That's where I'm headed for my next journey, and I'm not sure if I'm ready.
Wichita is my next destination on the Nationwide Tour, and the drive will log me almost 1200 miles. I don't have to cover any more Bisons games until mid-July, so I figured this would be a good time to take a little trip out on the Nationwide Tour.
So here I am, headed to the Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open, with my little brother - and maybe his friend - in tow. When they asked if they could come, I said sure, not thinking they would actually come.
Of course, they wanted to come. But in reality it should be alright, and at least I won't have to make the 18-hour trek by myself. That could be dangerous, and it will be fun to have some company throughout the excursion.
To make my trip seem more manageable, I've broke it up into seven segments. We will pass through Erie, Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis, St. Louis, and Kansas City on the way to Wichita. I will view each of these cities as a milestone on the expedition.
We have a nice La Quinta hotel booked for Wednesday thru Saturday nights, and tonight we'll find a rest area somewhere along the silk highway. The goal is to leave Orchard Park by 3 p.m. today, and to be in Kansas sometime tomorrow afternoon. I'll need to stop by the media center tomorrow to pick up my credentials, so I can't be there too late.
The hotel even has complimentary breakfast, which should complement the media buffet nicely.
One of the reasons I wanted to cover this event was that I saw Jeff Brehaut's name in the field. Brehaut is one of my favorite golfers, a journeyman grinder who played a few seasons in the big leagues, but whose game has fallen out of sorts over the last few years.
Brehaut's game has fallen to the point where he no longer has full Nationwide Tour status. This will be only his second start of the year, and he missed the cut at the Mexico Open earlier this month. He also tried to qualify for the U.S. Open, but failed to advance through sectional qualifying. Essentially, Brehaut is lacking a place to play consistently, and he hasn't played well enough when he's had the chance.
Not a good combination. Let's hope that changes this week. A top-25 finish on the Nationwide Tour gains entry into the next event, and Brehaut's effort to maintain eligibility will be a featured story here this week.
I was also happy to see my man Omar Uresti's name in the field. Coming off a made PGA Tour cut two weeks ago at the FedEx St. Jude, Uresti is looking to make a summer surge into the top 25 on the Nationwide money list. Uresti has two top-12 finishes this year to date, and he will need a few more if he looks to charge into top-25 money list contention. Top 25 at the end of the year would give Uresti higher status next year on the PGA Tour, although he does already have Veteran Member status, good for a handful of tournaments every year.
Jeff Gove - the namesake of this blog - will also be on the radar. Gove looks to take momentum from a much-needed top-25 finish in Mexico, which came on the heels of four consecutive missed cuts. Gove is currently mired at No. 114 on the money list, and he too will need a big summer if he hopes to crack the top 25.
Another interesting storyline is Casey Wittenberg, a Nationwide Tour player who cracked the top ten at last week's U.S. Open, tying for 10th at Olympic. Wittenberg should certainly find Crestview CC (Wichita's host course) a bit more accomodating than Olympic, where every player in the field finished over par. Last year's winning score at Crestview? 18-under.
Aaron Watkins is also in the field at Crestview, and he too had a solid showing at Olympic, tying for 15th. Watkins' showing at Olympic was a bit surprising considering he is only 65th on the Nationwide Tour money list, with six missed cuts in ten starts. Just goes to show how fine the line truly is, between the best in the world and the Nationwide contingent.
My early pick for this week? Watkins. I've just got a feeling that Olympic was exactly what Watkins needed to rejuvenate his season moving into the summer months. At a course where birdies shouldn't be too hard to come by (last year's cut was 2-under), I say Watkins will make a bushel of them and come away with the trophy.
Most importantly, Watkins has a track record of success at Crestview. In four previous starts, the Kansas State grad has three top-13 finishes - including a 6th-place showing last year - and has never missed the cut. It just seems like a winning combination to me, and Watkins should have a solid contingent of college acquaintances rooting him on as well.
Sunday night I was still weighing the pros and cons of this trip, when I talked to my good friend Jack on the phone. Jack and I share a similar life mentality, which we call the "escapist" philosophy, in honor of a great Coldplay song. For a Buffalo kid who has not ventured much off the East Coast, it doesn't get much more "escapist" than a trip to Kansas.
And to cover golf while I'm at it? Even better. The adventure kicks off this afternoon, and I'm ready to roll.
The band Kansas plays in the Buffalo area tonight, and I would have probably gone to the concert if I weren't trekking to Kansas proper. I'll make sure to listen to some Kansas on the way out of town.
Brother Alex, and friend? Hope you know what you're getting yourselves into.
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