Nationwide Tour plays Xmas in October
BY Bruce Young | Nationwide Tour | 2009 Christmas In October | Preview | 20 Aug 2009
The Nationwide Tour plays the unusually named Christmas in October Presented by Kansas City Raiders event at the Nicklaus Golf Club in Overland Park just outside of Kansas City.
Christmas in October is a Kansas City based Charity building homes for the elderly and the disabled and this year they will benefit from the inaugural staging of this event.
As the venue name suggests the golf course is a Jack Nicklaus designed layout built in 2001 and measures 7251 yards.
The Nationwide Tour money leader in 2009 Michael Sim will play his first event on the Nationwide Tour for two weeks having played last week at the PGA Championship where for the second time this season he made the cut in a major championship.
Sim has been brilliant all season, his only hiccup coming when he missed the cut at his last Nationwide Tour start but that aside he has dominated proceedings throughout the season. A final round of 71 on the demanding last day at Hazeltine National suggests he is not too far from where he needs to be to win his third event of the season and therefore graduate immediately to the PGA Tour via the three win Battlefield promotion category.
Recent winners Chris Tidland, Justin Bolli, Derek Lamely, Tom Gillis and Alex Prugh and one who hasn’t won this season but is very much overdue, Blake Adams are expected to provide Sim with his toughest opposition.
The Australasian presence as is always the case each and every week in 2009 is numerically very strong. Along with Sim, Steve Alker, Adam Bland, Andrew Bonhomme, Andrew Buckle, Gavin Coles, Stuart Deane, Nick Flanagan, Scott Gardiner, Paul Gow, Bradley Iles, Won Joon Lee, David McKenzie, Alistair Presnell, Phil Tataurangi and Grant Waite ensure many down-under chances.
Scott Gardiner is one who could well lead the Australians this week if Sim has an off week. Gardiner seems to have found something with his game having been the leading Australian in each of his last two starts.
