Lowdown: The PGA Tour's Fall Series continues this week with the McGladrey Classic over the Seaside course at Sea Island in Georgia. Heath Slocum defends the title and many of the PGA Tour's best will tee it up. Webb Simpson is among those on the start list. He is currently second on the PGA Tour money list, just $68,971 behind Luke Donald. A good finish here could see him leapfrong the Englishman and thwart his bid to become the first player to top the season-ending money lists on both the PGA and European Tours. Also teeing it up will be Matt Kuchar, Graeme McDowell and Rickie Fowler who arrives in Georgia fresh off the back of a superb victory last week in South Korea. In last year's inaugural McGladrey Classic, Heath Slocum managed to limp across the line to take the title as first Robert Allenby, then David Toms squandered their respective chances. The Seaside course at Sea Island is a classic Harry Colt and Charles Alison design dating from 1929. Tom Fazio completed a renovation in 1999. It's only the second time the course has been used on the PGA Tour but it's been the venue for some significant amateur competitions over the years including the US Senior Amateur an the US Senior Women's Amateur. It's a course where the wind can have a big impact on the test and there may be some stiff sea breezes to contend with later in the week.
Venue: Seaside Course, Sea Island, Georgia Date: Oct 13-16 Course stats: par 70, 7,055 yards Purse: $4,000,000 Winner: $720,000 Defending Champion: Heath Slocum (-14)
TV Coverage: Thursday 13 - Live on Sky Sports 3 from 7pm Friday 14 - Live on Sky Sports 3 from 7pm Saturday 15 - Live on Sky Sports 3 from 8pm Sunday 16 - Live on Sky Sports 3 from 7pm Player Watch: Matt Kuchar - He's Mr Consistent on the PGA Tour with 18 top 25 finishes in his last 23 starts. He has the solid all-round game to perform well at this course. Expect him to finish in the top-10 at least.
Webb Simspon - He'll have the bit between his teeth this week to perform well and overtake Luke Donald at the top of the money list. He only needs to finish inside the top-15 to do that and surely, given his current form, he will.
Rickie Fowler - He won well last week in Korea and will look to build on the confidence gained from that victory with another solid performance this week. If he can get over the jet-lag, he could contend.
Key hole: 18th. At 470 yards, the closing par 4 on the Seaside Course is a real tester. It ranked as the hardest hole on the course in last year's tournament, playing to an average of 4.2. Skills required: Finding greens. Last year's tournament winner Heath Slocum missed only 13 of 72 greens in regulation. Second place finisher Bill Haas missed just seven. Where next? European Tour - Portugal Masters preview
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