The 2005 PGA Tour season is winding down in a hurry. There are only three more events before the season-ending Tour Championship, so golfers will be trying to finish strong in hopes of qualifying. The top 30 on the PGA Tour money list will get the opportunity to play in the Tour Championship, and there are a lot of golfers on the “bubble.”
Golfers will also be battling for their PGA Tour cards towards the end of the season. The top-125 on the PGA Tour money list get their tour cards for 2006, and it will be a mad dash to the end for many in the field this week. The money position battles along with a pretty strong field will make the Michelin Championship a tournament to keep an eye on.
Phil Mickelson is the highest-ranked golfer in the field this week. Mickelson was born in San Diego, CA and has always had success on the West Coast. Mickelson has won four times on the PGA Tour in 2005, including a Monday-morning victory at the PGA Championship in August. Lefty followed that with a great Presidents Cup performance, going 4-0-1 overall. Mickelson is currently third on the PGA Tour money list and third in the world rankings.
Jim Furyk comes into this week ranked ninth in the world. He and Mickelson are the only two playing this week ranked in the top ten. Furyk is no stranger to the Michelin Championship at Las Vegas. He has won more money in this event than any other golfer, and he has won the tournament three times (1995, 1998, and 1999). Furyk has bounced back this year after an injury-prone 2003 and 2004. He has nine top-ten finishes this season, including a win at the Cialis Western Open.
Another golfer that has faired very well in this event is Stuart Appleby. The Aussie is right behind Furyk in career money won at this event, winning it in 2003. Appleby has had an up-and-down season, but mostly down. He started off the year with a win at the season-opening Mercedes Championship. However, he has been pretty inconsistent since then. Appleby had a rough Presidents Cup a couple weeks ago, but he played well last week at the American Express Championship (T11). Both Furyk and Appleby will be tough to beat this week in Las Vegas.
Other notables teeing it up this week include Davis Love III, Justin Leonard, John Daly, and Fred Couples. Love III has also been inconsistent in 2005, but he still sits in 15th on the PGA Tour money list. That’s not bad for an off-year. Leonard has two wins on the PGA Tour this season, and those are pretty much his only top finishes. At times, Leonard looks like the best in the world, and he has also looked like the worst during other events. Nonetheless, the Texan had a very strong Presidents Cup three weeks ago (3-1-1).
John Daly is coming off a heartbreaking playoff loss to Tiger Woods this past weekend at the American Express Championship. Daly three-putted twice in his last four holes, and that left plenty enough room for Tiger to pick up the win. Daly has a couple runner-up finishes in 2005, and he currently sits in 37th on the PGA Tour money list.
Fred Couples, one of the heroes from the Presidents Cup, has also played well as of late. However, he currently sits in 31st on the money list and will need a few strong finishes to earn a spot in the Tour Championship. Couples is definitely on the “bubble.”
Speaking of the “bubble”, Zach Johnson is in 30th right now, and he isn’t in the field this week. The golfers close to Johnson on the money list will have a chance to pass him this week. Some of the notables in the 30-40 range playing this week include Shigeki Maruyama (35th), Tim Petrovic (39th), and Chad Campbell (40th). Some of the notables on the outside of the top-125 include Lee Westwood (134th) and Lee Janzen (157th).
Last year’s Michelin Championshp winner, Andre Stolz, sits in 214th place on the money list. It hasn’t been a very strong year for Stolz to say the least. Last year, Stolz shocked the golf world by winning this event. He finished at -21, one shot ahead of Tag Ridings, Harrison Frazar, and 2006 Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman. Stolz will be looking to rediscover some of last year’s glory.
The Michelin Championship will be played on two courses, the TPC at Summerlin and TPC at the Canyons. The final round, however, will only be played at the TPC at Summerlin. The TPC at Summerlin measures 7,243 yards and par is 72. The TPC at the Canyons measures 7,019 yards and par is 71.
The finishing hole at the TPC at Summerlin will go a long way in determining a winner this weekend. It usually plays as one of the toughest on the course. It is a 444-yard par 4 that requires an agressive tee shot over a wash area. If the tee shot makes it into the fairway, the golfer will face a difficult approach shot to a green surrounded by a small lake on the left. However, the players that do find the fairway off the tee will have a decent chance at birdie. The ones that find the wash area, however, will be battling to save par right out of the gate.
Last week, I picked Retief Goosen to win the WGC-American Express Championship, and he didn’t end up playing. That pick wasn’t worth a darn. My “sleeper” pick, Ian Poulter, had a decent showing and finished in a tie for 18th. This week, I’m cutting to the chase and looking at the past history of this event. Jim Furyk will win this tournament for the fourth time and prove that I can still pick the winner. For my “sleeper” pick, I’m going with Lee Janzen. Janzen hasn’t had many strong finishes this season, but he finished in a tie for seventh in this event last year. Also, it’s time for him to make a move to get inside the top-125 on the PGA Tour money list.
The weather for the Michelin Championship at Las Vegas should be spectacular. The conditions should be clear for the entire event, and the highs should be in the mid-80s all week. The scoring should be awesome as it usually is in this tournament. The field will be playing for an overall purse of $4 million, with $720,000 going to the winner.
The field isn’t nearly as strong as it was last week, but it’s still above-average. Some of the world’s best will be teeing it up, and the race to the finish is really starting to heat up. It’s always interesting to see who will make it into the Tour Championship. The Michelin Championship at Las Vegas can be seen this week on USA and ABC at the following times:
Thu 4-6pm ET USA Fri 4-6pm ET USA Sat 3-6pm ET USA Sun 3-6pm ET ABC
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