LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Luke Donald, trying to capture the PGA Tour money title, became part of a seven-way tie for the lead Friday at the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic.
The player Donald must overtake to finish first in the season-long cash race was close behind on a crowded leaderboard that saw the first 42 players separated by only three shots.
The final PGA Tour event of the season began Thursday with Webb Simpson owning a lead of $363,029 over Donald in the race for the top spot on the money list. Donald, the world's No. 1 ranked player, is trying to become the first player ever to win the money crown in both the United States and Europe in the same year.
Donald -- who must finish no worse than in a two-way tie for second place to have a chance at the top spot -- opened the tournament with a 6-under 66. That was the same score shot by James Driscoll, Arjun Atwal, Nathan Green, Gary Woodland, Scott Stallings and Derek Lamely.
Seven players were only a shot behind, including Kris Blanks and Paul Stankowski. Simpson, one of six two-time winners on the tour this year and twice a loser in a playoff, shot a 68.
Driscoll got off to a solid start in his bid to retain his PGA playing rights for next year. The top 125 players on the money list are exempt from qualifying for the 2012 season and Driscoll began this week in 125th place.
To add to the drama, Simpson and Donald were paired together for the first two rounds and neither of them made a bogey Thursday. Donald birdied four of his first seven holes at the Walt Disney World Palm Course, one of two used for this tournament. The two money leaders will play the Magnolia Course Friday.
