For many contenders, big Sunday finish could be career-changing
By Dave Lagarde, PGATOUR.com Correspondent
COLLINGWOOD, Ontario, Canada -- The head-turning reward is dangling there, tantalizingly, like the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.
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It is right there flashing like a neon sign, urging the leaders in the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic presented by Samsung to gaze into the future and get too far ahead of themselves Saturday night. The idea is for those in contention to project what the first-place prize would do for them for the remainder of the 2008 Nationwide Tour season.
That's the trick of the temptation in this trade. And that's what happens when the Gretzky champion will walk away from the Georgian Bay Golf Club aware that a deposit for $144,017 will show up in his bank account by the end of business Wednesday.
"Ssssssshhhhh,'' Keith Nolan exhaled when asked to master the possibilities of what a check with six figures before the decimal point might do for him and his quest to gain playing privileges on the PGA TOUR for the third time. "That's the kind of stuff I've been working with my shrink (sports psychologist) on. All I'll be thinking about it hitting the first shot in the fairway.''
Casey Wittenberg, the man Nolan and a rather large posse will be chasing Sunday, refused to be drawn into the speculation as well.
"My goal is to make it to the PGA TOUR,'' said Wittenberg, who is playing his first full season on the Nationwide Tour. "I'm not thinking about the money.''
Interesting thought, but the Nationwide Tour is dollar-driven, considering PGA TOUR cards for 2009 will be handed out to those who finish among 'The 25' on the final money list.
Darron Stiles, who is third on the money ladder and tied for 16th through 54 holes, said it best: "Every dollar counts out here.''
Bubba Dickerson, who enters the final round at 14 under par and tied with Justin Hicks and Sebastian Fernandez for second, one shot behind Wittenberg, said players aren't human if they aren't thinking about the ramifications.
"That 'hitting the first shot in the fairway' or 'one shot at a time' stuff works early in the week,'' said Dickerson, who matched Wittenberg's 4-under 67 in damp, blustery conditions Saturday when players were allowed to lift, clean and place the ball through the green. "But if it's the last day and players have a chance to win, they're lying if they say all their thinking about is the first tee shot.''
That means quite a few players likely will have busy minds until they step on the first tee.
That's because there is a traffic jam at the top of the leader board that could lead to an anything-can-happen final round. It's so tight, no less than 20 players were thinking about the opportunity Sunday brings. And we're not talking about their first tee ball Sunday.
The top 20 cover the spectrum in the Tour's pecking order, so a victory would mean different strokes for different folks.
For a victory for:
--David Mathis, second on the money list and three shots behind, or Stiles would be their second of '08, one short of an immediate performance promotion to the PGA TOUR. They also would be pushing the $400,000 mark on the money list and become one of the favorites to finish No. 1.
--Matt Every, No. 19, who trails by two, or Wittenberg, No. 13, would lock up their first trip to The Big Show.
--D.A. Points, who is No. 34 and tied for 12th at 11 under, Dickerson, No. 36, Kyle Reifers, who is No. 41 and tied for fifth, and Fernandez, No. 56 and tied for second, would be one more solid paycheck away from locking up a spot in 'The 25.'
--Hicks, No. 160 and tied for second, Kyle McCarthy, No. 198 and fifth, and Gibby Gilbert III, No. 124 and fifth, could turn 2008 into memorable seasons.
--Nolan, who is 72nd and in a tie for 12th, said it will be interesting to see how he handles the ups and downs in his final round.
"I have to worry about me and do everything I possibly can to play the best round of golf I can,'' he said.
That was a consistent theme echoed by many, including Hicks, who has just two top-10 finishes in 36 starts on the Nationwide Tour.
"If I start looking at the leader board and thinking about how much missing a birdie putt will cost me, I'll be cooked,'' he said.
Sunday's outcome -- and how many players are involved down the stretch -- may depend on how Mother Nature treats the Georgian Bay track. If it's windy as forecast, there could be a bunch of players in the mix and the leader board could turn completely around, like it did Saturday, when McCarthy and D.A. Points entered with the lead. So it's difficult to predict how far too far behind will be.
"It's hard to say on this course,'' Mathis said. "In the right conditions all the par 5s are reachable and there's a driveable par 4. "Anything could happen, but I know one thing. I'll be trying to win.''
Apparently the thought of hoisting the trophy and cashing the check is too tempting for him to avoid.
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