Golf Latest: Ensure Classic progressing past the first round
The Ensure Classic has kicked off on Friday at Rock Barn Golf & Spa, Conover where it takes place every year in October. The event is carrying a purse of $1.75million and is currently in its first round.
According the weather forecast, it will be sunny today with temperatures fluctuating in the 70s. The winds are predicted be at 10 to 20 mph with similar conditions on Sunday. However, there will be a slight increase in the
temperatures.
The defending champion, Jay Haas, is clinging to his claim that he will be taking the trophy back with him, although the champion has not come out of the club house as yet while his tee time is at
10.30 am.
The Press and the Golf Channel are providing full coverage of the tournament and the match will be shown at
2-4 p.m. from Friday to Sunday.
The featured pairings of the day are Fred Couples, Jay Haas and Tom Purtzer. They will tee off at 10.30. Next is Russ Cochran, Fred Funk and Eduardo Romero; their tee time is 10.41. The last group to hold the media’s attention
is Bernhard Langer, Ted Schulz and R.W. Eaks. For them, the tee time is 10:52.
This is the strongest overall field in the Champion tour’s history with the top three players in pursuit of the Charles Schwab Cup. Langer, Couples and Funk will be competing against each other to take the lead. The trio
will be the source of most entertainment and the loudest applause.
There are 10 major championship winners in the field, including Fred Couples, Bernhard Langer, Hale Irwin, Tom Kite, Hal Sutton, Bob Tway, Larry Nelson, Larry Mize, Nick Price and Scott Simpson.
There is, however, another player, Russ Cochran who will tee off at
10.51 am. This American is being thought of as the most sensational players on the tour. Having won the past two events, critics are betting on him to win at Rock Barn as well. Cochran is a player who has claimed multiple victories
in this season. According to the record he has claimed four wins and if he succeeds in winning this one as well, then he will bypass Bernhard Langer who is the title holder with five victories. Apart from him, Couples has three and Price has two victories
in the current season.
According to the analysts, the Rock Barn course is a very different layout from other courses. It varies from the Prestonwood Country Club in
Cary where the SAS Championship took place last week. Rock Barn has significant elevation which gives the course a bit of a mountainous feel. Cochran has his chances but they are not based on the fact that he is in form to win on the
championship tour. Instead, it is his drives that can earn him the advantage of the field.
The course is a feast for the long hitters as the relatively short par-5s can only be hunted down by a good iron play and excellent driving. The soft conditions are yet another feature to cash in on.
Haas is still the only player who has conquered the course twice and never been out of the top 10. Although, he did not perform brilliantly this year, he can claim the title once again at Rock Barn.
Currently Kirk Hanefeld is in the lead with 3-under after ten holes and he is followed by Jay Don Blake.
That’s it for now as the first round of the Tournament is still in progress at the Rock Barn and very soon the results of the tournament will pour in. Half of the field has yet to tee off on the par 72 course.
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