PGA Tour nears end with Viking Classic
BY Bruce Young | US PGA Tour | 2009 Viking Classic | Preview | 29 Oct 2009
The PGA Tour is in Mississippi this week for the Viking Classic, the second to last full field event of the 2009 season.
The event is played at the Jack Nicklaus designed and then re-designed Annandale Golf Club in Madison, Mississippi, where it, or its equivalent, has been played since 1994. The tournament itself however, under different names, has a history dating back to 1968 and has been played at either the Hattiesburg Golf Club or this week’s venue in all of that time.
Despite the lesser prize-money than most PGA Tour events being played for this week (US$3.6 million), the tournament takes on extra significance given its place in the schedule and the desperation for some players to advance their cause on the money list as they search for security of tenure in 2010.
Will McKenzie won a playoff in 2008 over Brian Gay and Marc Turnesa in 2008 and in 2007 Chad Campbell edged out Johnson Wagner by a shot.
Two of the three players involved in last week’s playoff for the title in Scottsdale, Troy Matteson and Rickie Fowler are in the field with Fowler’s effort last week affording him the luxury of missing Stage One of Tour School. The news was not quite so good for the other involved in the playoff, Jamie Lovemark, whose monies in 2009 were not sufficient for him to avoid heading to Stage One where he will be this week.
It is always hard to back up a win with another the next week but Matteson has played well enough in this event on previous occasions for him to be a factor again this week.
Previous winner Campbell has credentials given his recent form and there will be much interest in the performance of two of the game’s hottest young stars in Michael Sim and Rickie Fowler. In just two other starts in the event, Campbell has finished runner up and 4th.
Heath Slocum finished 8th last week in Scottsdale, won the Barclays event two months ago and won around this golf course in 2005.
Australians Michael Sim, James Nitties, Aron Price, Jarrod Lyle, Matt Jones, Nathan Green, Steve Allan, Nick O’Hern, Peter Lonard, Steve Elkington, Stuart Appleby are all playing for various reasons. Price, Lyle, Jones, Allan, Lonard, Elkington and Appleby need good, and for some great, weeks if they are to have any chance of fully exempt status in 2010.
