Alker, Baddeley and Coles now USPGA Tour recruits

BY Bruce Young | Nationwide Tour | 2002 Buy.com Tour Championship | Wrap | 28 Oct 2002

The long wait is over for Steve Alker, Aaron Baddeley and Gavin Coles, each of whom is now in possession of the hottest ticket in town, namely a 2003 USPGA Tour card.

The week’s Tour Championship was already full of tension, given what was at stake, but the inclement weather and the uncertainty of whether the last round could be completed or not led to even further drama. In the end, however, it was not and the standing after 54 holes determined the outcome of the event and in some cases the playing future of several of the players.

Steve Alker, who had been in fifteenth place on the money list just two weeks ago and facing the uncertainty of whether he would or would not make it to the main tour, produced two second placed finishes in as many weeks to wind up in fourth place for the season and a prized number four card.

Baddeley finished 13th here and 10th for the season and his dream of a tour card has been realised. Gavin Coles may well be blessing the decision to call the last round off as he was struggling in twenty-sixth place in the tournament at the time and with the momentum going against him. His top fifteen money list spot was in some jeopardy prior to play being halted.

For the record, Patrick Moore won his third event of the season and gets immediate graduation to the main tour, which means he can tee it up at the Southern Farm event this week. He was the beneficiary of what is known as the “Battlefield promotion” deal where three wins in a season on the Buy.Com Tour gains instant access to the USPGA Tour.

Every player in the top fifteen prior to the event retained their position with Steve Alker’s the biggest move, jumping from tenth to fourth with his tie for second. The decision call the event off had little impact overall on the positions at that time.

Anthony Painter finished 19th in the tournament but needed something much better than that if he was going to challenge a top fifteen spot. He finished the year in 21st place on the money list with Mark Hensby close behind at 33rd and Peter O’Malley, who played just the three Buy.com events including his win in Christchurch, was 34th with USD$121,125.

Final Round – Australasian Scores
T2 -8 Steven Alker (71-69-68)
T13 -4 Aaron Baddeley (68-72-72)
T17 -3 Gavin Coles (70-69-74)
T19 -2 Anthony Painter (75-69-70)
T33 1 Zoran Zorkic (74-70-73)
T40 4 Mark Hensby (74-73-73)

2002 Final Australasian Moneylist – Buy.com
4 Steven Alker – $247,008
10 Aaron Baddeley – $216,536
13 Gavin Coles – $189,745
21 Anthony Painter – $151,122
32 Zoran Zorkic – $124,386
33 Mark Hensby – $123,825
34 Peter O’Malley – $121,125

• Prizemoney listed in US dollars