Enthusiastic crowds greeted the pros this week on the Kodak Challenge hole #17 at Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club. Nathan Green's opening round birdie on the Kodak Challenge hole at the Buick Open moved him into a first place tie with Kevin Streelman, who was idle this week. Green and Streelman lead the Kodak Challenge by one stroke over Nicholas Thompson and Michael Letzig, who led the early rounds of Buick Open and later finished sixth.
Buick Open champion Tiger Woods thrilled fans with a 33 foot birdie putt on the Kodak Challenge hole on Saturday, while Woody Austin drilled at 27 foot putt during the final round to move to within 5 strokes of the Kodak Challenge lead. Despite missing the cut, Jeff Klauk made good use of his limited opportunities on the Kodak Challenge hole, carding birdies twice to move into the third place tie at 9-under-par.
Both Scott Verplank and Tim Herron overcame early round bogies to stay in third at 9-under-par. Nicholas Thompson, who played #17 at par to remain tied for second at 10-under-par, became the first golfer on the PGA TOUR to officially complete 18 Kodak Challenge holes this season. Players must complete a minimum of 18 of the 30 Kodak Challenge holes to compete for the $1 million prize. At the end of the season players are allowed to select their best 18 Kodak Challenge scores. The Kodak Challenge continues on August 6 at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, OH and the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open in Reno. NV.
Current Kodak Challenge Leaderboard (Results as of August 2, 2009)
Name Score Holes
Nathan Green -11 16
Kevin Streelman -11 14
Nicholas Thompson -10 18
Michael Letzig -10 14
Tied at 9 under par are Dean Wilson, Chris DiMarco, Jason Gore, Tim Herron, J.J. Henry, Jeff Klauk, Scott Verplank, John Merrick and Brett Quigley.
About Kodak Challenge Hole #17 at The Buick Open
Enthusiastic crowds traditionally gather at this difficult and picturesque par 3 197 hole at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club. In 2001, the front bunker of Hole 17 was lengthened to capture shots that came up short of the green.. To miss the green left is particularly bad, as it will send the ball to the woods if both of the bunkers are missed. There have only been six aces on Hole 17 at the Buick Open; 57 birdies were scored in 2008.
About the Kodak Challenge
The Kodak Challenge is a first-of-its-kind competition for PGA TOUR players and fans and celebrates beautiful holes and memorable moments on the PGA TOUR. All players can compete, and all they have to do is play. Players must play at least 18 of the 30 Kodak Challenge holes to be eligible to win. A player's lowest score relative to par on his best 18 Kodak Challenge holes will be counted. The player with the lowest cumulative score relative to par wins $1 million and the Kodak Challenge trophy. For more, go to www.kodakchallenge.com.
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Chuck Beeler, cbeeler@mower.com, 315-374-4759.
