Final 84 Lumber Classic gets under way today
FARMINGTON – No one -not even Joe Hardy himself – is likely to mourn the departure of PGA Tour golf in Pennsylvania more than Chris DiMarco. DiMarco’s first Tour victory came at the SEI Pennsylvania Classic six years ago, and for three straight years, he has posted top-10 finishes at the 84 Lumber Classic.
Beginning today, DiMarco and many of the world’s best golfers – including Vijay Singh and teenage sensation Michelle Wie – will test Mystic Rock when play begins with the first round of the fourth, and final, 84 Lumber Classic at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa.
DiMarco has earned $18.5 million for his career, including $1,112,198.50 over the past six years in Pennsylvania events. In three 84 Lumber Classics, he has finished tied for 10th (2003), tied for 3rd (2004) and tied for 5th (2005), earning $456,150.
“I’ve played well here,” DiMarco said. “I really don’t know (why). (I guess) it’s one of those courses that kind of suits my eye. The greens are always fast and undulating, and I tend to putt well on fast, undulating greens.”
Mystic Rock figures to be a little soggy, as well, at least for the first two rounds. Rain fell most of the day Wednesday, and more wet weather is called for this morning before storms begin to clear out in the afternoon.
Already one of the Tour’s longer courses at 7,511 yards, Mystic Rock figures to play even longer because of the rain.
“It’s playing really long right now,” DiMarco said. “Hopefully, they’ll (Tour officials) move some of those tees up because it’s really playing hard. It’s a great layout and you have to drive it pretty straight and putt well. It’s still raining, so the greens are going to be phenomenal this week.”
DiMarco is one of five members of the U.S. Ryder Cup team who will take part in the 84 Lumber Classic this week, the others being David Toms, Chad Campbell, Scott Verplank and Brett Wetterich.
Toms collapsed last year during the first round of the 84 Lumber Classic because of a rapid heart beat. He was taken to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital, where he was kept overnight.
Toms didn’t require immediate surgery, and even made another appearance at Nemacolin Woodlands before the tournament was over. Then, late last year, Toms underwent heart surgery to correct his problem.
“(My health) is obviously much better than the last time I was sitting in this room,” Toms said. “I’ve been looking forward to coming back here all year, just because of the hospitality that I was shown last year in difficult times.
“I enjoy it up here and I’ve always felt there were a lot of things to do besides just play in the golf tournament, and you can’t say that every week. I was hoping for a summer date so we could come up here and bring our families. In the fall, it’s very difficult. I said to my pro-am partners today, if you’re going to miss a week of school in the fall or sometime during the year, for the kids it would be (for tournaments at) Disney or Hawaii or something like that. It’s not going to be to come up here, whereas in the summer time when they’re out of school, it would be a great place. That’s what I was hoping for, but obviously that didn’t happen.”
Wie will try for the sixth time to make a cut in a PGA Tour event. She has already failed twice this year, first in the Sony Open in January, and then in July’s John Deere Classic, where she withdrew midway through her second round because of heat exhaustion.
Wie will start her round today on hole No. 10 and be grouped with Vance Veazey and Matt Hansen.
“It’s (Mystic Rock) awfully long for her, and she’s probably practicing, going, ‘God, why does it have to rain, because it’s going to make it longer,” said John Daly, the tournament’s unofficial player host. “Michelle is learning, and what a great venue to do it at. The course is long for her, there’s no doubt about that. But she hits a lot of fairways, and she’s going to have a lot of long clubs into the greens, and her short game is going to have to be on.”
Defending champion Jason Gore is back also. Gore took part in Wednesday’s pro-am, and spoke to the media briefly before beginning play.
“My season’s been pretty inconsistent,” Gore said. “I’ve showed signs of being a decent player and I’ve shown signs of quickly making my way back to the Spanos Tour. But it’s part of the learning process out here, and I think I probably played a little bit more than I should have with an elbow injury. Next year, I’ll know to take time off and get healthy, but now I’m back to 100 percent.”