The Children's Miracle Network Classic presented by Wal-Mart presents a scenario a bit like the opening sentence of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities: a study in contrasts. For most of the players in the field descending on the Walt Disney World Resort outside Orlando, Florida, the season-ending event is a working vacation with the family, a much-deserved weeklong respite from grinding over six-footers in favor of the Magic Kingdom and Mickey Mouse. In fact, this could be the one week that players don't mind missing the cut because it means more time in the theme parks.But for those outside the top 125 on the money list, the week is the final chance to leap within the threshold, earn full playing privileges for 2008 and avoid a trip to Q School, golf's most rigorous challenge. Because the event historically has been played late in the season, the race for the card always has been a major subplot at Disney. But the subject takes center stage this year because it is the season-ender.
Although the focus this week will be on the journeymen, some of golf's biggest events have done well here. Jack Nicklaus won the first three Disney Golf Classics (in the age before corporate sponsorships, when names were simpler), and Tiger Woods won twice, the first in 1996, when his victory vaulted him into the Tour Championship field in just seven starts.
Due its proximity to his home at Isleworth, Woods has played nearly every year and has done very well—in addition to his two wins, he has three top-three finishes. One year, he was running a bit late for his early morning first-round tee time. His caddie, Steve Williams, was waiting in the parking lot, completely unconcerned.
"No worries," he said. "It doesn't take long to warm up a Rolls-Royce."
Williams was right. Woods arrived, hit a few practice balls and stroked few putts, and birdied the first three holes on his way to shooting 63. The odd thing about that round was that despite making nine birdies, Woods couldn't steal the tee from Steve Flesch, who matched his score.
Those rounds illustrate the importance of making plenty birdies on the 7,516-yard Magnolia and 6,957-yard Palm courses, both designed by Joe Lee: Over the past seven years, the winning score has been between 22 and 26 under.
Part of the reason for the low scoring is that since the first two rounds are a pro-am, in which each player is paired with an amateur, the courses are set up easier to accommodate all levels of play. After playing both the Palm and Magnolia Thursday and Friday, the pros play the more difficult Magnolia on the weekend.
While the pros are on stage this week, the courses are popular resort courses the rest of the year, a respite from the sensory overload that the rest of the resort sometimes can induce. There is plenty of room off the tee, although wayward shots to the wide fairways and large greens can find one of many water hazards.
Although there may be plenty of birdies earlier in the round, they may be harder to find during the closing holes on the Magnolia. The final three holes are par 4s of 450, 485 and 492 holes that add extra pressure on players, whether they're looking for a win or a tour card.
