The McGladrey Classic 2012 preview: Zach Johnson, Davis Love III host the Tour at St. Simons

The second edition of The McGladrey Classic gets underway this week from St. Simons Island. The tournament has gained a foothold on the Fall Series with a number of Tour players residing in the area, long known for being a playground for American nobility. The group of players who call St. Simons and Sea Island home can make the field at the Seaside Course deeper than at your typical Fall Series event.

Davis Love III is the original Sea Island pro, and he’ll be in attendance again this year as he tries to make his third straight cut this fall. Love has rebounded from the Medinah meltdown by making the cut in Las Vegas and at CordeValle. But like his team’s collapse in the Ryder Cup, he’s struggled on the weekends. The home environment and his relatively steady play should make him a favorite this week at St. Simons.

Iowan turned Georgian Zach Johnson is also one of the bigger names in attendance, playing a home game at St. Simons. Johnson had perhaps the most consistent summer on Tour. The deadly-accuate driver had him near or at the top of leaderboards on a weekly basis. That play carried over to the Ryder Cup, where he was one of Captain Love’s steadier players. This will be his first appearance since Chicago, but he enters the week with some of the best form on Tour.

Some of the other stars at The McGladrey Classic include Jim Furyk, Vijay Singh, and Jason Day. This will be Furyk’s first tournament since he burned the edge on No. 18 to lose a Sunday singles match against Sergio Garcia. He likely took the Ryder Cup loss harder than anyone on the American team. Furyk had an up-and-down season, characterized by excellent play that dropped off at the most inopportune times. A win in the Fall Series could keep his game in shape heading into next season, where he hopes to finish off some of the chances he created for himself in 2012.

Singh is probably the biggest “gym rat” in the history of golf, constantly grinding it out on the range and showing up on a weekly basis when players of comparable historical stature and wealth rest at home. He had his best finish of the season last week at the Frys.com Open, posting 14-under to land inside the top five. Day had a lackluster 2012 after an impressive 2011, but he looked strong in his last appearance at the Shriners. The young Aussie is one of the most talented players in the world and has the nerves to match, so he has to be a favorite in a fall field.