It is all about job security. In the real world, for sure. But in the golf world, too.

This time of year, that is always the case. Unless you are one of the biggest names in the game, a player who has secured future exemptions through victories or world rankings, the end of the golf year is about locking up the future -- which typically means only one year and being faced with doing it all over again.

Stan Badz/PGA Tour

At the Sony Open in January, Tadd Fujikawa wowed the home Hawaii crowd with his third-round 62. A final-round 73 dashed his hopes of a PGA Tour victory. The 18-year-old has dreams of earning playing privileges for 2010 but will have to endure PGA Tour Q-school to make that a reality.

So while a few dozen players compete around the world this week in an otherwise carefree setting -- Fred Couples, Justin Leonard and Tim Clark come to mind in Scottsdale; Sergio Garcia, Angel Cabrera and Jose Maria Olazabal, among others, in Spain -- it's now mostly about the pressure of the moment for dozens, if not hundreds, of players.

The Nationwide Tour concludes its season this week.

The PGA Tour is down to three remaining tournaments.

And the dreaded Q-school begins across the country.

At all of these places, the PGA Tour and securing a spot on it will be on players' minds, whether it be finishing among the top 25 money winners (Nationwide), top 125 money winners (PGA) or earning one of 25 spots through the annual qualifying tournament.

Here is a brief rundown of what is at stake:

Nationwide Tour -- This week's Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island is for the top 60 money winners. While the $1 million purse offers a big payday ($180,000 to the winner), there is more at stake than cash.

The top 25 on the final money list earn a promotion to the PGA Tour in 2010, and where they are slotted determines their priority ranking for next year and impacts the number of tournaments they will get to enter.

Those currently in the top 15 are guaranteed to finish in the top 25. The 59th player -- Garrett Osborn -- can move into the top 25 with a second-place finish. No. 60 Darron Stiles is not playing because he has a spot in this week's Frys.com Open on the PGA Tour.

PGA Tour -- Stiles is taking his chances at the Frys.com, the third of five Fall Series events on the PGA Tour. After this comes next week's Viking Classic, a week off, and then the Children's Miracle Network Classic at Disney World.

A win in any of these tournaments secures a PGA Tour exemption for the next two years and gets a player into a number of tournaments in 2010, including the Players Championship, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship. Short of that, a top-10 finish earns a spot the following week if the player is not already in the field.

From there, things get more complicated. Players are fighting to get into the top 125 on the money list so they can be fully exempt for next year; short of that, they want to be at least among the top 150 -- because that gives them some tour status and exempts them into the final stage of Q-school. Fall outside of the top 150, and they have no tour status (unless they've qualified in some other way, such as a victory last year). If they still want professional playing privileges, they must go to the second stage of Q-school.

PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament -- Better known as Q-school, first-stage 72-hole qualifiers began this week and will also continue next week. There are 13 of them, with approximately 20 participants (the numbers vary by site) advancing from each location to the second stage of qualifying next month.

Among those entered in first-stage sites are former U.S. Amateur champion Danny Lee, who played in 12 PGA Tour events this year but did not earn enough money to avoid having to endure all three stages of Q-school. Rickie Fowler, who is coming off a tie for seventh in Las Vegas, is also entered in a qualifier next week but will have to decide between that and possibly playing the Viking Classic on the PGA Tour.

If Fowler forgoes the qualifier, his only way to make the PGA Tour is to finish among the top 125 money winners -- a tall order in just four events -- or to at least be among the top 150, which would give him the ability to accept unlimited sponsor exemptions next year.

Other names you might have heard of at first stage: Erik Compton, Tadd Fujikawa, Jamie Lovemark, Ty Tryon and Gary Nicklaus. Yes, the son of the Golden Bear, who once lost in a playoff to Phil Mickelson at the BellSouth Classic, had regained his amateur status but is back for another shot at the pro game.

The second-stage qualifiers are Nov. 18-21 at six sites and a predetermined number will advance to the Q-school finals, Dec. 2-7, in West Palm Beach, Fla.

One thing is certain: There are a bunch of guys who tee off this week with hopes of making it to the finals of Q-school -- while a good number tee off hoping to avoid it.

Is he or isn't he?

There are indications that Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, who until last week was leading the European Tour's Race to Dubai (money list) at age 20, will join the PGA Tour next year. McIlroy is eligible due to money earnings in co-sanctioned PGA Tour events he played such as the majors and the World Golf Championship events.

"Following a series of talks with his manager Chubby Chandler, McIlroy has worked out he only needs to add four more events to those he played in America this year to qualify for the FedEx Cup," reported the UK's Daily Mail. "And he believes cutting down his European schedule will not affect his chances of making his much anticipated Ryder Cup debut for Colin Montgomerie's team next September."

McIlroy's agent, Chubby Chandler, refuted the report in an e-mail to Sports Business Journal.

"Rory has decided not to join the PGA Tour in 2010," Chandler said.

McIlroy said earlier this year that he would likely stick to Europe. He has won just shy of $850,000 on the PGA Tour, which would put him 97th on the money list and allow him to take his full playing card next year. If he had wanted to do so, he would need to notify the PGA Tour of his intentions by the end of next month.

Interestingly, the European Tour -- which last year increased to 12 from 11 the number of events required to be a member -- has been kicking around the idea of requiring players to play more events in Europe in order to retain membership.

A look at this week's venue

The Raptor Course at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., is a Tom Fazio design that dates to 1995. It is one of two courses at the club and the home to the Frys.com Open for the third year.

The par-70, 7,125-yard course was 41st out of 54 in difficulty on the PGA Tour last year, which means those who hope to be in contention better plan on going low. Last year, Cameron Beckman and Kevin Sutherland finished at 262, 18 under par. Beckman won in a playoff. Kevin Stadler shot a course-record 61 in the second round, but missed the cut after opening with an 80.

The toughest hole on the course is the par-3 16th. It plays 211 yards downhill with a creek and a greenside pond in play.

Grayhawk has been the site of the three-year-old tournament since its inception as part of the Fall Series two years ago.

Grayhawk was the site of Tiger Woods' first Williams World Challenge in 1999 won by Tom Lehman. That tournament moved to Southern California a year later and is now known as the Chevron World Championship.

Bob Harig covers golf for ESPN.com. He can be reached at BobHarig@gmail.com.