Some need miracle at Children's Classic
BY Bruce Young | US PGA Tour | 2009 Childrens Miracle Network Classic | Preview | 10 Nov 2009
The final event of the 2009 PGA Tour season is played this week in Orlando and for several Australians it is potentially the most important event of the year.
Five Australians are playing the event which falls opposite one of the most hyped event in Australian golf for many years, the J.B. Were Masters at Kingston Heath where Tiger Woods plays his first event in Australia for 11 years.
Four of those five have chosen to do so as they need a big week if they are to regain their status on the PGA Tour in 2010. Aron Price, Jarrod Lyle, Peter Lonard and Steve Elkington are in that category and Nick O’Hern is also playing, although, currently in 99th position on the money list, O’Hern is assured of being back on the PGA Tour next season.
The tournament is again being played at the Magnolia and Palm Golf Clubs at Lake Buena Vista about twenty kilometres to the south and west of Orlando.
Zach Johnson has put together a run of solid tournaments in the last few months and although his record in the event is nothing too special he could still do well.
Justin Leonard has played this event just twice, finishing runner up in 2007 and has a similar record to Johnson in recent months.
Steve Marino will be on his way to Australia in the next few weeks and could become a more commercially viable drawcard when he arrives if he was to win this week. There is no reason why he can’t win, his 7th place finish at the Tour Championship an indication of his class. He finished third in the event last year which is a good indication of what might be this week.
The tournament will have a lot of drama on the final day as those on or around the bubble begin leader-board watching over the closing stages to see how they may be impacted in the race for reinstatement on the PGA Tour.
