Franklin Templeton Shootout preview

It's the last event on the 2012 PGA Tour calendar this week. 24 players head to Tiburon Golf Club in Florida for the Franklin Templeton Shootout. Keegan Bradley and Brendan Steele are defending champions.

Keegan Bradley and Brendan Steele defend Franklin Templeton shootout (Getty Images)
Fergus Bisset
By
published

Lowdown: It's the last event on the 2012 PGA Tour calendar this week. 24 players head to Tiburon Golf Club in Florida for the Franklin Templeton Shootout. Keegan Bradley and Brendan Steele are defending champions.

This is a two-man team event featuring three rounds played in differing strokeplay formats. On Friday the pairs play greensomes, on Saturday it's better-ball and on Sunday a scramble.

Hosted by Greg Norman, this will be the 24th time the tournament has taken place. The field comprises: the defending champions, the top three available players from the 2012 PGA Tour money list, the top 10 available players from the career money list plus nine special invites.

FedEx Cup champion Brandt Snedeker is playing. He's partnered with Davis Love III, 2012 US Ryder Cup captain. Snedeker was one of Love's wildcard picks for Medinah.

Other interesting pairings include Greg Norman together with Freddie Jacobson and Mark Calcavecchia with Mike Weir. Twice a winner of the shoot-out, Calcavecchia will be playing with his 12th different partner.

Last year Brendan Steele and Keegan Bradley won by three shots from Rory Sabbatini and Jhonattan Vegas. The rookies led after each of the first two rounds then closed out the victory in style with a final round of 59.

Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida boasts two Greg Norman-designed courses - Gold and Black. The Franklin Templeton shootout is held over the Gold. Lined by pine trees, rolling fairways travel past water hazards and waste areas. This is a natural feeling layout.

Venue: Tiburon GC, Naples, Florida Date: Dec 7-9 Course stats: par 72, 7,288 yards Purse: $3,000,000, Winner: $375,000 Defending Champions: Keegan Bradley and Brendan Steele (-32)

Player Watch: Jerry Kelly and Steve Stricker - The 2009 champions will play together for the fifth straight year. They're both from Madison, Wisconsin and were born just three months apart. They obviously get on well and both are extremely consistent performers.

Ian Poulter and Dustin Johnson - They won in 2010, beating Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell into second place. Both showed good late season form and the combination of Johnson's power and Poulter's scrambling skills is an exciting one.

Brendan Steele and Keegan Bradley - The defending champs will have good memories of this event. Steele hasn't enjoyed the best of seasons but Bradley has been on great form, narrowly missing out to Graeme McDowell last week at the World Challenge in California.

Key hole: 17th. A reachable par-5 of 534 yards, this is a hole where the pairings will be looking to pick up shots. The secret to this hole is to stay left. Water lurks down the right side and a large bunker complex protects the front of the green. If bailing out on the approach, there's a large collection area on the left side and, from there, it's a relatively straightforward pitch onto the green. Where next? European Tour - Nelson Mandela Championship preview

Fergus Bisset
Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?

Latest