PGA Tour

PGA - True South Classic Preview

From The Sports Network

DATES: Thursday, July 19th through Sunday, July 22nd

SITE: Annandale Golf Club, Madison, Mississippi

COURSE ARCHITECT: Jack Nicklaus (1981), redesign (1998)

PAR: 72

YARDAGE: 7,202

Hole-By-Hole:	1 - Par 4 385 yds	10 - Par 4 410 yds
	2 - Par 3 213 yds	11 - Par 5 579 yds
	3 - Par 4 406 yds	12 - Par 3 171 yds
	4 - Par 4 465 yds	13 - Par 4 414 yds
	5 - Par 5 522 yds	14 - Par 4 473 yds
	6 - Par 4 424 yds	15 - Par 3 176 yds
	7 - Par 5 556 yds	16 - Par 4 408 yds
	8 - Par 3 209 yds	17 - Par 4 409 yds
	9 - Par 4 450 yds	18 - Par 5 532 yds
	-------------	-------------
	36 3,630 yds	36 3,572 yds

Annual:	44th
Television:	Golf Channel - Thursday/Sunday -- 3-6 p.m. (et)
Defending Champion:	Chris Kirk
Runner-Up:	George McNeill, Tom Pernice, Jr.
Tournament Record:	263 (Dan Halldorson, 1986 - Par 70)
	266 (Steve Lowery, Skip Kendall, 2000;
	Fred Funk, 2004)
54-Hole Record:	196 (Steve Lowery, 2000)
36-Hole Record:	130 (Hunter Haas, Peter Lonard, 2011)
Course Record:	61 (Keith Clearwater, 1996)
Total Purse:	$3,000,000
Shares:	1st Place - $540,000; 2nd Place - $324,000; 3rd Place - $204,000

2011 Finish
Player	Score	Player	Score
Chris Kirk	266	Jim Renner	268
George McNeill	267	Tommy Gainey	269
Tom Pernice, Jr.	267	Sunghoon Kang	269
Bud Cauley	268	Four players at	270
Hunter Haas	268

Past True South Classic Winners
Year	Winner (Score) -- Runners-Up
2011	Chris Kirk (266) -- George McNeill, Tom Pernice, Jr.
2010	Bill Haas (273) -- Michael Allen
2009	Tournament canceled due to unplayable course conditions from rain
2008	*Will MacKenzie (269) -- Brian Gay, Marc Turnesa
2007	Chad Campbell (275) -- Johnson Wagner
2006	*D.J. Trahan (275) -- Joe Durant
2005	Heath Slocum (267) -- Carl Pettersson, Loren Roberts
2004	Fred Funk (266) -- Ryan Palmer
2003	John Huston (268) -- Brenden Pappas
2002	#Luke Donald (201) -- Deane Pappas
2001	Cameron Beckman (269) -- Chad Campbell
2000	*Steve Lowery (266) -- Skip Kendall
1999	&Brian Henninger (202) -- Chris DiMarco
1998	Fred Funk (270) -- Paul Goydos, Franklin Langham, Tim Loustalot
1997	Billy Ray Brown (271) -- Mike Standly
1996	Willie Wood (268) -- Kirk Triplett
1995	Ed Dougherty (272) -- Gil Morgan
1994	*#Brian Henninger (135) -- Mike Sullivan
1993	Greg Kraft (267) -- Morris Hatalsky, Tad Rhyan
1992	Richard Zokol (267) -- Mike Donald, Bob Eastwood, Mike Nicolette,
	Greg Twiggs
1991	*Larry Silveira (266) -- Russ Cochran, Mike Nicolette
1990	Gene Sauers (268) -- Jack Ferenz
1989	*#Jim Booros (199) -- Mike Donald
1988	Frank Conner (267) -- Brian Mogg
1987	David Ogrin (267) -- Nick Faldo
1986	Dan Halldorson (263) -- Paul Azinger
1985	*#Jim Gallagher Jr (131) -- Paul Azinger
1984	*#Lance Ten Broeck (201) -- Mike Smith
1983	#Russ Cochran (203) -- Sammy Rachels
1982	Payne Stewart (270) -- Jay Cudd, Bruce Douglass
1981	*Tom Jones (268) -- Mike Smith
1980	*#Roger Maltbie (65) -- Lee Carter
1979	*Bobby Walzel (272) -- Buddy Gardner
1978	Craig Stadler (268) -- Bob Eastwood, Bruce Fleisher
1977	Mike McCullough (269) -- Orville Moody, Gary Groh
1976	Dennis Meyer (271) -- Artie McNickle, Tom Purtzer
1975	Bob Wynn (270) -- Mike Morley
1974	#Dwight Nevil (133) -- Bunky Henry, Gil Morgan
1973	Dwight Nevil (268) -- Bert Greene
1972	Mike Morley (269) -- Rick Rhoads
1971	Roy Pace (270) -- Jack Lewis, Jr.
1970	Chris Blocker (271) -- Roy Pace, Martin Roesink
1969	Larry Mowry (272) -- Larry Hinson, Alvin Odom
1968	*B.R. McLendon (269) -- Pete Fleming

* - Won in Playoff

# - Rain Shortened

Note:Formerly called Magnolia State Classic (1968-85), Deposit Guaranty

Golf Classic (1986-98), Southern Farm Bureau Classic (1999-2006), Viking Classic (2007-11). Became an official event in 1994.

Top Contenders in the Field
Player	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2010	2011
Chris Kirk	---	---	---	---	---	---	mc	---	---	Won
Tom Pernice, Jr.	T-67	T-11	---	---	T-12	---	---	---	T-77	T-2
Tommy Gainey	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	mc	---	T-7
D.J. Trahan	---	---	---	---	T-12	Won	T-49	---	T-3	T-9
Joe Durant	---	T-14	T-25	T-32	---	2nd	T-17	mc	T-20	T-27
Lee Janzen	T-37	T-20	---	---	mc	3rd	mc	T-14	T-17	T-38
Cameron Beckman	Won	T-11	---	T-43	T-17	T-25	T-29	T-40	T-52	T-38
Chris Stroud	---	---	---	---	---	---	mc	T-56	T-5	T-59
Heath Slocum	T-37	T-25	T-59	18th	Won	mc	T-13	T-56	T-45	T-61
Will MacKenzie	---	---	---	---	T-66	---	---	Won	T-29	T-69
Ken Duke	---	---	---	T-69	---	---	T-11	T-25	T-8	---

Sports Network Selections

Pick to Win - Lee Janzen
Darkhorse - Luke Guthrie

Last Week's Pick to Win (Steve Stricker) - Finished tied for 5th
Last Week's Darkhorse (Troy Kelly) - Missed the cut

NOTES:

The PGA Tour travels to Mississippi this week for the True South Classic, which was previously known as the Viking Classic. The top players in the world are in England this week for the British Open, so only three players ranked in the top-120 of the world are scheduled to compete - Tommy Gainey (117), Ken Duke (118) and Brendon de Jonge (120). Although lacking some major star power, there are some former major championship winners in the field: Mark Brooks, Lee Janzen, Shaun Micheel and Mike Weir.

Last year, Chris Kirk posted rounds of 67-67-64-68 to outduel Tom Pernice, Jr. and George McNeill for his first PGA Tour victory. It was his third win as a professional after winning twice on the Web.com Tour in 2010. Kirk finished 72 holes at 22-under 266 at Annandale Golf Club, which would have tied the tournament record for a par-72 course; however, rainy conditions forced lift, clean and place rules.

In 2010, Bill Haas held at least a share of the lead after every round as he won his second event of the year. Haas shot rounds of 66-66-69-72 and finished at 15-under-par 273 for a 3-stroke win over Michael Allen. He also won the Bob Hope Classic earlier in the year. Haas would go on to win the 2011 FedExCup.

The 2009 tournament was canceled due to rain which made the course unplayable. Before that instance, the last time a tournament was rained out was the 1991 Independent Insurance Agent Open, which was originally scheduled for April and rescheduled to October. This event has been shortened due to weather nine times since its inception in 1968 and three times since moving to Annandale Golf Club in Madison in 1994. In 2005, the tournament was postponed and moved from October to November due to Hurricane Katrina. This is the second straight year that the event will be staged in July.

In 2005, Heath Slocum fired a 6-under 66 in the final round and edged a low- scoring field to win. Slocum finished at 21-under-par 267 for a 2-stroke victory. Slocum embraced his father after rolling in his final par putt at 18. The elder Slocum, who caddied for his son, is a former Mississippi club pro who participated in this event nine times when it was held at Hattiesburg (MS) Country Club.

There have been five players over the age of 40 to win here: Frank Conner (1988), Ed Dougherty (1995), Fred Funk (1998, 2004), Steve Lowery (2000) and John Huston (2003). There have been seven first-time winners in the last 17 seasons. Dwight Nevil is the only player to win this event two straight years when he won in 1973-74.

The tournament was previously held at Hattiesburg Country Club for the first 26 years. Annandale Golf Club has hosted since 1994. This event became an official PGA Tour tournament in 1994. It was an unofficial event from 1968-82 and 1986-93, as money earned counted on the money list, but a victory wasn't an official PGA Tour win. From 1983-85, the event was part of the Tournament Players Series, the forerunner of the Web.com Tour.

The PGA Tour heads to Canada next week for the RBC Canadian Open in Ancaster, Ontario at Hamilton Golf & Country Club, where Sean O'Hair will defend his title.

07/17 14:48:41 ET

As of July 17, 2012, at 02:48 PM ET