Most of the world’s best golfers are taking the week off after playing the PGA Championship at Baltusrol and WGC-NEC Invitational back-to-back. However, the show must go on, and there are still come very good stories for this week’s Buick Championship. The presence of the WGC-NEC Invitational on the schedule has hurt this tournament, but there have been some very notable winners in the past. This list of winners includes Greg Norman, Nick Price, and Phil Mickelson (twice).
This year, however, the highest-ranked golfer in the field is Kenny Perry. Perry comes into the tournament ranked 10th in the world, and he has been playing good golf lately. He has three top-ten finishes in his last five starts, including a tie for sixth last week at Firestone. Perry also has two victories on the PGA Tour so far in 2005. It’s no secret he will be the favorite this week at the Buick Championship.
Other than Perry, Tim Clark and Darren Clarke are the only two golfers in the field that are ranked in the top 20 in the world golf rankings. Tim Clark has really had a solid year, finishing in the top ten on four occasions on the PGA Tour. He also played very well at the major championships this season. Darren Clarke has played sparingly on the PGA Tour in 2005, but he has five top-ten finishes in just 11 starts. His only missed cut came two weeks ago at the PGA Championship, and he finished in a tie for 28th last week at the WGC-NEC Invitational.
Other notable golfers in the field at the Buick Championship include Players Champion Fred Funk, Peter Lonard, and Bart Bryant. Each of these three golfers have won once on the PGA Tour in 2005. Others worth mentioning are Zach Johnson and Charles Howell III. Johnson just missed out on being a part of the President’s Cup team and has had a really good year overall. Howell III has underachieved slightly in 2005, but he has played better golf the last few weeks. Both of these young guns can really get things going this week.
The biggest story of the week, however, could be Jason Gore. Gore came out of nowhere at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst and got everyone’s attention by staying in contention until the final round. He then promised everyone he would go back to the Nationwide Tour and earn a promotion to the PGA Tour. Gore did just that and in convincing fashion. Needing three wins to earn a “battlefield” promotion, Gore went out and won three tournaments in a row. So now he finds himself a regular member of the PGA Tour, and he will get his fair share of attention this week.
Woody Austin will be defending at the TPC at River Highlands this week. Last year at the Buick Championship, Austin outlasted Tim Herron in a playoff to pick up the win. Austin finished at -10 overall and picked up his second-career victory and first in nine years. Zach Johnson, Tom Pernice Jr., and Fred Funk all finished one shot back at -9.
The TPC at River Highlands is the host course for the Buick Championship. For the third straight week, golfers will be faced with a par-70 layout. This course, however, is much shorter than Baltusrol and Firestone. River Highlands measures 6,820 yards from the tips. The last two holes are very worthy and will go a long way in determining the winner this week. The 17th hole is 420-yard par 4 that don’t seem that tough on paper. The tee shot is very crucial, with water on the right and fairway bunkers down the left. The golfers will be hoping for pars at this difficult hole.
The finishing hole is a 444-yard par 4 that is very deceiving. A drive right down the middle of the fairway could leave an uneven stance on the approach shot. However, the tee shot must still find the fairway to avoid the fairway bunkers down both sides. The green is very undulated and will test the golfer’s putting all week long. The 18th isn’t the toughest finishing hole on the PGA Tour, but it isn’t the easiest either.
It’s a little tougher for me to pick a winner this week because most of the big guns aren’t playing. I will have to pick someone I haven’t picked so far this year. I’m just going to make it easy on myself and pick my favorite golfer, Charles Howell III. He is well overdue to win a PGA Tour event, and he has finished in fifth and T15 his last two events, respectively. For my “sleeper” pick, I’m going with Jeff Sluman. Sluman finished in the top ten last year at the Buick Championship, and his golf game really fits the course well.
The weather has caused problems the last two weeks on the PGA Tour, so hopefully the bad weather is in the past. As of now, the forecast looks very good for the Buick Championship. The conditions should be clear all four days, and the highs should be in the low-to-high 80s. The conditions should be ideal for scoring. The golfers will be playing for an overall purse of $4.3 million, with $774,000 going to the winner.
The field for this tournament obviously isn’t as strong as it was for the PGA Championship or WGC-NEC Invitational, but there are still some high-quality golfers teeing it up. Also, it will be very interesting to see how Jason Gore plays in his first PGA Tour event since the U.S. Open. The Buick Championship can be seen on USA and CBS this week at the following times:
Thu 4-6pm ET USA Fri 4-6pm ET USA Sat 3-6pm ET CBS Sun 3-6pm ET CBS
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