Week 14 Approach Shots: Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic

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Jul. 8, 2009
By PGATOUR.COM Staff

The Nationwide Tour travels to Thornbury in Ontario, Canada, this week for the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic presented by Samsung. The event features 160 professionals playing with celebrities and amateurs in a pro-am style tournament. The tournament is held at two courses --the host Georgian Bay Club and the Raven Golf Club at Lora Bay.

Players will be competing for one of the year's largest purses of $800,099 with $144,018 going to the winner. The extra $99 in the total purse is in honor of the host's jersey number that he wore during his NHL Hall of Fame career. Among the celebrities competing this week are Charles Barkley, Brett Hull, Donovan Bailey and Gretzky's wife, Janet.

Quick Facts

WHAT: 15th of 29 Nationwide Tour events

WHEN: July 9-12

WHERE: Clarksburg, Ontario, Canada and Thornbury, Ontario, Canada

COURSE: The Georgian Bay Club (Host) and Raven Golf Club at Lora Bay

WHAT'S AT STAKE: $800,099 purse ($144,018 for winner)

KEY LINKS: Tee times | Leaderboard Tournament page | "THE 25"

HOCKEY'S GREAT HOST: Hockey great Wayne Gretzky will serve as the tournament host. Gretzky had an exceptional playing career and is considered by many as the greatest hockey player of all time. He led the Edmonton Oilers to four Stanley Cup titles and individually won nine Most Valuable Player Awards and 10 league scoring titles. He is the only NHL player to total more than 200 points in a season -- a feat he accomplished four times. Gretzky is the only player to have his number officially retired by the National Hockey League for all teams.

CLOSE FINISH: It was a tightly bunched leaderboard all week in 2008, with Justin Hicks and Casey Wittenberg deciding things in a playoff and Garrett Osborn, Peter Tomasulo and Hunter Haas finishing a stroke out of the extra session. An additional five players finished two strokes behind Hicks and Wittenberg.

POINTS' RECORD ROUND: D.A. Points established the 18-hole course record at the Raven Golf Club at Lora Bay with his second-round, 10-under 62, which vaulted him into a tie for the lead at the halfway point. He eventually tied for 10th. At the Georgian Bay Club, Garrett Osborn fired a 9-under 62 in the final round. Nine strokes out of the lead when the day began, he missed making the playoff by a stroke, settling for a tie for third -- his best career finish.

FIELD FORMAT: The format for the event is a 72-hole pro-am, with 160 professionals paired with amateurs and celebrities in two-person teams. For the professionals, there is a 36-hole cut to the low 60 scores and ties. The amateur competition is also reduced to the lowest 10 teams after the first two rounds (six professional-celebrity teams and four professional-amateur teams).

The 2009 Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic will be the 10th Nationwide Tour event hosted in Canada. Previous tournaments included the Alberta Calgary Classic (2003-05), the Canadian PGA Championship (2001-05) and last year's inaugural Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic.

The primary beneficiary of the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic presented by Samsung will be the Wayne Gretzky Foundation, which helps provide less-fortunate youth with the opportunity to experience the sport of hockey.

Weather forecast for the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic pres'd by Samsung

THURSDAY, Rd. 1	FRIDAY, Rd. 2	SATURDAY, Rd. 3	SUNDAY, Rd. 4
Sunny Temp: 72 high/55 low	Scattered t-storms Temp: 73 high/59 low	Scattered t-storms Temp: 77 high/61 low	Mostly sunny Temp: 68 high/55 low

DTN/Meteorlogix is the official weather provider of the PGA TOUR. For more information, click here

Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic snippets

	CELEB CENTRAL: Playing in the pro-am: Damon Allen, Wayne Gretzky, Charles Barkley, Brett Hull, Donovan Bailey, Ed Jovanoski, Cassie Campbell, Bob McCown, Javier Colon, Darren Pang, Catriona Lemay Doan, Gino Reda, Janet Jones-Gretzky, Steve Stamkos
	BIRDIE OPPORTUNITY: One of the two courses played this week, the Raven Club at Lora Bay, was the easiest course on the 2008 Nationwide Tour, playing to a stroke average of 69.582.
	MILESTONE ALERT: The next TOUR win by a Nationwide Tour alum will be No. 250. Tiger Woods stood in the way when he captured his own AT&T National, which remains the only current TOUR event not yet won a former Nationwide Tour player.