Laying (on) the Lumber
The 84 Lumber Classic is here again, and that means one thing: Michelle Wie is playing.
Wie is once again getting a sponsor's exemption to play this event, much to the chagrin of golfing purists. The 16-year-old phenom has made just one cut at a men's event in 10 tries, six of which were on the PGA Tour. But any golfers concerned about losing a spot in the field to Wie should remember who pays the bills. Even with the extra money Wie is expected to put in tournament coffers just by appearing, organizers have decided to pull this event off the Tour because 84 Lumber is dropping its sponsorship.
It's a tough week to hold an event. The season's four majors have all taken place, and the bigger names in golf are attending the HSBC World Match Play Championship in preparation for next week's Ryder Cup. The favorite is Vijay Singh (+600), who was the first big-name golfer to fall into the 84 Lumber camp back in 2004. He won the event and was promptly offered an endorsement deal. Jason Gore (+5000) came in from the Nationwide Tour to win last year's event over Singh and Phil Mickelson, who is not in attendance this year.
There are four Ryder Cup golfers who will play the Classic this week at the Pete Dye-designed Mystic Rock course in Farmington, Penn. David Toms (+1200), Chris DiMarco (+1400), Chad Campbell (+2800) and Scott Verplank (+3300) are all near the top of the odds list; DiMarco also won this event's maiden voyage in 2000, although on a different golf course. None of these four golfers is an appealing bet with his mind overseas in Ireland, host country for this year's Ryder Cup.
A better bet among the "favorites" might be 2001 event winner Robert Allenby at +1400. Again, that was on a different Pennsylvania course, but Allenby was runner-up at Mystic Rock in 2003, and is coming off a fourth-place finish at the Deutsche Bank Championship. Among the longer shots, Frank Lickliter II (+6600) tied with Allenby in 2003 and has cracked the Top 20 in his last two events.
The fun gets underway on Thursday at 7:15 a.m. Eastern Time. ESPN has afternoon television coverage of all four rounds.
Click here for Live Lines, Cash Games and more...
The 84 Lumber Classic is here again, and that means one thing: Michelle Wie is playing.
Wie is once again getting a sponsor's exemption to play this event, much to the chagrin of golfing purists. The 16-year-old phenom has made just one cut at a men's event in 10 tries, six of which were on the PGA Tour. But any golfers concerned about losing a spot in the field to Wie should remember who pays the bills. Even with the extra money Wie is expected to put in tournament coffers just by appearing, organizers have decided to pull this event off the Tour because 84 Lumber is dropping its sponsorship.
It's a tough week to hold an event. The season's four majors have all taken place, and the bigger names in golf are attending the HSBC World Match Play Championship in preparation for next week's Ryder Cup. The favorite is Vijay Singh (+600), who was the first big-name golfer to fall into the 84 Lumber camp back in 2004. He won the event and was promptly offered an endorsement deal. Jason Gore (+5000) came in from the Nationwide Tour to win last year's event over Singh and Phil Mickelson, who is not in attendance this year.
There are four Ryder Cup golfers who will play the Classic this week at the Pete Dye-designed Mystic Rock course in Farmington, Penn. David Toms (+1200), Chris DiMarco (+1400), Chad Campbell (+2800) and Scott Verplank (+3300) are all near the top of the odds list; DiMarco also won this event's maiden voyage in 2000, although on a different golf course. None of these four golfers is an appealing bet with his mind overseas in Ireland, host country for this year's Ryder Cup.
A better bet among the "favorites" might be 2001 event winner Robert Allenby at +1400. Again, that was on a different Pennsylvania course, but Allenby was runner-up at Mystic Rock in 2003, and is coming off a fourth-place finish at the Deutsche Bank Championship. Among the longer shots, Frank Lickliter II (+6600) tied with Allenby in 2003 and has cracked the Top 20 in his last two events.
The fun gets underway on Thursday at 7:15 a.m. Eastern Time. ESPN has afternoon television coverage of all four rounds.
Click here for Live Lines, Cash Games and more...
