Then there are those using the Utah Championship for different reasons.

Zimbabwe's Brendon de Jonge, 28, and 27-year-old Australia's Jarrod Lyle, No. 1 and 2, respectively, on the Nationwide money list, have already done enough to earn their tour cards for 2009. They want to continue to play well and earn as much as possible. Their futures remain full of possibility.

Then there is Bobby Clampett, 48, who has changed his focus from television back to golf. The former PGA veteran - and staple of the CBS broadcasting team - is officially out of retirement.

Tee-off for the four-day event on the 6,953 yard, Par 71 course begins at 7:40 a.m. Defending champion Franklin Langham has withdrawn, but 24 of the tour's top 25 money earners are participating for the first prize of $99,000. The total purse is $550,000.

"I've given myself a lot of chances," said Lyle, who won the Mexican Open and Knoxville Open. "I was going to stay on the tour the whole year and hopefully get my [PGA] card back. Looking back, it was the perfect decision."

Should Lyle win his third tournament, he will earn the "battlefield" exemption to the PGA Tour. In addition, the player who finishes first on the money list receives an invitation to The Players Championship in May.

"Which is huge," de Jonge said.

As for Clampett, a three-time All-American at Brigham Young University (1978-80) who has been essentially retired since 1995, the fires of competition are burning again. He is looking to the Champions Tour when he turns 50.

"God, yes," he said. "There's nothing like the thrill and excitement of competing and the work it takes to get there; the preparation, the working out, the focus.

"I'm going out to compete hard and see what happens."

martyr@sltrib.com