It is the tournament that separates champions from mortals. It is the starting point for the careers of future legends and can be the final stop on the down escalator for fading stars. The annual PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament is one of the most grueling competitions in any sport. Every fall, veterans and talented hopefuls sweat through six rounds of hell at Q school, as the tournament is universally known, to get a shot at the PGA Tour, vying for the thirty slots available. The grim reality: If you don't make it through Q school, you're not on the PGA tour. With arresting accounts from the players, America's favorite sportswriter unearths the inside story behind the PGA Tour's brutal all-or-nothing competition.

John Feinstein is the bestselling author of Caddy for Life, Open, The Majors, and A Good Walk Spoiled. He lives in Maryland and New York with his wife, son, and daughter.