Top youngsters all the talk at John Deere
BY Bruce Young | US PGA Tour | 2006 John Deere Classic | Preview | 12 Jul 2006
The John Deere Classic might have be considered as one of the lesser events on the USPGA Tour, but there is little doubt that in 2006 there is more interest in the event than ever before.
Two of the finest achievers in recent years in junior golf will take to the fairways of the TPC at Deere run in Silvis, Illinois, very close to the area known as Quad Cities on the Mississippi River between Iowa and Illinois.
Michelle Wie and Jason Day are invitees into an event where Sean O’Hair will defend a title he won last year by a shot over Robert Damron and Hank Keuhne. Day announced his decision to turn professional in the last few days and of course 16-year-old Wie, already a successful professional, has gone close to winning on the LPGA Tour in recent weeks including when finishing two shots behind the Sorenstam and Hurst playoff at the US Open at the Newport Country Club just over a week ago.
Day has been in the US for a few weeks playing amateur events and finally made the decision to turn professional in the last week or so. He had originally intended on waiting to see if he made the Australian Eisenhower Team or not but things fell into place quickly for him and secured starts this week, next week at the BC Open and at the International in Colorado made the decision a lot easier for him.
Jason Day Interview by Bruce Young
Day played in a practice round come Charity Day today with Michelle Wie, Zach Johnson and Sean O’Hair.
“I felt I did ok,” he told me in chat not long after his round. “Michelle was very impressive and although I shouldn’t be telling you this she got it past me a couple of times,” he said, laughing.
Day will have as many as seven invites, providing his management company can secure the starts, with his initial target conditional status for 2007.
“If I don’t manage to do that then I will head to Tour School.”
For Wie it will be another attempt to become the first woman to make a cut on the USPGA Tour in more than sixty years. She has gone close in the past, but irrespective of whether she does or not this week there is little doubt already of the interest and magnetism she brings to the event. There is also little doubt that if there is to be any woman to break the long standing barrier and play the weekend in any USPGA Tour event, it is Michelle Wie.
Last year she had a great chance at this event before stumbling her way to the finish line on Friday. She had raced to the turn that day in three under and at that stage she was only a one over par back nine away from getting the job done. Things were still looking good with just four holes to go as she could afford to drop one shot and still be there. Unfortunately for the then 15-year-old she double bogeyed her 15th hole and bogeyed the 16th to eventually miss by two.
Theoretically Wie must be a better player ten months down the track and if she once again gets into that situation it will be interesting to witness the manner in which she handles such. Still, at this stage, it is all but speculation.
Zach Johnson is likely to be the favourite. Apart from a missed cut at the US Open, his form in recent months has been solid and although he has done nothing special at the TPC at Deere Run, he is going well enough to be more than just a consideration.
Like Johnson, Ben Crane is in good enough form to do well. His recent 6th placing at the Booze Allen was impressive and although he has had no joy at this tournament he is one of the leading players in the field.
The defending champion, O’Hair, seems to be playing a little better of late after a poor start to his second season on tour. It might just be that this week’s event and a return to a place that has provided warm and fuzzy feelings might just be all that is needed to get him back contending again, like he was so often as a rookie in 2005.
Shigeki Maruyama’s recent fifth at the Buick Championship is a signal of better things for him after a slow start to season 2006. He was 7th in this event in 2005 and might be on the verge of returning to the winners circle.
Camilo Villegas and Nathan Green have been outstanding in their rookie seasons and might just do well as might Bo Van Pelt and Steve Stricker, the latter of whom let us down last week, but who has played very well in recent months. Van Pelt has made his last sixteen cuts and although he has missed both his cuts at this course he is a much better player now than when that was the case three years ago.
The Australasians other than Day and Green include, John Senden, Steve Elkington, last week’s surprise packet, Stephen Leaney, the injured Brendan Jones, Craig Parry, Greg Chalmers, Scott Hend and New Zealander Phil Tataurangi.
