This report identifies the best stocks in the top ranked industries. Featured in the latest report is the shoes and related apparel industry with a focus on the following stocks: Deckers Outdoor Corporation Deckers Outdoor Corporation is a footwear manufacturer based in Goleta, California, United States. market for over the counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :DECK), K Swiss Inc. (NASDAQ:KSWS), NIKE, Inc. (NYSE NYSE

See: New York Stock Exchange :NKE NKE Nike, Inc. (stock symbol)

NKE N facebook ational Knowledge Exam (Canada)

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NKE Network Kernel Extension ) and Wolverine World Wide Wolverine World Wide NYSE: WWW is a footwear manufacturer. They have their own brand, Wolverine Boots and Shoes, and also make footwear for other companies, such as Caterpillar and Harley Davidson. Wolverine also makes shoes and boots for the military. , Inc. (NYSE:WWW WWW or W3: see World Wide Web.

(World Wide Web) The common host name for a Web server. The "www dot" prefix on Web addresses is widely used to provide a recognizable way of identifying a Web site. ).

Here are details on the stocks featured in the latest Industry Outlook.

Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NASDAQ:DECK) reported second quarter earnings per share of 21 cents late last month, which exceeded the consensus by as much as 250%. Deckers Outdoor now expects full year earnings per share between $2.39 and $2.45, up from the previous guidance of between $2.21 and $2.29. Furthermore, the revenue expectation was raised to between $272 million and $278 million.

K Swiss Inc. (NASDAQ:KSWS) posted second quarter earnings per share that rose 23.4% year over year to 58 cents, which beat Wall Street expectations by almost 29%. Total worldwide revenues came to $124.2 million, slipping slightly by 1.8% from the previous year. Domestic revenues declined by 14.7% but international sales jumped 37.3%. For the full year, K Swiss expects earnings per share between $1.90 and $2 on revenues of about $470 million to $480 million.

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) reported strong earnings growth and record revenues for fiscal year 2006 in late June. Earnings per share advanced 18% to $5.28 from $4.48, while revenues increased 9% to $15 billion from $13.7 billion. Excluding a charge, fiscal fourth quarter earnings per share reached $1.39, compared to $1.30 a year earlier and above the consensus by 5.3%. Revenues in the quarter moved forward 8% to $4 billion from $3.7 billion.

Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE:WWW) raised its guidance for 2006. Earnings per share are now expected between $1.38 and $1.42 while revenue is anticipated between $1.12 billion and $1.14 billion. The first half of 2006 was strong for Wolverine World Wide, as all four of its major branded footwear groups reported double digit profit improvements, excluding investment spending for new growth initiatives. For its second quarter, the company achieved its 16th straight quarter of record earnings per share and revenue.

About Zacks Industry Outlook

These stocks featured above have a Zacks Rank of 1 ("Strong Buy") or 2 ("Buy") and a Zacks Equity Research rating of "Buy". The Zacks Rank is a quantitative indicator designed to cover periods of 1 3 months. Zacks Equity Research recommendations are based on both quantitative and qualitative factors and are intended to cover periods of 3 6 quarters.

Since 1988, the Zacks Rank has proven that "Earnings estimate revisions are the most powerful force impacting stock prices." A $10,000 investment in the Zacks Rank list made in 1988 would now be worth $1.82 million equivalent to a 33% annualized annualized

Of or relating to a variable that has been mathematically converted to a yearly rate. Inflation and interest rates are generally annualized since it is on t nike free australia his basis that these two variables are ordinarily stated and compared. return! During the 2000 2002 bear market, Zacks 1 Rank stocks gained 43.8%, while the S 500 tumbled 37.6%. Also note that the Zacks Rank system has just as many Strong Sell recommendations (Rank 5) as Strong Buy recommendations (Rank 1). Since 1988, Zacks Rank 5 stocks have underperformed the S 500 by 129.7% annually (+5.2% vs. +11.9%). Thus, the Zacks Rank system allows investors to truly manage portfolio trading effectively. the market. Subscribe to Verb 1.

Nike (NKE), the iconic brand and athletic footwear and apparel giant, reports fiscal 2nd quarter, 2013, financial results after the close Thursday night, December 20th.

Analyst consensus (per ThomsonReuters) is calling for $1.00 in earnings per share on $5.98 billion in revenues for expected flat earnings year over year on 5% revenue growth.

While we have not seen or heard of a Q2 futures estimate, we have seen a couple of analysts turn conservative on US athletic footwear futures, which are now expected in the 10% range, down from 13% last quarter.

The US footwear b facebook usiness, which has been a source of strength for the last year for Nike, now looks like it is slowing, or at least growth is more tempered.

The following two articles we wrote for Nike's May quarter preview, and then the August quarter earnings preview, and to be perfectly frank, little has changed (here and here).

The three main problems we see for Nike right now:

1.) Despite some improvement in the Chinese economy, the China market is thought to be "over inventoried" from what we read. China's futures orders were down 6% in fiscal Q1 2013, and still deteriorating;

2.) Margins Nike's gross margin peaked at over 47% in mid 2010 and has now slid to 43.5% as of last quarter. There is also pressure on the operating and met margin.

3.) As referenced above, some of the analyst chatter has turned cautious on Nike's US athletic footwear business. The US is roughly 40% 45% of Nike's EBIT (Earnings before Interest and Taxes) still, so what was a source of strength, for the footwear giant could now be slowing.

But here is the conundrum not just with Nike, but all world class brands: while Nike's valuation looks very rich, the stock never seems to ever get even remotely cheap.

At $98 per share, Nike is trading at 19(x) cash flow, and 25(x) free cash flow and is $3 higher than when the company reported financial results in May.

Even "ex cash" Nike is still trading at 17(x) 4 quarter trailing cash flow and 23(x) free cash flow.

Earnings and revenue estimates have been revised lower over the last 6 quarters with "analyst consensus" now looking for 5% 7% revenue growth over the next three years, generating 11% 13% earnings per share growth.

At $98 per share, Nike is trading at an 18(x) 19(x) multiple for 11% expected growth in fiscal 2013.

Nike recently announced an $8 billion share repurchase program in mid September, which while sounding impressive will take awhile to execute as their combined dividend and share repo programs are now 150% of Nike's free cash flow. (Nike has little long term debt so I thought they would be a candidate for a big year end divvy with Phil Knight's ownership position guess not.)

After 2013, and what surely looks to be a higher tax rate for dividends, we do think companies like Nike that return more capital via share repo's than dividends, might be "valuation advantaged" over the big dividend payers. That is just speculation on my part for now.

Bottom line: We love the brand but are still waiting on lower prices to take a bigger position in the stock, and spread it throughout accounts. A breakdown into the mid $80s would be great, and we would back up the truck at $80 and lower. (We maintain one position in Nike from May '04 with a cost basis of $34. Long term low turnover account with low tolerance for taxes.)

With a world class brand like Nike, the valuation never looks truly cheap, but given the slowing fundamentals, and the iffy technicals, we continue to wait on lower prices.

Source: N nike free australia ike Earnings Preview: Waiting On The Iconic Brand To Sink Into Valuation

Disclosure: I am long NKE. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. (More.)

In a puzzling bit of pre Olympic theater, Jeneba Tarmoh is giving up her last chance to run the 100 meter dash in the London Olympics, pulling out of a runoff against practice partner Allyson Felix that was scheduled for prime time Monday on NBC.

For the two women, the runoff could hardly have had higher stakes: The winner would win the right to run the race at the Olympics, the loser would be left out. The runoff became necessary when Tarmoh and Felix tied for third with identical 11.068 second times in the 100 meter final of the Olympic trials June 23. The US can field only three sprinters in the 100 meters at the London Games.

But in the sort of soap opera that USA Track and F aol ield (USATF) just can't seem to avoid, Tarmoh's agent e mailed a message to USATF Monday morning: "I Jeneba Tarmoh have decided to decline my 3rd place position in the 100m dash to Allyson Felix. I understand that with this decision I am no longer running the 100m dash in the Olympic Games and will be an alternate for the event."

The question is: Why did Tarmoh back out of the runoff especially when it appears that she had more to lose from such a move than did Felix?

While Tarmoh has qualified to run in the 400 meter relay in London, the 100 was her last chance to qualify for an individual event. Meanwhile, Felix has already qualified for the 200 meters, in which she is a two time Olympic silver medalist and a gold medal favorite. For her, the runoff, while important, was also potentially another chance to sustain an injury that could put her out of her signature event.

In other words, Tarmoh needed the 100. Felix would have been an American star at the Games with or without it.

And that might be the problem.

Make no mistake, Tarmoh likes her training partner, but she feels that USATF is bending its rules to try to pump Felix's tires. At least, that's what her high school coach, who is in touch with Tarmoh, told The San Jose Mercury News.

"This is a Nike and NBC Sports deal," the coach, Steve Nelson, said. "This is Jeneba against the world. She feels like it's everybody against her."

It is easy to understand her disappointment. After the June 23 race, the chief photo finish judge Roger Jennings declared Tarmoh the third place winner. She was given a medal. She held a press conference. Only then, did rumors begin to surface that USATF and Mr. Jennings had overruled the unofficial results and declared that Tarmoh and Felix had, in fact, tied (see video).

To someone who took a flag waving victory lap around the track at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., imagining herself on the blocks in London, it must have been the bitterest news imaginable.

To her, USATF took away something she earned, according to what Nelson told the Mercury News.

"She's not giving up her [Olympic] spot," Nelson said Monday morning. "She's not going to show up for the runoff."

No matter the sense of injustice, however, it is a curious response. If she believes USATF was out of line, some sort of appeal would seem the more likely response and perhaps that is coming. Otherwise, the times are the times and the deadlock needs to be resolved.

Much has been made over how, mind bogglingly, USATF has no protocol for resolving such ties. It gave the runners the option of a coin flip, a runoff, or one sprinter ceding the slot to the other. But in swimming, which does have a protocol for resolving ties, the protocol is a swim off. So it's no great injustice to insist on a runoff if the sprinters actually tied. It's probably what USATF will adopt after this storm passes, anyway.

The real issue appears to be whether USATF was justified in overruling the preliminary results.

It is not unprecedented for the results of close races to change well after the finish line is crossed. During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, US sprinter Wallace Spearmon was taking a celebratory lap around t cheap nike free he track after apparently winning bronze, only to learn he had been disqualified for stepping out of his lane. More than a half hour later, the apparent silver medalist, Churandy Martina of the Netherlands Antilles, was also disqualified.

Tarmoh, not surprisingly, sees her case differently, and on Monday, by refusing to settle the matter on the track, she deprived USATF of its prime time moment.

, FitBit, and JawBone Up Which is the Best?There are so many gadgets on the market now to track your fitness goals. With the release of the Nike Fuel Band, Fitbit, and Jawbone Up, one may be confused which is the right to buy for them. Here are the pros and cons of each of them, hopefully shedding light on the similarities and differences.JawBone UpWith the re release of this product, the improvements have made it a sure competitor with the Nike Fuel Band and the FitBit. The 2011 version had issues with battery life, the band coming apart, and the cap getting lost. This new version has made sure none of those issues resurface. The JawBone Up is worn on your wrist like a bracelet. It looks like a bracelet, and no one would question it to be anything more than that. There is a side b aol utton to press to turn it into sleep mode (it records how long you sleep) as well as activity mode when you exercise. There is another end in which a cap comes off so it can be plugged into your computer or smart phone to sync the product. So you can sync it anytime, on the go with your phone. So what are the issues? Well, for one, you have to manually plug it in to sync it. Jawbone is a major player in bluetooth technology, so I am unsure why this feature is not available. I am assuming it may be available in upcoming models. Another issue is the app designed for smartphones. It is difficult to log your food, and if you are used to using My Fitness Pal or another fitness application, none of them currently sync with the Jaw Bone. So if you like My Fitness Pal to track your food, and wanted to use JawBone to track activity, this is not possible. While JawBone does have a bar code scanner like My Fitness Pal, it is not as comprehensive. JawBone's app is set up similar to Facebook with side tabs, making it difficult to find the screen you are looking for (calories burned, food log, steps taken). Lastly, it's nice to have a reminder on your wrist how far you have walked or how many calories you have burned. Having to plug it in continually is an inconvenience. The pluses of the Jawbone are that it looks like a bracelet and contours nicelely to your wrist. It also comes in a variety of colors.The Fit Bit comes as two options, as either the regular Fit Bit (that also counts stairs climbed) or the Fit Bit Zip. The difference is in price, and the only difference I can tell is the regular Fit Bit tracks stairs. The Fit Bit is $99, while the Fit Bit Zip is $60. Both sync nicely with other weight loss tracking applications, like My Fitness pal. They both sync wirelessly when you are near your computer, and the app is very user friendly. If you sync it to My Fitness Pal, your calories can be adjusted based on your movement that day. The Fit Bit tracks your steps, calories, and distance. The Fit Bit Zip has a touch screen to see all three of these items. There is also an app for this that can track food, but I find it lacking many food items, so it's very convenient to sync it with My Fitness Pal. The only downfall witht this product is it clips on. The Fuel Band has it's own "fuel" that you have to meet daily based on your goals. It also syncs via bluetooth to your phone. It has a nice app that it links to, and it counts your calories burned, steps, and fuel. You can also press the band (which lights up) to tell you any of those things as well as the time, so it can also serve as a watch. If you sync your band with the Nike Fuel Band page, there are also Nike Fuel Missions that you can do that is like playing a video game to get you up and active. Again, I do not believe the F nike free run uel Band syncs with other applications other than its own, and it does not track food, but the bracelet itself is so nicely constructed, I am willing to take the sacrifice.The goal of all three are the same: to make you conscious that you need to be more active, or are already active and to keep doing what you are doing. While my vote goes to the Nike Fuel Band, all three have advantages and disadvantages, it's just what aspects are important to you.

In any other sport it wouldn't be an issue.

LeBron James isn't going to forget how to dunk, and Roger Federer won't suddenly lose his forehand smash. Michael Phelps isn't likely to sink to the bottom of the pool, either.

Not with the US PGA Tour, even though he walked off the course in the middle of his round on Friday in the Honda Classic. Officials will surely take at face value McIlroy's belated excuse that he had a toothache, even if he was seen wolfing down a sandwich just minutes before calling it a day.

He seemed to be eating well the night before, too, sending out a picture on Twitter of a birthday dinner for his mother.

But the tooth it is, because it's harder to deal with the other issues that might be facing the No.1 player in the world. McIlroy himself alluded to them while walking to his car, telling reporters that he's "not in a good place mentally."

Just why that is has raised speculation on both sides of the Atlantic.

The leading candidate is that McIlroy hasn't yet learned how to play with the new clubs he got in a multi million dollar deal with Nike, though questions about his well publicised relationship with tennis s Men Nike Free Run +2 tar Caroline Wozniacki are never far behind.

Or maybe Tiger Woods just spoiled us all into believing it was easy to be No.1.

Indeed, while Woods measures his greatness with major championship titles, his reign at the top of golf's standings may be the one record he holds that won't be broken.

He's spent a total of 12 years as the No.1 player in the world, including his last streak of 281 weeks that ended in October 2010.

He held it even when Phil Mickelson said he was playing inferior equipment, and reclaimed it after swing changes that no other player would even attempt. It took a car crash and the public outing of his private life to finally oust him from the top, but his lead was so big that he remained No.1 for nearly a year after the rest of his world collapsed.

McIlroy's time as No.1, by contrast, has been brief. He's been there on a weekly basis since winning the US PGA Championship last year, with Woods now occupying the No.2 slot.

But the game that seemed so effortless for McIlroy suddenly seems confounding to him. He was a whopping seven over par through eight holes when he hit his second shot in the water and decided to look for the easy way out in Florida. And he hasn't played on a weekend yet this year.

Mental or dental? Take your pick, but the space between a golfer's ears can be a dark spot not so easily treated by a few aspirin.

To paraphrase Shakespeare, uneasy is the head that lies beneath the crown.

"When you start trying to prove things to other people and you stop playing for yourself, it's a dangerous place to be," said Graeme McDowell, McIlroy's friend and countryman.

What McIlroy wanted to prove, of course, was that the new clubs introduced in a music and laser show in Abu Dhabi were just as good or better than the ones he used to win two major championships and become the world's top player. And they may be, though clearly the adjustment process has been more difficult for McIlroy than he publicly allows.

At a reputed $US20 million a year, though, he's got no choice but to play on with the Swoosh.

Woods went through a similar equipment change when he turned pro, though his was more gradual. Nike didn't even make golf clubs when Woods signed with the company, and he had time to work them into his bag.

Don't forget, too, that he's Tiger Woods. And while McIlroy has great talent and great potential, he's not Tiger Woods.

He is, however, linked to Woods in many ways. They played 36 holes together last weekend at Woods' home club in Florida after both were eliminated from the Match Play Championship in the first round, and they appear in Nike commercials together. They seem to have a budding friendship, something Woods hasn't had with many players.

McIlroy could learn a lot from Woods about how to deal with life at the top. Woods has, for the most part, always been able to compartmentalise things and keep them from affecting h nike is game. He's also a master of talking to the media without really saying anything.

McIlroy, meanwhile, is still adjusting to constantly being in the public eye, and sometimes he's too honest with the media for his own good. Having a tennis star for a girlfriend only adds to the mix.

"He's a superstar, a global superstar. And that can only be pressure magnified," McDowell said. "But he'll get over it. He's a smart kid."

Hopefully McIlroy can get over it without building walls around him like Woods. Golf needs someone like McIlroy at the top, an affable player with great talent who is humble enough to still relate to fans. For years Woods didn't sign autographs and even now he does so grudgingly.

If McIlroy made a mistake by walking off the course and he did it's one he can learn from. The game can be humbling, even for its best player.

The Masters is little more than a month away, adding to the sense of urgency McIlroy surely feels. Maybe by then we'll have a real sense what his issues are and he'll have a sense of how he can overcome them.

Cheap Nike Shoes everyone seems to want to build a couple. Jordan's first series of the restoration of the famous old ways can / could "T television advertising, including half of 1990, control, and not until Michael the restoration of old ways and four hits in a couple of hours, give a little e Men Nike Roshe Run Anti-Fur xtension of the film does right. retail stores in 1999.

When the game in black / white ash, black / cement (the nickname of "crackers and butter" people retro'd), are crazy He created it and Spike Lee, who plays a role in Jordan, the number of public martyrs black.

The Nike Cheap Air Max includes several styles, Nike Air Max 90, Nike Air strucutre Triax 91, Nike Air Max 95, Nike Air Max LTD, Nike Air Max 2010, Nike Air Max 2011, styleshow different attitude and different flavor. In my opinion, air triax 91 complex is very good. The Nike Air Structure Triax 91 was first released in 1991 and ang10ela was known as the Air Max. If you want to buy a pair of Nike Air Max 91 triax strucutre is your first choice. To create a visual landmark and has greatly improved cushioning and stability.

No official release date is still available, but we suspect that Nike Air Max shoes hit retailers in the coming weeks. Also note this is only a GS version which means that only available in sizes for children. If you have to have a partner and want to avoid the hassle of trying to find when you drop the head on eBay right now, because some of its pre order ready for drinking.

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The Notebook Nike Air Max 2011 back one more year in the Back to School Pack Nike for 2009. However, there are some small differences holders of some other model in the A nike ir Max line. This year the design of the laptop has been used in the Nike Air Max Wright in place of the Air Max 90 CL used last year. The design is also white and blue, compared with last year in black and white. Only a magic buffer was carried out in the midsole to add a long term discharge and the eye on each side after these shoes. And the great Nike Air Jordan, Jordan Spizike 2 calls Xinji grapes. It is clear to see in the picture here that Nike.

The man, thought to be in his 50s, was seen ranting and also pressing another six inch blade to his chest, while holding a set of beads. As a policeman shot him with the Taser he lunged at the officer, taking a series of swipes before the electrical charge knocked him to the ground.

The drama unfolded as hundreds of tourists and Londoners gathered outside the palace for Sunday's midday changing of the guard. Witnesses said the suspect, who was arrested on suspicion of a Men Nike Free Powerlines ffray, broke through a barrier and was walking towards the guards when he was stopped by police who were "on him in seconds".

A video posted on YouTube shows the bespectacled man shouting and walking round while holding the knives against his body before an officer stuns him with the charge. He was quickly surrounded and the weapons kicked out of harm's way while officers checked him over.

Witness Kevin Burrows, 33, from Surrey, said the man broke through a cordon as the changing of the guard was about to happen. The kitchen porter said: "I thought: 'Oh my God, I can't believe it.' There must have been about 15 police officers on foot who surrounded him once he'd been Tasered. The police saw him really quickly and were obviously cautious.

"He was in his 40s I'd say and I think he had knives in both hands. Everybody was standing back when it happened and people were actually quite calm, I think everyone was surprised. They had to divert the procession away from him. I think he was making his way to the guards. The man didn't have the chance to get close to anyone as the police were right on him in seconds."

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were at Sandringham at the time of the incident.

A scene was cordoned off with police tape 30 metres from the palace gates, and an ambulance was parked to the side of the building. Inside the cordoned off area lay the two knives, a pair of Nike high top trainers, the man's hat and a black carrier bag containing paper and material. A handkerchief lay beside the bag.

After the suspect was taken into custody and the procession had finished, tourists arriving at the palace asked police if the items were part of an exhibition. "It is not what you expect to see outside Buckingham Palace," one holidaymaker said.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "It was approximately 11.50am. A man was seen outside the centre gate in possession of two k nike nives. He was not making threats to members of the public but he was challenged by police. He acted aggressively and a Taser was discharged. He is thought to be in his fifties. He was arrested on suspicion of affray and has been taken to a central London police station."

The Nationwide Tour is something of an unknown to most Kiwi sports fans, yet plenty of New Zealand golf players have tried their luck on the gruelling circuit in the past few years in search of a PGA Tour card.

DANIEL RICHARDSON of APNZ talked to three Kiwis who have played on the Nationwide Tour recently and experienced the highs and lows of what it has to offer.

What's worse is that you might enter a tournament, shoot under the card and still not even make the cut and you have to go back to the range or putting green without a pay cheque.

There's also a good chance you have been billeted in a house with six other guys for the tournament. It's not exactly a five star hotel.

This is just another week on the Nationwide Tour.

It's the golf tour that serves as the feeder competition to the big dance, the PGA Tour, where players can earn millions of dollars a year and have their names engraved on the most prestigious trophies in the sport.

Your mission when you begin the year on the Nationwide T Men Nike Roshe Run Anti-Fur our is to finish the season in the top 25 money earners and if you are good enough to do that you're given your card to the PGA tour your shot at the big time.

In recent years US graduates who have left university have it slightly better off with dribs and drabs of endorsement money and a few travel subsidies, but the older players on tour still fund nearly all their way around.

These are golfers who aren't household names but are guys you certainly wouldn't want to play against if your life depended on it. has played on and off on the Nationwide Tour since the mid 1990s.

The winner of the 1996 Tri Cities Open, when the tour was known as the Nike Tour, Tataurangi also won the Invensys Classic in Las Vegas on the PGA Tour in 2002.

"If you are a long term player on the Nationwide Tour you're not really making a living. You're paying for expenses. It's an expensive tour to play on and it is extremely competitive," Tataurangi says.

"The tour's got it pretty much set up that way. It's not there to make any money. It's like you're just there for a purpose to pretty much get to the PGA Tour and if you make a couple of bucks on the way then it's a bonus."

Since the tour was formalised in 1990, when it was originally called the Ben Hogan Tour, there have been 22 players who have cracked the million dollar milestone in career earnings.

Not bad wedge by any means, but the catch here is the guys on this tour don't have the subsidies the players in the tier above do and that is the earnings before tax and expenses.

Josh Geary

Kiwi Josh Geary represents the new breed of player on the Nationwide Tour and the 27 year old from Tauranga experienced one of his better years on the circuit in 2011.

Despite not earning huge money around NZ$100,000 Geary finished 74th on the money list and will have conditional status for certain events next year and will need to start the season in good nick to keep his card for the year.

"It's actually been the best of the last four years for me," Geary says. "It's better money, plus a bit of endorsement money helps whereas the previous years have been very low endorsement money, plus small purses. So it's actually the first year I've had a bit of breathing space. It's been a more expensive year because I've had to hire a full time caddy, but it's also been more comfortable out there."

Although the world economy has experienced all sorts of turmoil during the past few years, the money in golf has been a constant and, as Geary points out, the purses continue to increase.

The prizes are extremely top heavy and a tournament victory backed up with a top three finish will pretty much guarantee your spot in the top 25 money earners.

Having to play well to ensure you can not only eat, but earn your tour card for the following season is daunting, but Geary says the key is to not let it dominate your thinking.

"You know it's always there, but you try and put it out of your mind, I guess, and just sort of do what you can do. You can't really control much else. You just go through the motions and just try and post [a good score] and the rest of it comes with it. If you start thinking about it and pressing it and pressing, it just ends up being worse and more frustrating and you end up in a bad place."

So aside from not having to worry about securing your card, the quality of the field is another factor.

The players who don't hold on to their PGA Tour card by finishing in the top 125 on the money list drop out of the big dance and if they miss their chance to get back on tour via qualifying school they r nike eturn to the Nationwide circuit.

American Keegan Bradley, who finished 14th on the Nationwide Tour in 2010 to earn his PGA Tour card for 2011, won the PGA Championship in 2011 and became one of only three players to have won in their major tournament debut. That's an indication of how good the players are on the feeder tour.

"I think because of the mix of guys coming up through, you've got the old guys that have been there for years and know the courses and are full of experience and also the guys coming down from the PGA Tour, who have won on the PGA Tour. Even major champions are playing some weeks, so that's why there's a lot of talent," Geary says.