1.00pm
New Zealand golfer Michael Long faces an anxious time as he strives to confirm his playing card for the 2005 PGA Tour in the United States.
Long is on course to return to the tour for the first time since 2002 as he enters the business end of the secondary Nationwide
Tour season.
The 1996 New Zealand Open champion fell one place to 15th on the tour's moneylist, with income of US$195,084 ($289,657), after missing the cut in the Gila River Classic which ended in Phoenix, Arizona, yesterday.
It was Long's 11th missed cut in 25 outings but at least he remained inside the top 20 who earn automatic entry to the PGA Tour for next season.
Three events remain on the Nationwide Tour, including the US$450,000 Permian Basin Charity Classic later this week in Texas, the US$500,000 Miccosukee Championship in Florida and the US$625,000 Nationwide Tour Championship in Alabama which ends on November 1 (NZ time).
Long has little room for error as the season winds down. Only about US$13,000 separates him from the 20th player on the Nationwide moneylist, Sweden's Daniel Chopra.
However, Chopra is presently 99th on the PGA Tour's moneylist as well and ideally positioned to retain his card for 2005, meaning Long will be looking to the 21st player, Brett Wetterich, who sits just US$170 further back of the Swede.
Steve Alker, another New Zealand regular on the Nationwide Tour, needs an extraordinary finish to the season to push his claims for a PGA Tour presence.
Despite finishing in a tie for sixth in the Gila River Classic yesterday, Alker improved just three places to 73rd on the moneylist with tournament earnings of US$74,433.
- NZPA
