Fort Smith lines up against US Open
BY Bruce Young | Nationwide Tour | 2009 Fort Smith Classic | Preview | 17 Jun 2009
Perhaps surprisingly the Nationwide Tour will this week run an event opposite the US Open, the Fort Smith Classic being played in Fort Smith in Arkansas.
The leading player on this year’s Nationwide Tour will not be teeing it up, Michael Sim having gained a start at the US Open via Sectional Qualifying a week ago. Many feel he has a great chance for a good week at Bethpage although clearly it is another level above what he has been competing against of late.
The event will again be played over the Perry Maxwell designed Hardscrabble Country Club where it has been since the event’s inception in 1998. The winner in 2008 was Colt Knost who will not be in this week’s field having graduated to the PGA Tour as a result of that win and other good tournaments on the Nationwide Tour in 2008.
Last week in Knoxville Kevin Johnson assured himself of a return to the PGA Tour in 2010 by winning his second event of the season and the very much in form golfer will tee it up again this week as he seeks his third win of the season and automatic graduation to the PGA Tour.
The third and fourth placed players on the Nationwide Tour money list in 2009, Garth Mulroy and Alex Prugh, are also in the field and both have claims for success. Prugh lost his way after his win at the New Zealand Open but in recent weeks seems to be once again finding the form that saw him win in Queenstown. His last round of 65 in Knoxville to finish 8th has him primed for this week.
Mulroy has missed only one cut in 9 events this season, that coming in Maryland two weeks ago where he started slowly before recovering with a second round of 68. It was not good enough to earn a game at the weekend there but he is playing well enough to contend again and add another win to that he recorded in South Georgia six week ago.
New Zealander Bradley Iles is coming of age on the Nationwide Tour, his playoff loss last week in Knoxville highlighting the improvement in his game.
2007 winner Jay Williamson has played on the PGA Tour of late and while he has not contended for some time on that Tour he is a player good enough to have finished runner up at that higher level twice in the past two years.
David McKenzie is perhaps the next obvious Australasian after Iles having gone so close to winning last week in Knoxville. Others are the 1998 winner of this event, Mark Hensby, Adam Bland, Scott Gardiner, Won Joon Lee, Andre Stolz, Andrew Buckle, Paul Gow, Alistair Presnell, Phil Tataurangi, Grant Waite, Steve Bowditch and Ewan Porter.
