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In a sign of the times, the MGM Tour suffered a Tour-worst 60 missed tournaments on aggregate in 2016, 110 in the last 2 years alone (from 2010 to 2014 the Tour averaged just 22 non-starters). All but 1 tournament last season suffered historic worst attendance. And so, as the MGM Tour enters its 15th season, changes are in store:
• The 2017 schedule suffers a casualty with the loss of the Manhattan Beach Championship. The 18-hole tournament, that served as the season opener, ran for 8 years beginning in 2009 with Martin Witt winning the inaugural edition. It will end with Ed Quiroz as its last champion. Other winners include 3-time champion Doug Vargas and Tim Joe, whose lone Tour victory came on the picturesque course.
• Along with 1 less tournament, Tour players will find a reshuffle of the Tour calendar and an earlier season’s end.
• To the possible delight of the golfers, the Tour will lose young gun and rising star Nik Freitas this season. The 2015 Match Play champion announced he will be taking an indefinite leave from the Tour. Also taking leave from the Tour is Travis Gordon.
• Top 2 scores in Devil Ball qualify for the Masters.
MILESTONES
Charter members Armen Grigorian (99), Clint Crump, Patrick Bird, and John Frost (all 3 at 97) will hit the century mark in career starts this season.
4 most compelling golfer storylines for the upcoming season
Ed Quiroz: Can he recover from last year’s heartbreak? He lost the #1 spot on the final day of the season after nearly going wire to wire.
Doug Vargas: For the first time in 6 years he finished without a win. Can he rebound from the worst season of his career?
Winless streaks to be broken? Tim Joe (44) Rene Quiroz (40), Gerry Vaughan (38) own the 3 longest winless streaks.
John Frost: Fresh off hip surgery, and hopefully pain free, will Frost rediscover the winning touch? Last season he went winless for the first time in 5 years.
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