Whenever the Web.com Tour starts a new season, I am always intrigued to look through the field for the opening event, to see the eclectic collage of familiar faces and new names. You have the up-and-coming rookies hoping to use a season on the Web.com as a pathway to bigger and better things on the PGA Tour; you have veteran hangers-on, lucky to still have a place to play but hoping to capture lightning in a bottle; and so on.
Added to the mix this year is the fact that many players had to fight through Q school just to gain Web.com eligibility. Q school no longer serves as a pathway to the PGA Tour, so many of the top finishers at the December classic will be teeing it up in Bogota — not on the PGA Tour, as they would have in years past. As a result, expect stronger and deeper fields throughout the season on the Web.com circuit.
Speaking of the field and some of the names that caught my eye, one is Ryan Armour. The 38-year-old journeyman spent some time on the PGA Tour in the mid-2000s, shifted his way down to the Web.com Tour, and eventually lost status for 2013 after making only four cuts in a dismal 2012 campaign. When I caddied for Kevin Johnson in Springfield, Mo. two summers ago, we played with Armour in a practice round, and I'll never forget his reaction after shanking a hybrid shot into a pond on the par-5 18th. His frustration was palpable, and you could almost sense that he felt his game spiraling into a black hole.
But maybe the Ohio native found something in his time away from the circuit, as he tied for 26th in the final stage of Q school, good enough to earn decent status for the early portion of the season. Web.com Tour reshuffles occur early and often, however, so Armour and the rest of the Q school grads certainly need to make a few cuts early to keep themselves on the favorable end of the pecking order.
The always-amiable Jeff Gove (namesake of this blog, from way back when) also finished well enough at Q school to gain status for Bogota and, at least, the year's first few events. The perennial Web.com pro had PGA Tour status for 2013 but finished no better than 40th at the Canadian Open, and he is back on the developmental circuit to test his luck this time around.
In another interesting revelation, Swede Jesper Parnevik will be teeing it up in Bogota, making his first-ever Web.com Tour start. The five-time PGA Tour winner, ranked No. 30 on Golf World's "100 Best Modern Players" ranking, is 49 years old and is most likely using this season to tune up for a hopefully long and prosperous Champions Tour career. Parnevik has struggled with injuries through the later stages of his career, and perhaps he can brush them aside to churn out a productive season on the Web.com circuit, which has a tradition of giving exemptions to 49-year-olds as they prepare to turn 50.
My pick for this week? Mathew Goggin. The 39-year-old, on-again/off-again PGA Tour pro, has a recent history of starting strong during the seasons he is relegated to the Web.com Tour — beginning the year with a victory in 2011 and runner-up finish in 2013 (both when the season started in Panama). Now, perhaps Goggin loses interest in the Web.com circuit as the year moves along, but his superior talent does tend to shine early on. Look for Goggin to contend down the stretch at Bogota CC, and perhaps pull out a victory.
No comments:
Post a Comment