American Express pits the best against the best
IN: News | US PGA | American Express Championship (2002) | Preview | by Bruce Young | 16 Sep 2002
Played over the Jack Nicklaus designed Mount Juliet course at Kilkenny in County Kilkenny in Ireland, the American Express World Golf Championship comes to Ireland for the first time after two years at Valderamma in Spain and the cancellation last year as a result of September 11th issues. The venue is some two hours drive south of Dublin.
The course, opened in 1991, has hosted two Irish Opens in 1993 (Nick Faldo), 1994 (Bernhard Langer) and 1995 (Sam Torrance) but it has recently undergone alterations to increase length and add several new features. That work also undertaken by Nicklaus.
As you would expect from an event that carries the tag of a World Golf Championship and a purse of $US5,500,000 the tournament has attracted virtually every player from the top fifty in the world rankings plus the leading players from money lists on several tours around the world. Approximately sixty three players are currently eligible with the only additions being those who make it into the top twenty on the European money list by September 16th (add Stephen Leaney and Gary Evans).
Perhaps reflecting the current form of the respective Ryder Cup sides, five of the European team (Fulke, McGinley, Parnevik, Price and Westwood) have not earned a start in the event while only two from the US team (Sutton and Cink) will not be there.
Tiger Woods, not seen since The NEC, will play this week as will every top fifty player with the exception of Toshi Izawa who, along with fellow country men Nobuhito Sato and Toru Taniguchi, has declined an invitation to play.
Australians Robert Allenby, Stuart Appleby, Adam Scott, Craig Parry, Peter Lonard, Scott Laycock, Peter O'Malley and now Stephen Leaney will line up this week, as will New Zealanders Michael Campbell and Craig Perks. Perks is inside the top thirty on the US money list and O'Malley and Laycock get starts via the top three on the Australasian Tour money list. All other Australasians are top fifty world rankings qualifiers in addition to other categories for some.
