoping to get in with some strong performances over the next couple weeks.

Perhaps most dismaying is the case of Stuart Appleby, who, as Steve Elling notes, started 2009 as the only golfer on the planet to have played in every major and WGC event since 1997. But now, he's giving up and relying on sponsors' exemptions for next year, sitting as he does at No. 134 on the list.

While Q School gets the headlines for its go-or-go-home drama, for my money the battle for the card among Tour regulars is much more compelling ... even if it turns your stomach at the thought of a pro losing out on what he's known for so long.

Related: Rickie Fowler, David Duval, Ricky Barnes