But while sixth-ranked Jenny Gleason was edged out of earning one of the exempt LPGA Tour cards awarded to the five top-ranked players on the 2005 FUTURES Tour, the native of Clearwater, Fla., feels confident that she can convert her No. 6 ranking into exempt LPGA Tour status at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, which begins next month.

"Of course it was hard swallowing it coming right out of the tournament in York [Pa.]," said Gleason, 25, who completed her second season on the FUTURES Tour this year. "To have remained in the top five for a good part of the season and then to get completely knocked out at the last tournament was tough. I was expecting to get a card. All I can say was 'I was right there.'"

But Gleason, a non-exempt member of the LPGA Tour, expects to be right where she wants to be when the LPGA's final qualifier begins Nov. 30. The 90-hole marathon for 2006 playing status will be held Nov. 30 through Dec. 4, at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla. And Gleason's focus prior to that event has been less on what she just missed getting, than on what she hopes to earn.

"I have good expectations at Q. School," said Gleason, who was edged out of the No. 5 position by Korean rookie Sun Young Yoo. "I got outplayed down the stretch this year and Sun Young played very well during those last few weeks. I can only be happy for her, but I'm also confident about where I want to go from here."

Yoo, in fact, poured it on with three top-five finishes, including one win in Morgantown, W.Va., in her last five tournaments. Meanwhile, Gleason posted only two top-10s in her last five events, including disappointing finishes in the final two tournaments in which she placed out of the top 50. That certainly was not what the two-time season winner expected.

But now that the 2005 season is over, Gleason says her thoughts are geared to what lies ahead. To prepare for the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, she has spent the last several weeks with her swing coach fine-tuning aspects of her game. Last week, she traveled to Mobile, Ala., to work with a sports psychologist. And finally, the petite player admitted to a goal that few other women would ever dare to mention as an aspiration.

"I'm trying to add between 10-15 pounds," said Gleason, who is 5-foot-4 and 112 pounds. "It's hard for me to gain weight and it's not going to happen overnight, but I've upped my protein and I've been in the gym working with a trainer to get stronger."

Gleason suffered an injury last week while swinging a weighted club that she has used "maybe a thousand times before." Her shoulder popped out of socket, then popped back into place. It was quick, but painful, and once again, the former University of North Carolina at Greensboro player was forced to pause.

"I saw my whole career flash in front of me when that happened," she said. "Hopefully, it's nothing. I have a full range of motion and I'm resting it."

Gleason can carry more than just the confidence from her 2005 season with her to LPGA Q. School this year. After two seasons on the FUTURES Tour, she improved from one top-10 finish in 2004, to six top-10s this year. Her scoring average of 73.70 in her 2004 rookie year dipped to 71.98 this season. And her back-to-back FUTURES Tour wins in Lima, Ohio and Decatur, Ill., were sandwiched between her decision to turn down a spot in the LPGA tournament in Rochester, N.Y., which was held during the same week as the FUTURES Tour event in Decatur. Gleason was playing well and moving up the FUTURES Tour's Money List, so she opted to ride her momentum. It was a choice that rendered her second professional win.

"The difference between this year and last year is that my short game and wedge game is a little better," she said of her 2005 season. "Mentally, I had the same approach except that I tried to come up with a game plan for each course that we played. I think that really helped."

As a non-exempt LPGA Tour member, Gleason got into eight LPGA Tour events, but played in only three. Instead of bouncing between the two tours or attempting to Monday qualify for LPGA events, she stayed with the FUTURES with an eye on one of those five LPGA Tour cards available to the top players at the end of the season. And even though she fell one spot short, Gleason believes the path she chose was correct.

"If I could do it all over again, I'd do the same thing," she said. "There are so many great players who can win any week on the FUTURES Tour. Knowing that I can win at this level can do nothing but help me at the next level. You have to learn how to walk before you can run."

Gleason says she is "excited" and "prepared" for LPGA Final Qualifying. She finds that both the Champions and Legends courses used in the tournament set up well for her game. Straight drives are her calling card. Hot putting is her signature.

But patience and a certain personal calmness is more a part of Gleason's arsenal and maturity as a professional than any club in her bag. True, she possesses a fearlessness on the golf course, but more importantly, she understands the same need to defy fear outside of the ropes.

"I didn't look at getting my [exempt] LPGA card this season as my last chance," she said. "Instead, I see my golf career as a huge circle and I've completed only about three inches of that circle."

"But I'm glad I've had two years on the FUTURES Tour," added Gleason. "I have no doubt I'll be playing on the LPGA Tour someday and whether it's in 2006 or 2007, I'll get there. If I get my card this year at Q. School, that's great, but if I don't, it's not the end of the world. I have a real peace about it all because I know this is what I'm supposed to be doing."