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21st
PGA TOUR Nail-Biter in Last 28 Years at WDW
The legacy of nail-biter finishes at Walt
Disney World Resort added another chapter Sunday (Nov. 15)
when Canada's Stephen Ames parred the second hole of a playoff
with George McNeill and Justin Leonard to win the 2009
Children's Miracle Network Classic, the final event of the PGA
TOUR season. It marked the 21st time in the last 28 years that
the Classic was decided either by a playoff or a single stroke
in regulation.
For Ames, it also marked a second nail-biter
win at Disney in the last three years. In 2007, he hit out of
a greenside bunker on No. 18 and one-putted for par to protect
a one-stroke victory. This time, he needed five birdies on his
final seven holes, capped by a birdie on the difficult No. 18,
to catch McNeill and Leonard at 18-under-par 270 and become
part of the playoff.
After Leonard's potential tournament-winning
birdie putt lipped out on the final hole, he three-putted the
same hole for bogey at the start of the playoff and was
eliminated. McNeill, who scrambled for a par on the first
playoff hole, had his putt for par on the second playoff hole,
the par 3 Magnolia No. 15, lip out. That sealed the victory
for Ames, who had tapped in for par.
With the victory, Ames earned $846,000 of a
$4.7 million purse. He also became the sixth player to win the
Disney event more than once, joining three-time winner Jack
Nicklaus and two-time winners Tiger Woods, Larry Nelson, John
Huston and Tim Simpson. As the last event of
the PGA TOUR season, the Children's Miracle Network Classic
finalized the official-money list, a key factor in determining
pros' playing status for 2010. For more details, visit www.pgatour.com.
CHILDREN'S
MIRACLE NETWORK CLASSIC: In last year’s event, Davis Love
III shot an 8-under 64
on the final round to narrowly hold off a late challenge from
Tommy Gainey for a one-shot win.
The victory, which served as Love’s 20th on tour, moved him
into the No. 1 position in lifetime earnings
at the Classic, passing Tiger Woods and Vijah Singh, and
securing the fan favorite a lifetime exemption on the PGA
TOUR.
When Davis Love III defends his championship in the
Children’s Miracle Network Classic Nov. 12-15 at Walt Disney
World Resort, he’ll be in the company of well-known veterans
with long professional golf resumes and younger players with
big dreams.
The field of 128 players for
the final event of the PGA TOUR official-money season was set
Friday afternoon featuring names such as Justin Leonard,
David Toms, Mark Calcavecchia, Rich Beem,
Lee Janzen, Billy Mayfair, Zack Johnson, David
Duval and Heath Slocum – all with long resumes.
But because the Classic is players’ last chance to reach the
top 125 in 2009 earnings – and an exemption to play
regularly on the PGA TOUR in 2010 – there also are plenty of
young players chasing dreams (and a big paycheck from the $4.7
million purse) on Disney’s Magnolia and Palm courses.
Several of the fresh new
names are intriguing because they just happen to be playing
extremely well right now. At the top of the list: 20-year-old Rickie
Fowler, who scored a seventh-place finish at the Justin
Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and then tied
for second place (losing in a playoff) the following week at
the Frys.com Open.
The back-to-back big
paychecks in October vaulted the former Oklahoma State
All-American from California to within $70,125 of the current
125th spot on the money list. He’s trying to
follow Tiger Woods’ route to the TOUR – enough success
through limited playing opportunities to avoid a trip to the
grueling PGA TOUR “Q School.” A top-10 finish in the
Children’s Miracle Network Classic likely would accomplish
that goal.
Twenty-one-year-old Jamie
Lovemark already has moved through the first stage of “Q
School,” but the two-time All-American at University of
Southern California could forego the remainder of it via a
high finish at Disney. He tied Fowler for second in the
Frys.com Open when they were bettered in a playoff by Troy
Matteson. It marked Lovemark’s second PGA TOUR payday and
gives him enough in winnings that a top-five in the Classic
would likely earn him a spot on the TOUR in 2010.
Then there’s Erik
Compton, a 29-year-old former two-time All-American at
University of Georgia who’s a walking, talking miracle.
He’s about a year-and-a-half into his second transplanted
heart. His remarkable medical history aside, Compton made news
in late October by blowing away the field in a “Q School”
first stage event at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. He
won the 72-hole tournament by seven strokes with a
22-under-par 266 on the difficult Wanamaker course.
Tournament rounds on Nov. 12
and Nov. 13 will begin at 6:45 a.m. on both the Magnolia and
Palm courses. At the conclusion of the second round, the field
will be cut to the low 70 scores for the weekend round on the
Magnolia course.
Pre-event ticket sales are
available exclusively through ticketmaster.com.
Ticket booths will be located onsite during the tournament
where weekly badges ($20) or daily tickets ($10) can be
purchased. Complimentary guest parking for the tournament is
at Epcot, with complimentary transportation provided between
the Epcot parking lot and the tournament entrance.
Golf Channel will provide
its signature wrap-around news coverage of the Children's
Miracle Network Classic live and in high definition from Nov.
12-15. Coverage kicks off Thursday, from 1-4 p.m. E.T.
The 2009 Children's Miracle
Network Classic marks the 39th year of the PGA TOUR at Walt
Disney World Resort. The tournament’s gallery of champions
includes 14 players who also have “majors” on their
resumes. In addition to Davis Love III, the winner’s list
includes the likes of Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Jack Nicklaus,
Payne Stewart and Raymond Floyd.
Erik Compton has received
the fourth and final sponsor exemption for the 2009
Children’s Miracle Network Classic Nov. 12-15 at Walt Disney
World Resort. Compton joins two-time U.S. Open champion Lee
Janzen, former PGA Championship winner Rich Beem and former Big
Break X: Michigan winner Haymes Snedeker as sponsor
exemptions.
Sponsor's
exemptions are extended to players who otherwise wouldn't
qualify for the field of 128 players that will tee off in the
PGA TOUR Fall Series finale on Disney’s Palm and Magnolia
courses.
This year’s tournament marks the second consecutive
year Compton has received a sponsor’s exemption to play in
the Children’s Miracle Network Classic. A former No.1-ranked
junior and a two-time All-American at Georgia who has overcome
two heart transplants to compete for a spot on the PGA TOUR,
Compton finished 60th (tie) at Disney in 2008,
including a second-round 68.
“We’re pleased to welcome back Erik for this year’s
Classic,” said tournament chairman Kevin Weickel. “Undoubtedly,
his story of purpose and resolve has inspired many throughout
the golf world, and this year his resolve is proven once again
as he will be walking the tournament – showing again
strength and perseverance to accomplish your dream."
A year ago, Compton was granted a release from the TOUR’s
stipulation that players walk during tournament rounds, as he
was less than six months beyond his second heart transplant. At
age nine, he was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, an enlarging
of the heart that hinders its ability to pump blood. Three
years later, in 1992, he received his first new heart at
Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital.
Five years later, Compton lit up Disney’s Palm and
Magnolia courses, winning the prestigious AJGA Polo Golf
Junior Classic in 1997. He was a member of the 2001 Walker Cup
team, then turned professional later that year. Most of
his events have been on the Nationwide Tour, but he also has
PGA TOUR events on his resume as far back as 2002.
Compton’s most recent eyebrow-raising effort was in late
October during the first stage of “Q School” – PGA TOUR
qualifying – on the Wanamaker course at PGA Golf Club in
Port St. Lucie, Fla. He capped a 22-under-par 266 with a
final-round 66 to win his site by seven shots. There are
13 sites in the opening stage of Q school, in which nearly
1,000 players compete for about 25 PGA Tour Cards.
Before moving on to the second stage of
Q school, though, Compton joins a field of players shooting
for shares of a $4.7 million purse in the Children’s Miracle
Network Classic. The defending champion is TOUR veteran Davis
Love III, who last year joined the likes of Tiger Woods, Vijah
Singh, Jack Nicklaus, Payne Stewart and Raymond Floyd as
winners of the prestigious Disney tournament. The
Classic title was Love’s 20th career win, providing him a
lifetime exemption on tour.
Tickets for individual rounds ($10) and badges for
Classic week ($20) are available at www.ChildrensMiracleNetworkClassic.com
or through www.ticketmaster.com.
Net proceeds go to Children’s Miracle Network
hospitals, including the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children
and Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies in Orlando,
and Shands Children’s Hospital in Gainesville.
The Golf Channel will air the Children’s Miracle
Network Classic live, Nov. 12-15.
Children's Miracle Network
Children’s Miracle Network is a
non-profit organization dedicated to saving and improving the
lives of children by raising funds for children’s hospitals.
Each year the 170 Children’s Miracle Network hospitals
provide the finest medical care, life-saving research and
preventative education to help millions of kids overcome
diseases and injuries of every kind. Thousands of
special events and grassroots fund raisers are conducted
year-round through a coalition of premier children’s
hospitals, media partners and corporate volunteers working
together to ensure healthy kids in their communities.
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