Fall Series underway with Viking Classic
BY Bruce Young | US PGA Tour | 2010 Viking Classic | Preview | 29 Sep 2010
The PGA Tour returns to a certain level of normality this week when the Viking Classic is played at the Annandale Golf Club in Madison in Mississippi.
For those players looking to survive on the PGA Tour however and who have not played for several week as a result of the FedEx Playoffs it will hardly seem normal.
This is where those struggling to retain their status for next season have a chance to do just that although nowadays any PGA Tour field is full of class players even if they did not play the Playoffs and are themselves struggling in 2010.
The event is the first of the Fall Series which includes five events between now and the middle of November.
The Annandale Golf Club has played host to this event since 1994 although in 2009 the event was abandoned without a ball being struck after heavy rain had made the course unplayable.
The tournament is being played a month earlier in 2010 and hopefully that might just make a difference in terms of any weather issues.
As a result of the abandonment last year the defending champion is Will MacKenzie who needs another big week this week in order to retain his playing privileges. He has not enjoyed a good run since his victory but an encouraging 12th place finish including a couple of low rounds at the recent Wyndham Championship gives him some hope.
The leading world ranked player in the field is 38th placed Henrik Stenson who despite a 3rd place at the Open Championship in July has struggled of late. In better days he might have been in Wales this week but he is here no doubt to improve his 122nd position on the PGA Tour money list.
Australians in the field include Aaron Baddeley, Steve Elkington, Mathew Goggin, Nathan Green, David Lutterus, Jarrod Lyle, James Nitties, Rod Pampling, Cameron Percy, Aron Price and John Senden with most of that group in need of a good finish over the Fall Series in order to be playing the PGA Tour in 2010.
Price, Nitties, Goggin, Lyle, Pampling, Percy and Lutterus are all currently outside the all important top 125.
Nathan Green is also in that category but because of his victory in Canada last year he has another year of exemption.
