Golf: Turner chases big pay day

By Graham Skellern

A fully-fit Greg Turner is back in the United States preparing for the most important golf tournament of his present season overseas.

Turner, the New Zealand No 1, and countryman Frank Nobilo are teeing up in an elite field of only 41 at the NEC World Golf Championship series on the tight and testing Firestone Country Club course in Akron, Ohio.

The classy field is restricted to European and United States Ryder Cuppers and players in the United States and International teams for the last President's Cup.

The winner on Monday morning (NZ time) takes home $US1 million ($1.92 million) from total prizemoney of $5 million ($9.6 million).

Big pay days will go a long way to helping Turner reach the top 50 in the world - he's presently ranked 64th - and to move Nobilo nearer to the cut-off mark of 125 to retain his playing status for next year's USPGA Tour.

The in-form Turner was hampered by a sore neck during the final round of the US PGA Championship at Medinah and slipped down the leaderboard to 16th equal.

Last week he had three sessions with a physiotherapist. And his wife Jane said from London last night: "He's fine now. It stiffened up between his shoulder blades. He's never had that before and was a bit worried. But it was just bad posture, that's all."