Viking Classic great chance for status

BY Bruce Young | US PGA Tour | 2008 Viking Classic | Preview | 17 Sep 2008

Although the Ryder Cup will command much of the attention of the golfing world this week, for many of those playing the PGA Tour’s Viking Classic at the Jack Nicklaus designed Annandale golf Club in Madison Missisisipi, the Viking Classic carries equal significance.

With just seven starts left for those battling to retain their status on the PGA Tour, this is an event that offers a chance to make some money list progress. With so many of the US PGA Tour’s elite playing the Ryder Cup in Kentucky, this week provides starts for many of those who may not otherwise have been so lucky.

The defending champion, Chad Campbell, was one of the four players given a late chance by Captain Azinger to play the Ryder Cup as was last year’s third place finisher in this event, Boo Weekley.

The winner in 2005 however is in the field this week, Heath Slocum no doubt keen to prove a point that he was perhaps a contender for one of Azinger’s picks. Slocum was on the verge of playing his way into the team with several very good finishes earlier in the year but lost momentum when it counted in recent weeks.

Ken Duke is likely to be the favourite in most people’s eyes and he deserves to be considered. He has yet to win on the PGA Tour but has been close in recent months.

Duke was runner up at the US Bank Championship but it has been his great consistency in nearly everything he has played of late that suggests that this could be his week. Duke finished 11th in this event last year including a stunning last round of 65 and made the cut in his only other start in 2004.

In another time and another place David Toms would have been one of the first picked for the Ryder Cup however his form slump in recent times meant that he was a long way from such an honour. He has been quite solid in recent weeks, making twelve consecutive cuts before missing the weekend at the Barclays.

Woody Austin was perhaps an unlucky loser in the race for Ryder Cup honours and would dearly love to be in Kentucky. He has not played well enough in recent weeks although his form earlier in the season was good enough to win an event such as this.

Bo Van Pelt has played this event well in recent years with three consecutive top tens. He has hardly been at his best of late but it might be that a return to this venue gets him fired up to play well.

Australians in the field have varying agendas in terms of their performances this week. John Senden has a good chance of winning this week as he has played solidly in recent weeks. He finished 5th in the event last year and currently in 70th position on the money list he will be keen to finish the season well to ensure starts in several of the restricted field events next year.

Nathan Green is still a few thousand dollars short of where the cut off for the top 125 at season’s end is likely to be. He has been frustrated with his game and form of late but after a break of three weeks at home in Dallas he is back.

Jason Day started to play a little better in his first two events of the FedEx Cup playoffs but with the best part of US$250,000 still needed for him to retain full status on the PGA Tour, these next few weeks are important to him.

Nick Flanagan, Brett Rumford, Matt Jones, Gavin Coles, Mark Hensby, Andrew Buckle, Steve Allan, David Lutterus and New Zealanders Tim Wilkinson and Grant Waite make up the contingent from Australasia.

The tournament has prizemoney of US$3,600,000.