Transitions Championship / PGA TOUR / March 19-22, 2009
Brian Gay has opened with 71-69=140 (-2) and is T-17 http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboards/...475/index.html. The Copperhead course at Innisbrook Golf Resort plays to 7,340 yards and a par of 71. As indicated by the +1 cut line, it is always one of the toughest on TOUR. But Brian knows how to play Copperhead: At the 2007 PODS Championship (same tournament, different sponsor), he shot 66-69 on the weekend and finished T-4.
Brian is striking the ball beautifully. Year-to-date, he ranks #4 in Driving Accuracy (76.23% of Fairways Hit) and #8 in Greens in Regulation (71.74%). He has always been known for his brilliant short game, but these tee-to-green figures are getting everyone's attention.
Currently ranked 32nd on the 2009 Money List with $585,907, he's lost some ground from his #10 ranking after the first four tournaments of the year. But, that is not due to poor play. Instead, it's the fact that he was not eligible to play in the two recent World Golf Championship events where limited fields played for a total of $17 million. Despite earning $2.2 million last year, Brian missed the Top 30 (by a mere $3,000) and thus an automatic exemption into these big money events. That was a tough pill to swallow: In the Accenture Match Play Championship, first round losers left with $45,000. In the CA Championship, there was no cut, and last place earned $35,250.
The three WGCs are sanctioned and organized by the International Federation of PGA Tours, which includes the Asian Tour, European Tour, Japan Golf Tour, PGA TOUR, PGA Tour of Australasia and Southern Africa Tour. So every tour represented naturally wants their players to have a piece of the action. But, if field quality is a legitimate concern, then some serious work needs to be done on the qualifying criteria in these 'world' golf events. Take a look here at the CA Championship field, and see if you don't agree: http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/r473/field.html.
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