While the biggest names in golf prepare to tee of in Kentucky at the famous Valhalla Golf Club, there's a field of 144 players desperately vying to get into the top-125 on the Money List and secure a Tour Card for next year (and in some cases, be able to take the rest of the year off).  As expected the scoring to this point (in some really good weather) has been low, with 90 players at par or better after the first round.  The Viking Classic is known for producing first time winners on Tour, and this week looks to be no different if the first round is any indication.  In fact, after the first round, our leader is in such a position; and he'll be the subject of this week's Who Is He.  

Who Is He: Marc Turnesa

Age: 30

Birthplace: Rockville Centre, New York, United States

Current Tour: PGA Tour (Top-16 Nationwide Tour Money List Exemption (16th))

Turned Pro: 2006 (Nationwide Tour)

Earnings:  Nationwide Tour.  Wins: 1 (2007).  34 Events Played, 18 Cuts Made, $247,368.  PGA Tour. Best Finish: T-22nd (2008).  23 Events Played, 10 Cuts Made, $263,252.

Why Should We Care: Turnesa currently leads after the first round of the Viking Classic after shooting an opening round 65 (-7), which is a shot clear of the field.  Turnesa currently stands at 168th on the PGA Money List; however, the Winner's Share of the purse (approx. $650,000), would easily put him into the top-125 (and probably into the top-100) on the list, and that would give him an exemption for 2009 season.  Even a top-10 would give him an opportunity to sneak into the top-125, and a decent Fall Swing could be enough to get him there.  It would be quite a coup if he gets the exemption, because Turnesa has just two top-25s this season (T-22nd at the Northern Trust and T-23rd at the Verizon Heritage), and really hasn't been much of a factor in any tournament all year.

As you'd imagine, there's a good reason why he hasn't been much of a factor; and that's because he hasn't played very well.  There is one astonishing stat that we'll get to in a second that I can't believe I missed (and, everyone else missed to be fair); but the rest is pretty much what you'd expect.  He's 108th in Driving Distance and 84th in Driving Accuracy, which is 82nd in Total Driving.  That isn't terrible.  "Pedestrian" would probably be a better word.  He's 164th in Greens In Regulation, which is, in fact, terrible.  Hitting greens at just above 61% doesn't put you in position to make putts, and by proxy, to score well.  Being 94th in Sand Saves doesn't exactly put you in scoring position either.  It's a shame too, because he's 29th in Putting Average and 28th in Putts Per Round, meaning that if he could find a way to get on the green, he'd score much better and win a lot more money on Tour.

What's the difference this week?  Well, he's still T-82nd in Driving Accuracy, and T-88th in GIR, which certainly isn't very good, but being T-22nd in Driving Distance is a huge improvement.  As you'd imagine in this field, he's currently 1st in Putts Per Round and Putts Per GIR (average), which is making a big difference, but another surprise is that he's 1st in Sand Saves, another category he's struggled in.  I don't imagine Turnesa would be much of an odds-on favorite to hang on for the win here, but with a putter like he has; it's certainly not something you can easily discount.  With a hot Lee Janzen, Jay Williamson, Rory Sabbatini and David Toms all lurking within three shots; it's certainly not a stretch to think they, or anyone else could sneak up and outright win this tournament.  It will be very interesting to see if Turnesa can handle the pressure or not, considering how much is on the line for him.