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 The top 60 players on the Nationwide Tour money list will be eligible to compete, and whoever makes it inside the top 25 after 72 holes will earn their 2008 PGA Tour card. With so much at stake, the make-or-break format has consistently provided plenty of excitement for fans, not to mention a full gamut of emotions for competitors. Last year, Craig Kanada chipped in on the 71st and 72nd holes at the Houstonian Golf and Country Club to not only win the event but also secure his PGA Tour card by moving from 32nd to 11th on the money list. It was the largest individual ascent in the 14-year history of the event. But just as Kanada rose, another player had to fall - it was Jess Daley, who slid off the wrong side of the bubble after being eligible for his card on the number heading into the tournament. "The excitement and drama is kind of like the FedEx Cup," said Tom Wilson of The Century Club, the main organizing body for the event. "One day a player can be inside the top 25, the next day he can be outside." Plenty of golfers with local ties are in a position similar to Kanada's. Former Irvine resident Esteban Toledo has improved in the second half of the season and stood at 38th on the money list through mid-September, while Bob Burns of Mission Hills (who was 39th) could also vault into the top 25. Though he has more ground to make up than Burns and Toledo, Long Beach's Peter Tomasulo may have an advantage over others in the field - he knows what it takes to win at Barona Creek. Tomasulo, who played college golf at the University of California at Berkeley, won the Barona Collegiate Cup as a junior in 2002. "I'm pretty excited to have it down at Barona," Tomasulo said. "The course wasn't too tough in college, but I imagine with the way the [Nationwide] Tour sets up the courses that it can play hard." At the very least, Barona Creek will have more length and sand than it did when Tomasulo last competed there. In 2005, 12 of the tournament tees were pushed back, increasing the yardage from the tips to 7,448 yards. Also, 12 new bunkers were installed throughout the course. Yet, arguably the most difficult feature - the slick, undulating greens - will remain very similar to how they play for the public. "The greens are going to be fast and firm. We don't really have much work to do there," said Don King, the executive director of Barona Creek Golf Club. SG Tickets to the event range from $15 to $25. For more information, call (619) 281-4653 or visit nationwideatbarona.com. |
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