Pettersson heads inaugural Ginn sur Mer Classic
BY Bruce Young | US PGA Tour | 2007 Ginn sur Mer Classic at Tesoro | Preview | 24 Oct 2007
For the second consecutive week the PGA Tour stages a new event, this time the Ginn sur Mer Classic at the Arnold Palmer designed Tesoro Club in Port Saint Lucie on the South East coast of Florida.
The tournament is a relatively late replacement for the Running Horse Championship in Fresno in California, an event which may eventually be back on the schedule albeit under new owners after the original developers got into financial difficulties.
With only this event and next week’s Children’s Miracle Network Classic at the Disneyworld complex in Orlando as the two remaining events on the 2007 USPGA Tour, there is now little time left for those looking to turn around and ordinary year and for those looking to avoid Tour School to do so.
The event has attracted not one player from the top thirty in the world but given what is at stake for many it promises to be an even and tightly fought contest.
Carl Pettersson, who is ranked only 54th in the world, is perhaps the player in the best form at present amongst those who will be teeing it up on Thursday. With three top ten finishes in his last four starts, including a 4th last week in Scottsdale, Pettersson has a great chance to win his first event of 2007. Pettersson won the Chrysler Championship in Tampa two years ago.
Sean O’Hair reached the lead during the final round of last week’s Fry’s Electronics Open before a late stumble. The 25-year-old has been building towards his second USPGA Tour win in the last few weeks and it would not surprise if it came at this event. He has often played well in Florida.
Lucas Glover has hardly been outside the top 20 in the last few months and as a winner in Florida two years ago he should have no issues with this week’s venue Jesper Parnevik seems to have rediscovered his game in recent times and, at a time when his game was not quite as good, he had good finishes at this time last year in Florida. Parnevik appears to be a very good long shot chance this week.
Heath Slocum has produced a long list of very solid weeks of late and has played well at this time of the year and also in Florida in previous times.
Justin Leonard’s recent return to form might well continue this week. He has won in this region previously when winning the Honda Classic in 2003. He finished 6th last week two weeks after his win in Texas.
Robert Allenby played beautifully at the start of the year including when 5th at the nearby Honda Classic and there has again been glimpses in late season events that that form is returning although he is not as convincing as earlier in the year.
There are many other Australians with varying agendas playing this week. Jarrod Lyle made a big move last week but he still has a lot to do if he is to avoid stage two of the Tour School or perhaps even better. Stephen Leaney, Andrew Buckle, Gavin Coles, Michael Sim, Paul Gow and New Zealander Grant Waite all get a chance to make or break their seasons although Leaney has already guaranteed himself of a return to the PGA Tour next year.
