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**truebluefan** · 05-05-2008, 05:46 PM

The Georgian Bay Club, Clarksburg, Ontario, Can
Raven Golf Club at Lora Bay, Thombury, Ontario, Can
Purse: $800,099

**truebluefan** · 06-28-2008, 09:31 PM

The Nationwide Tour's grand design is really quite simple. The objective is to teach pros who aspire to greater heights how to handle their business, learn to travel, manage their games and, primarily, win

In layman's terms, it is better to make one gigantic splash than a string of successful, yet small ones. Speaking of which, welcome to Matt Weibring's world, the one with ripples on the water rather than resounding crescendos.

By all accounts, Weibring, who didn't make his first start until he Monday qualified for the Henrico County Open in late April, should be tickled pink about his first half of the Nationwide Tour season, one in which he made eight starts, eight cuts and accumulated $117,972 thanks in great part to three top 10s as well as three additional top 25s. He is 20th on the money list and stands to graduate to the PGA TOUR in 2009 should he duplicate his financial success in the second half, which begins today with the first round of Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic presented by Samsung.

Still, nothing is guaranteed Weibring, the son of former PGA TOUR winner D.A. Weibring, nor anyone else in the dog-eat-dog world of professional golf.

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**truebluefan** · 06-28-2008, 09:32 PM

He is golf's other Bubba.

He's a redhead, not to be confused with the long-driving brown-haired self-proclaimed new-aged redneck, who disdains hunting, fishing and NASCAR.

And he's a righty, not a lefty, like the Bubba.

That means he's Dickerson, not Watson. But Dickerson would gladly trade places with that other guy who grew up with the same nickname each received as children.

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**truebluefan** · 06-28-2008, 09:32 PM

There is no shortage of irony in that surname, pronounced lean.

If truth is told, there is no more apropos descriptor of Randy Leen's professional career, one that dates back to 1998. And not so coincidentally the surname has applied to his bank account on far too many occasions.

"I wish it wasn't,'' Leen said, laughing while making the obvious reference.

But it is what it is. Now here's the thing about Leen. He says he has managed to perform at his best in his darkest hours.

"I don't know what it is, but I've managed to produce when the chips were down,'' he said after shooting a bogey-free three-under-par 68 at the Georgian Bay Club in the second round of the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic presented by Samsung. "Something keeps me going.''

Add it to first round of 6-under 66 at The Raven at Lora Bay, the other course being used in this $800,099 pro-am, and you'll find Leen's name near the top of the leaderboard through 36 holes with the prospect of a sizable paycheck in the offing should he play like he believes he can on the weekend.

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**truebluefan** · 06-28-2008, 09:33 PM

On a perfect scoring day in Canada, Americans Kyle McCarthy and D.A. Points moved one shot clear of the field as they head into the weekend at the inaugural Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic presented by Samsung, and they're having fun.

"Today is one of the few days where you get to walk off the course and say yes to the question 'did you have fun today?," said Points, an Ocoee, Fla., resident, as he signed his scorecard at Raven Golf Club for a 62 (-10) and a two day total of 131 (-12). The three-time Nationwide Tour winner had 10 birdies and 8 pars.

"Anytime you have more birdies than pars in a round is a good thing, but I wouldn't be a professional if I didn't say I left a couple out there. And I did, I only made one putt outside of 10 feet all day, the rest were all pretty close," said Points. Tying his career-low round of 10-under, Points knew it was going to take something special to get back into contention.

"Before I came out here today I knew the scores were going to be low," said Points, currently No. 34 on the money list. "The wind wasn't blowing and the course isn't overly demanding, I'm not saying the course is easy because there are definitely great tough holes out here, but it won't beat you up."

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**truebluefan** · 06-28-2008, 09:34 PM

Casey Wittenberg, perhaps best known for his runner-up finish at the 2003 U.S. Amateur Championship, moved a step closer to his first Nationwide Tour title on Saturday at the inaugural Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic presented by Samsung.

Wittenberg posted a 4-under 67 during the third round at the Georgian Bay Club to move to 15-under-par 199. He will carry a one-stroke advantage into the final 18 holes over Justin Hicks (67), Bubba Dickerson (67) and Sebastian Fernandez (68) -- all three of whom are also seeking their first Tour win.

"Luckily today I was able to play from the fairway," said Wittenberg, a 23-year-old native of Memphis, Tenn. "It was tough out there. The ground was so wet. But you still have to make birdies when the conditions are not good. You have to find a way to do it."

With two third-place finishes already on his resume this season (Athens Regional Foundation Classic, Bank of America Open) -- as well as eight top-20 finishes in 13 starts -- a win on Sunday would be the final push Wittenberg needs to garner one of the 25 coveted PGA TOUR cards for the 2009 season.

"I'm looking forward to tomorrow," said Wittenberg, who has finished inside the top 20 in six of his last eight starts and occupies the 13th spot on the official money list. "My goal is to get my PGA TOUR card ... I'm just fortunate enough to give myself the opportunity to get it done."

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**truebluefan** · 06-28-2008, 09:35 PM

The head-turning reward is dangling there, tantalizingly, like the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.

It is right there flashing like a neon sign, urging the leaders in the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic presented by Samsung to gaze into the future and get too far ahead of themselves Saturday night. The idea is for those in contention to project what the first-place prize would do for them for the remainder of the 2008 Nationwide Tour season.

That's the trick of the temptation in this trade. And that's what happens when the Gretzky champion will walk away from the Georgian Bay Golf Club aware that a deposit for $144,017 will show up in his bank account by the end of business Wednesday.

"Ssssssshhhhh,'' Keith Nolan exhaled when asked to master the possibilities of what a check with six figures before the decimal point might do for him and his quest to gain playing privileges on the PGA TOUR for the third time. "That's the kind of stuff I've been working with my shrink (sports psychologist) on. All I'll be thinking about it hitting the first shot in the fairway.''

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**truebluefan** · 06-29-2008, 09:32 PM

Funny thing about that shop-worn golf phrase about when it's your time to win it's your

Consider Justin Hicks, who proved that timing is everything in the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic presented by Samsung this week. Had the Gretzky been a regular Nationwide Tour event rather than a celebrity pro-am, Hicks, who entered the week buried in 160th place on the 2008 money list, likely would have been on the outside looking in. But the Gretzky played with a field of 160 professionals, 16 more than normal, serendipitously opening the door for an unwitting winner.

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