Final day drama on Nationwide Tour

BY Bruce Young | Nationwide Tour | 2008 Miccosukee Championship | Round Three | 26 Oct 2008

The Nationwide Tour season enters an intriguing stage when the final round of the last full field event of the season is played in Miami tomorrow.

The Miccosukee Championship offers an opportunity for several players to confirm their position inside the all important top 25 to be granted cards at the end of the Tour Championship or, alternatively, for players to gain access to that event. Several Australians are amongst them.

Mathematically, any player in the leading 60 players who earn the right to play the Tour Championship has a chance to earn their PGA Tour card.

D.A. Points and Matt Bettencourt, who are already assured of a start in Dallas, share the lead at 8 under, one ahead of Australians, Gavin Coles and Marc Leishman and American Josh Broadaway.

Despite having won in Louisiana earlier in the season, Coles has slipped to 68th on the Nationwide Tour money list as he has attempted to play on both the PGA and Nationwide Tours. The New South Welshman went so close to winning a PGA Tour event in Memphis earlier this year, an agonising double bogey at the last costing him the chance of a playoff.

A win by Coles tomorrow and the accompanying US$112,000 would all but ensure a return to full status on the PGA Tour but if he is unable to do so, a top ten should be enough to earn him a start at the Tour Championship. If he was to win tomorrow, Coles would move to US$206,000 and it appears as if a figure around that mark will be needed to earn a PGA Tour card. With a guaranteed US$3,000 or so at the Tour Championship, he will likely have done enough.

After his letdown last week in Chattanooga where he lost four places and slipped to a precarious 23rd on the money list, Marc Leishman has returned to the form that saw him win by 11 shots two weeks ago in Texas. It would seem Leishman can seal his fate tomorrow with a top 20 finish.

Scott Gardiner is currently in 86th position on the money list and likely needs a top three this week to move inside the top 60 and leave the door open to stake a late claim for PGA Tour status for the first time. Gardiner, who has played better in recent weeks after a horror start to the season, is in 6th place in Miami and just two shots behind the lead.

Andrew Bonhomme has finally found some late season form and is in 15th position this week. He will need to win tomorrow to earn a start in Dallas and will need to overcome a five shot deficit to do so.

Australians currently guaranteed starts at next week’s Tour Championship are Jarrod Lyle, Greg Chalmers, Aron Price, Marc Leishman, Ewan Porter and Won Joon Lee while Cameron Percy, who missed the cut this week, is currently in 57th position and will need to rely on others to see if he has been able to make it.