The Tour makes its 26^th trip to northwest Ohio for the annual Klinger Klassic...er, Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic.  For the 22^nd consecutive time, Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania is the site.  Eunjung Yi collected 2009's most unlikely victory in last year's event, defeating Morgan Pressel in a one-hole playoff.

Monday the Toledo Blade reported that the Farr will take a one-year hiatus in 2011, supposedly to make way for the U.S. Senior Open which will be held at Inverness less than a month from the Farr's usual week.  Sources were also reporting that a new multi-year agreement between the event and the LPGA would be forthcoming.  I hope so - this tournament has long been a favorite of mine.

Until last year, Highland Meadows was as consistent as a metronome with its average scores falling within a narrow 0.6 range since 2005.  In 2009, a combination of receptive greens, little wind and not-too-difficult rough allowed 115 players to shoot even par or better on the first day and only one player who made the cut finished over par for the tournament (and only +1 at that).  The average of 69.84 was the lowest I have on record going back to 2004.  While I doubt that this "perfect storm" of conditions will happen again, something tells me (intuition? weather report?) the Farr will average under par of 71 for the second year in a row.

I thought a few players might skip the Farr, sandwiched like it is between two majors and being event #4 in a five-week run.  But only four of my Top 10 decided to show up - Jiyai Shin, Na Yeon Choi, Song-Hee Kim and Angela Stanford.  Shockingly, Se Ri Pak - she of the five career Jamie Farr victories - is not here, snapping a 13-year streak of appearances.  The Field Score of 62 is our lowest since last October's Navistar Classic.  The good news - a lot of people who haven't gotten a chance to tee it up this year will do so this week.  Audra Burks, Kim Williams, Lisa Ferrero, Mallory Blackwelder (in on a sponsor's exemption that, as it turned out, she didn't need), Cindy LaCrosse (ditto), Jane Chin, Alison Walshe, Whitney Wade, Carri Wood and Amy Read are all making their first LPGA starts of 2010.  For the first time I can remember, a domestic event has no more alternates listed on the Final Field page.  Basically, everybody who entered and showed up gets to play.

Maybe the reason for the no-shows is the small purse or maybe it's the position in the schedule.  But can somebody give me a single logical reason why this tournament is not being televised by Golf Channel?  Instead of a couple hours of tape-delayed coverage, they would rather show Big Break and replay each round of the AT&T National twice on Thursday and Friday evenings/overnights?  What's worse, take a look at their schedule on Saturday and Sunday afternoons - a three-hour block on Saturday and four hours on Sunday, filled with BB, Destination Golf and Golf's Amazing Videos.  You'd think the freakin' Golf Channel might like to show some live golf on a holiday weekend.

Rant over.  Thinner fields often open the door for an unlikely competitor (such as Yi) to break through with a surprise victory.  I believe we have enough beef here to prevent that from happening again, but you never know.  The Farr has had more than its share of Fluke Victories.  Even so, I like Jiyai Shin's chances to reassert herself in the Rolex/Player of the Year races.