Wie circus rolls in to Reno-Tahoe Open
BY Bruce Young | US PGA Tour | 2008 Reno-Tahoe Open | Preview | 29 Jul 2008
It may be the secondary tournament on the PGA Tour this week but, for many, this week’s Legends Reno Tahoe Open in Nevada may well equally important as the WGC event is for those competing in Ohio.
With the ineligibility of many of those competing this week for several of the PGA Tour events coming up in the weeks ahead, this event offers a rare opportunity to earn some of the money that may be necessary for them to secure a place on the PGA Tour next season.
The Reno Tahoe Open is played at the Jack Nicklaus designed Montreux Golf and Country Club in Reno, Nevada. In 2007 Steve Flesch won his first tournament in three years and just a few weeks later won in another gambling region when he won the Turning Stone Resort Championship, highlighting the momentum that his earlier victory in this secondary event provided.
Flesch has a start at the Bridgestone Invitational as a result of his success in this event and his subsequent efforts and the way is again open for another player to secure a similar elevation in status.
Joe Ogilvie has been playing well of late and against this weaker field could do well. Not that any PGA Tour event is weak but Ogilvie also has a good record at this venue to enhance his chances including when 3rd two years ago which included a brilliant last round of 62. Ogilvie clearly has a comfort zone with this course therefore and can be expected to have a good week.
Nick Watney was playing well before two recent missed cuts and has played very well in this event. His chances against a slightly weaker field than those he has been facing of late are good.
Nicholas Thompson is reaching a point in his PGA Tour career where he is on the verge of his first victory. He was 5th last week in Canada and in his only start in this event he made the cut two years ago.
John Merrick highlighted that he is a much better player than his earlier results have indicated when finishing 6th at the recent US Open. He also finished 4th in this event last year suggesting that he stands a very good chance in 2008.
The Australasians are represented by Steve Elkington, Nathan Green, Steve Allan, Gavin Coles, Matt Jones, Nick Flanagan, Mark Hensby, Andrew Buckle, David Lutterus and New Zealanders Tim Wilkisnson, Grant Waite and Phil Tataurangi.
I have been reluctant to mention Michelle Wie playing this event as I thought we had all gotten over this. While it was a novelty in the early stages of her career and probably good for the game at the time, I think we have all become tired of it. As an independent contractor and a professional golfer, she has every right to play where she likes, especially as she has nowhere else to play. One wonders at the logic of tournament organisers and her management who have seen the Wie brand wane as a result of her persistence to play against the men.
There is little doubt Wie will still generate a lot of publicity for the event and that is just what the tournament organisers are after in an tournament that will have little profile this week opposite the WGC Bridgestone Invitational.
What sticks in the mind however is in the last two occasions Wie has played against the men she was carted off the course by ambulance at the John Deere Classic and a few months later finished second to last in the opening 36 holes of an event on the Japan Golf Tour.
Let’s hope there is a better result for all this week but to say the least it is a strange decision.
