Web.com season underway in Panama

It's here.

The 2013 edition of the Web.com is underway, with a full field kicking it off today in the Panama Claro Championship, as part of the Tour's Central America swing. This marks the first full year of the Web.com sponsorship, after Nationwide Insurance's ten-year run came to an end last summer.

But more importantly, it marks the first season of the Tour's new structural changes that will affect how players qualify for the PGA Tour. At the end of the regular season, the top 75 players on the Web.com money list will compete alongside No. 126-200 on this year's PGA Tour money list in a playoff series where the top 25 performers achieve PGA Tour status for next season. The top 25 on the money list as the end of the regular season will be assured PGA Tour status, keeping in line with past structure, but positioning for tournament fields will be determined in the playoffs.

So, the PGA Tour wants to increase the importance of the Web.com Tour. Q-School is no longer a possible path to the big leagues, and all aspiring PGA Tour pros are now forced to go through the Triple-A circuit. In time, we will see if this draws heightened interest of Web.com events and greater crowds. For now, we don't have much of an idea.

In Panama, Mark Anderson has jumped out of the gate, posting a morning 6-under 64 that included six birdies in his first seven holes. Rookie Andrew Loupe, who has three top-25 finishes in six prior Web.com starts, matched Anderson at 64.

Peter Tomasulo and James Nitties are a shot back after morning 65s. Tomasulo's effort was bogey-free.

Long way to go, though. Today, this week - and this season.

Gove returns to action at Pebble

For many PGA Tour pros, Pebble Beach serves as a reminder of all that is right with the game of golf. From the famed short par-3 7th pointed directly at the ocean, to the memorable 18th with the ocean hugging the left side of the entire fairway, there is no shortage of memorable scenes and moments.

An occasional U.S. Open track, Pebble welcomes the PGA Tour contingency every February for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, which gets underway tomorrow. The event always draws a memorable field, and this year is no exception, led by last week's wire-to-wire winner Phil Mickelson.

Jeff Gove may not have enjoyed the scenery as much as he would have liked as he played his practice rounds. After failing to make it into last week's field, Gove is back, albeit on the heels of three straight missed cuts to open the season. Gove talked over the winter about the importance of starting the season on the right foot, and he has been far from that to this point.

With a full 156-man field at Pebble, the task doesn't get much easier. The event utilizes an unique three-course rotation system, with Spyglass Hill and Monterey Peninsula Golf Links joining Pebble in the three-day rota before a cut is made on Saturday night. All courses play less than 7,000 yards, but the damp winter air, selection of tight doglegs and traditionally wet conditions keep bombers from having a heyday.

The good news for Gove is that he will have at least three days to test his game, as opposed to the usual two before the cut. But if he continues to struggle, he won't be around for Sunday, and the wait for his first check of the season will continue.

Gove gets Pebble first, teeing off at 8:11 on Thursday morning with Matt Every.