Week 26 Approach Shots: Soboba Classic
By PGATOUR.COM Staff
The Nationwide Tour plays its second event in California this week, the Soboba Classic in San Jacinto. This first-year event offers a purse of $1 million, with $180,000 going to the winner. Following the Soboba Classic, there are only two full-field events left on the schedule before the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island in Charleston, S.C., open to the top-60 money-winners following the Miccosukee Championship.
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INSIDE THE FIELD: With a $1 million purse on the line, it's no coincidence virtually every player within the top 70 on the Nationwide Tour money list is entered in the inaugural Soboba Classic. The lone exceptions are No. 1 Michael Sim, Mathias Gronberg, Steven Alker and Darron Stiles. All but Alker have spots in this week's PGA TOUR Turning Stone Resort Championship. The Soboba field has 144 players seeking to improve their position among "The 25" and the top 60, which is the cut off to get into the season's finale, the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island in Charleston, S.C. The bubble boys heading to Southern California are Martin Piller at No. 25 and Stiles at No. 60. The Soboba Classic is one of three remaining full-field events that precede Daniel Island. Once in the Nationwide Tour Championship, every player there will have a mathematical chance of playing his way into "The 25" and earning a 2010 PGA TOUR card.
SIM'S PROMOTION: Australian Michael Sim will make his first start on the PGA TOUR this week at the Turning Stone Resort Championship in upstate New York after capturing three wins on the Nationwide Tour to earn his PGA TOUR card. Sim's third win came on Aug. 23 in Kansas City. With the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup beginning the next week, the 24-year-old returned to his Perth home for a few weeks to get ready for the PGA TOUR Fall Series and select PGA Tour of Australasia events in the late fall. Sim retains conditional status on the PGA TOUR the rest of 2009 before assuming fully-exempt status in 2010 as a result of his recent promotion. His strong play on the Nationwide Tour and in two major championships this summer has vaulted Sim to his current Official World Golf Ranking of 64.
FOWLER'S HOMECOMING: Rickie Fowler, 20, makes his professional debut in front of hometown fans this week. Fowler grew up and learned the game in nearby Murrieta before heading to Oklahoma State two years ago. On Sept. 13, he completed a splendid college (Oklahoma State) and amateur career, turning professional after leading the U.S. team to a win in the Walker Cup at Merion GC. His first start as a pro came in the Nationwide Tour's Albertsons Boise (Idaho) Open five days later. He missed the cut, but after a much needed week off, he'll be ready to perform for the local fans this week. The Soboba Classic will be Fowler's third Nationwide Tour start of 2009. He played in the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational in early August as one of eight First-Team All-American invitees. The 2008 Ben Hogan Award winner (college player of the year) almost snared the victory, losing on the first hole of a playoff to Derek Lamely. Fowler hopes a good effort this week will impact his near-term goal which "is to have a place to play, to have status."
SIM MATCHES LEHMAN: Michael Sim's name is atop the Nationwide Tour money list for the 20th tournament in a row, matching Tom Lehman's run of 20 in 1991. The string began after he won the Stonebrae Classic at TPC San Francisco Bay in early April. In just 12 starts this year, Sim has amassed a Nationwide Tour record $527,079. The Aussie has a cushion of $157,580 over No. 2 Blake Adams with four events remaining. Sim is transitioning to the PGA TOUR following his PGA TOUR promotion, but has not ruled out competing again on the Nationwide Tour this year in order to maintain the No. 1 spot. The leading money winner on the Nationwide Tour receives a coveted invite to the 2010 PLAYERS Championship.
STREAKS END IN TEXAS: Jeff Gove entered the WNB Golf Classic having made the cut in his 16 previous starts only to see things come to an end in Midland. An opening round 77 doomed the Seattle native/resident, who dropped two spots down the money list to 15th. Georgian Blake Adams was next in line in consecutive cuts made with 11, along with Tom Gillis, but missed the cut thanks to a double-bogey, bogey finish. Adams maintained his No. 2 position on the money list.
POLLS ARE OPEN: A fan vote is underway on PGATOUR.COM to determine the No. 1 moment in Nationwide Tour history. Throughout the summer, the "20 Greatest Moments" were unveiled as a means of spotlighting the Tour's 20th-year celebration. There are five finalists among the Moments that fans can vote for by going to www.PGATOUR.COM/Top20. The top moment will be announced on PGATOUR.COM and Golf Channel during the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island, which will be played Oct. 22-25.
THIS WEEK IN TOUR HISTORY: Sept. 29, 2002: Andy Miller, son of World Golf Hall of Fame member, Johnny Miller, becomes the third Monday qualifier to win in 2002 and the 15th overall when he captures the State Farm Open at Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. Oct. 3, 1993: Sean Murphy becomes the first player to win four times in a single season, a mark that still stands. The Sonoma County (Calif.) Open is his second win in a row and moves him into the top spot on the money list, a position he would retain the rest of the year.
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