Bell South Classic final tune up for Augusta
IN: News | US PGA | BellSouth Classic (2003) | Preview | by Bruce Young | 01 Apr 2003
With the field for Augusta now firmly locked away, many of those eligible for The Masters will use the Bell South Classic as the final chance to get their games in shape before the first major of the year.
Others will choose to miss this week and prepare away from the limelight while many of those not qualified for Augusta will jump at the chance to play a very fine golf course and of course for the purse of $US4,000,000.
The event has quite a history, although it has been known under several names since it's inaugural staging back in 1967 when the New Zealander Bob Charles won the Atlanta Classic, as it was known then. It became the Bell South Classic in 1992 and switched from its long time home, the Atlanta Golf Club in 1997.
The setup of the golf course at the TPC of Sugarloaf allows an excellent preparation for Augusta as the topography is similar, the greens bent grass and are as quick and heavily contoured as Augusta's and, as such, provide similar conditions to those they will experience next week. It is located just north of Atlanta in the area known as Duluth, about two hours drive from Augusta, another reason why they can secure many of those playing next week.
For the first time in several weeks the field get to play on bent greens having moved away from the tropical climates of Florida. The greens here are sown in Crenshaw and Cato bentgrass although the tees and fairways are Bermuda grasses. The greens are expected to run at 11 on the stimpmeter although the contouring on the greens will make many of them run faster than that.
The course, the first designed by Greg Norman in the US, was opened to great fanfare in 1997 and was an immediate hit with the players.
The defending champion is Retief Goosen with other recent winners being Scott McCarron (twice), Phil Mickelson, David Duval and Tiger Woods.
Leading players currently entered are the defending champion Goosen, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh and David Toms.
Australasians scheduled at present are Greg Chalmers, Gavin Coles, Steve Elkington, Mathew Goggin, Scott Laycock, Peter Lonard, James McLean, Greg Norman, Anthony Painter, John Senden, Phil Tataurangi and Paul Gow, who is awaiting a start from the reserve bench.
