Halloween or the Pro-Am?

Doug Ferguson writes that Phil Mickelson may have done Tim Finchem a favor by skipping the Tour Championship. And he says that Mickelson is citing Halloween and a desire to be with his family instead of playing Tuesday's pro-am as the reason he isn't playing.

Lefty won't say this publicly, but what annoys him is the PGA Tour's policy that players must take part in the pro-am to play in the tournament. He already cited that as the reason he didn't play at the Memorial, which also has a Tuesday pro-am. Mickelson had plans to be at Pinehurst No. 2 to prepare for the U.S. Open that week.

The pro-am for the Tour Championship was Tuesday, a good reason for him to pull out. Mickelson reasoned that he couldn't possibly get from San Diego to Atlanta for the pro-am after such a big night for the kids.

Mickelson's absence has minor ripples. Lucas Glover, the last guy to qualify, will have to play alone in the first round. The tournament lost a fair chunk of change from the pro-am considering it cost nearly $40,000 for each three-man team of amateurs, and one team didn't have a pro.

Dumb question here, but why doesn't #31 on the money list get in if someone does no enter?  Wouldn't that deal with the pro-am and onesome situations?

It wasn't like Mickelson pulled out at the last minute. 

Boy the Tour does some strange things.