Lisa Blumenfeld / Getty Images

Steve Stricker has made the cut in seven of the nine events in which he has competed in 2009, finishing in the top 10 four times.

Lay Up
Kenny Perry: This is the start on which everyone is glued. How quickly can he dispose of letting the Masters slip away? For a guy whose life was admittedly stress-free, he opened himself up for a loss and had to endure one. Ability alone gets this paycheck, but he was knocked off the bicycle.
Projection: Top 25

Charles Howell III: CH3 should be a main threat in a field like this, but, well, you know the rest. Surprisingly, he hasn't played here since 2005, so sitting 49th in GIR isn't as impressive as his unfamiliarity with the track is imperative.
Projection: 26+

Rory Sabbatini: Armed with the new TaylorMade R9 TP driver, Sabbatini finished tied for eighth at the Heritage. He signed a deal with the company and will play the Tour Preferred Irons as well. This is his first appearance at TPC Louisiana. If he succeeds, however, his value will skyrocket. He's a smart risk play despite my projection.
Projection: Top 25

Justin Rose: Although he tied for 20th at the Masters (and avoided a Sunday meltdown, which I hope will end those emails), he's still 169th in GIR. This is his first appearance here since Katrina.
Projection: 26+

Stephen Ames: Ames sits 38th in GIR but is getting his first look at TPC Louisiana.
Projection: 26+

Drop Area
David Toms: A T-6 at the Mayakoba is his most recent top-25 finish. Although Toms is 52nd in GIR, the unofficial host finished tied for 44th in 2007 and didn't play last year due to a sore back.
Projection: 26+

Mike Weir: Uncomfortably positioned at 173rd in GIR, is the lefty the next to flee the stack-and-tilt ranks?
Projection: 26+

K.J. Choi: How is a guy that's fourth in GIR entering the week with three consecutive missed cuts? It's that proficiency that puts him back in play this week.
Projection: 26+

Carl Pettersson: He's never missed five straight cuts, but will this time if my projection holds. Pettersson is ranked a putrid 167th in GIR.
Projection: MC

Charlie Wi: Exactly where is the confidence level of the stack-and-tilters right now? Aaron Baddeley is turning a corner. Wi is 103rd in GIR.
Projection: 26+

Special Temporary Membership
Last week, Rory McIlroy announced that he was forgoing Special Temporary Membership [STM] on the PGA Tour, but his reasoning was a tad misleading. The wunderkind said that he didn't need to add any events to his schedule, which is fine, but he cited the tour's minimum requirement of 15 starts for members as his defense argument. Wrong.

STM allows those eligible a whiff of merit as a technicality, but the real spoils provide unlimited sponsor's exemptions and no restriction on the number of starts made. (Non-members are capped at 12.) And it doesn't require a minimum number of appearances like full-fledged members.

As he said, McIlroy is already set for the year (he has five remaining starts scheduled), so he doesn't need the sponsor's invites. Assuming he won't regret the decision, his reasoning likely gave us a peek at his intentions over the next 20 months. Safe to assume that he and his manager, Chubby Chandler, have already discussed 2010 PGA Tour membership, so perhaps the 19-year-old golfer crossed his signals while explaining his decision not to play full-time in the U.S. even though he's not yet eligible.

The European Tour schedule is shorter next year, and with the Ryder Cup back in Europe, it would be a shock if he's a member of the PGA Tour in the near future, even if he wins one of his five remaining starts or qualifies via non-member earnings at the conclusion of 2009.

Ignoring his weak reasoning that leans on his preset schedule, the only benefit I see in declining STM is that he won't have to submit to any political rhetoric by not sending letters for sponsor's invites. Even that is a stretch, but at least he can focus on his original plans without having to hear about tournaments discussing their hopes of having him play in them. (Remember, the cachet of the PGA Tour isn't what it once was for kids in other countries.)

Incidentally, STMs are not eligible for official member earnings and FedExCup points. Like all other non-members, they may only begin contributing to those totals once membership is accepted. During the season, the only way a non-member can become a member is by winning a tournament. Even then, earnings and FedExCup points do not begin accruing until the next start after membership is paid.