Lonard heads the rest in Mexico
BY Bruce Young | US PGA Tour | 2008 Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya | Preview | 21 Feb 2008
While the bulk of the stars on the PGA Tour are in Arizona this week many of those at the other end of the PGA Tour scale are trying their luck in Mexico at this week’s Mayakoba Classic.
The tournament is in it’s second year and was the first official PGA Tour event to be played in Mexico when it debuted last year. The event is being played at the Greg Norman-designed El Camaleon golf course, just along the Carribean Coast from Cancun and which opened in 2006. Norman has an even more significant reason to be involved this week as it is his own events company, Great White Shark Enterprise, who stage the tournament.
The defending champion is the Champions Tour player Fred Funk, who has shown even past the age of 50 that he is still capable of contending in fields against players more than half his age, his recent 10th place at the Sony Open testament to that. Funk also won the season opening event on this year’s Champions Tour in Hawaii. He won here by a shot in 2007 from Jose Coceres with Peter Lonard in third place.
Peter Lonard at number 66 is the highest world ranked player in the event and is one of only two players from the top 100 in the field although with 64 of them chasing US$8 million further north in Arizona it is hardly surprising.
Lonard finished 22nd last week in Los Angeles in what was an improved effort from him and provided his clubs have been safely recovered after disappearing on his flight from Los Angeles, he could do well.
Steve Marino is another who might be considered given his reasonable form of late and that he finished 8th in the event last year.
The other player from the top 100 is Joe Durant who has been making steady improvement in recent weeks, his 14th place at Riviera an example of just that.
Corey Pavin had a great week at Pebble Beach two weeks ago and this might just be a course to suit him as it did another short but straight hitter in Fred Funk last year.
Given the fact the so many of the leading players are elsewhere this week, many players on the fringe of full PGA Tour get starts in addition to those who are fully eligible, amongst them several Australasians.
Greg Norman, Nick Flanagan, Matt Jones, Brett Rumford, Mark Hensby, Andrew Buckle, Michael Sim, Gavin Coles, Steve Allan, Tim Wilkinson and Phil Tataurangi are all scheduled to tee it up.
Norman, or at least his company, is involved in the running of the event and while it may appear this is a showing to support his event on a golf course he designed, it should be remembered he finished 7th at the recent South African Open.
Just US$3.5 million is on offer but this is an event that could well change the life of a struggling player.
