Nationwide elite ready in Utah
IN: News | Nationwide | Utah Championship (2008) | Preview | by Bruce Young | 04 Sep 2008
The Nationwide Tour has just six full field and one restricted field events remaining this season and that stretch starts with this week’s Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank in Sandy, Idaho.
After a week off, a very strong field will line up at the long time home of this event – the William Howard Neff designed Willow Country Club.
The field is made up of 24 of the top 25 on this year’s Nationwide Tour money list, that figure important due to the fact that it will be the top 25 at the completion of the Nationwide Tour Championship in early November, who will advance to next year’s PGA Tour.
Much can change within a week on the Nationwide Tour however, let alone seven events and the high standard by those inside that category will need to be maintained and is some cases improved if they are to have strong status on the 2009 PGA Tour. The further up the money list a player finishes, the greater the opportunity for the all important early season starts at the higher level next season.
A win this week for any one of three players would mean instant access to the PGA Tour’s Viking Classic in a fortnight. Jarrod Lyle, Colt Knost and Scott Piercy all face that prospect this week following their two earlier wins on the Nationwide Tour this season. They would benefit from the Tour’s Battlefield promotion rule that allows immediate graduation to the PGA for any player with three wins in any one season.
A very long line-up of Australasians has made their way in to the field this week.
Steve Allan, Andrew Bonhomme, Kim Felton, Scott Gardiner, Paul Gow, Bradley Iles, Won Joon Lee, Marc Leishman, David Lutterus, Jarrod Lyle, David McKenzie, Wade Ormsby, Aron Price, Ewan Porter and Grant Waite are currently in the field while for Michael Sim his frustration continues as he is well down on the emergency list.
