Sean O’Hair: The 23-year-old Texan is on his way to PGA Tour rookie of the year after playing on the 2004 Grey Goose Gateway Tour. A remarkable story, O’Hair has risen from 1,115 th (no that’s not a typo!) in the world last season to No. 53 this week.

O’Hair, who is quite likeable and extremely lean at 6-foot-2 and 165 pounds, has a sizeable lead in the rookie standings over English journeyman Greg Owen, who ranks No. 46 th on the money list to O’Hair’s almost shocking 16th position ($2,026,262). O’Hair has got there with a win at the John Deere Classic, a second-place finish at the Byron Nelson, and a tie for 15 th at the British Open.

The buzz on O’Hair began earlier this season with his surprising finish in the Byron Nelson, where another Grey Goose Gateway alum, Ted Purdy, prevailed with a final-round 65. But it was the way O’Hair prepared for the Nelson that was so impressive.

“I was desperate,’’ O’Hair said of his game at the time. “So I went to Borders down the road from my hotel (in Dallas) to get a couple of Jack Nicklaus’ (instruction) books. The next morning I woke up, tried (the new swing) in my hotel room, tried it on the range before I went out to play, and hit the ball better than I’ve ever hit it.’’

Ironically, his top-15 finish at the British Open may have been O’Hair’s best. After winning the John Deere on July 10, the Sunday prior to that major championship, it took him three days to get to Scotland after ironing out details for a last-minute visa. Despite one very brief practice round, his performance was the talk of St. Andrews -- outside of Tiger Woods’ win and Nicklaus‘ retirement.

Then again, what would you expect from such a buoyant kid, who was forced to skip high school by his own father, Marc O’Hair, in order to hone his skills for the PGA Tour. If that wasn’t enough, Marc O’Hair then made Sean sign a contract that gave his father a percentage of his future wages? O’Hair, who turned pro when he was 17, has overcome every obstacle except Marc O’Hair, who seemingly won’t go away.

Chances are Owen’s storyline, even if he wins one of the 10 remaining regular-season events, won’t be good enough to overtake O’Hair in the rookie voting. O’Hair, obviously, is not going to give up, as he now has made an incredible 19 of 23 cuts after missing three of his first four.

Of course, another Grey Goose alum who also graduated from that Class of 2004 also has an outside shot for rookie honors. Joey Snyder III currently ranks No. 80 on the money list with $803,199, and would probably need a breakthrough win -- or two -- to get consideration.

O’Hair and Snyder are just two more reasons why the Grey Goose Gateway continues to gain respect throughout the golf world since the Scottsdale-based minitour burst upon the scene four years ago. Or how about this fact: Former Grey Goose players have earned more than $8.8 million in this season alone on the PGA, Nationwide and Champions tours.

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE

Gaylord signings: Scottsdale-based Gaylord Sports has signed two of the best young players in women’s golf in Brittany Lang and former Arizona State star Louise Stahle. The 20-year-old Lang was a runner-up in this year’s U.S. Women’s Open and a two-time All-American at Duke University. Stahle, who also is 20, won three times at ASU, including the Pac-10 Championship. She turned pro at the recent Weetabix Women’s British Open, where her second-round 65 equaled the tournament’s best round.

Big assignment: Darrick Prock is the new superintendent at Superstition Mountain Golf Club. Prock comes to Superstition Mountain from Alta Mesa Country Club after serving previous stints at Dove Valley Ranch, Longbow Golf Club, Gold Canyon Golf Resort and the Raven at South Mountain. He will be in charge of preparing the Prospector Course in March for the LPGA Safeway Classic.

And, finally: Apparently the upcoming PGA of America’s Fall Expo in Las Vegas will be a smash hit after several years of struggling at that site. According to Reed Expo, which coordinates the event, pre-registration is up 27 percent, with all 50 states and 26 countries represented. To register for Fall Expo, visit www.pgafallexpo.com.