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By PGA TOUR staff

For the 10th consecutive year, Hardscrabble Country Club will host the Fort Smith Classic. The par-70, Perry Maxwell-designed layout, which opened in 1927, has seen a variety of winners in its first nine years hosting the event, including PGA TOUR winners Mark Hensby, Zach Johnson and Chris Couch.

A year ago, Darron Stiles outlasted Michael Putnam in a one-hole playoff to pick up his fourth Nationwide Tour title. This week, 156 players descend on Fort Smith, including six of the eight winners on Tour this season.

This week, Darron Stiles is hoping to become the first player to successfully defend a Nationwide Tour title. (Grayson/WireImage)

STILES SEEKING FIRST SUCCESSFUL TITLE DEFENSE -- A member of the PGA TOUR this year via the National Qualifying Tournament, Darron Stiles is in the Fort Smith Classic field seeking to become the first player to successfully defend a Nationwide Tour title. The 33-year-old Florida native and Florida Southern graduate won last year's Ft. Smith event in a playoff over Michael Putnam. At age 16, Stiles had successful surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his jaw. Surgeons grafted bone from his hip to repair the jaw.

FORT SMITH CLASSIC CELEBRATES 10th ANNIVERSARY -- The Nationwide Tour returns to Fort Smith and the Perry Maxwell-designed (1927) Hardscrabble Country Club for the tenth consecutive year. Three past champions are in the field (Todd Fischer/2002, Franklin Langham/2004 and Darron Stiles/2006) as are 17 former PGA TOUR winners. At only 6,783 yards, Hardscrabble was still the 13th most difficult course on Tour last year. The tournament has enjoyed three playoffs in its first nine years.

TEAM NATIONWIDE ANNOUNCED -- Last week Nationwide announced the creation of "Team Nationwide", a select group of 2006 Nationwide Tour graduates who are currently competing on the PGA TOUR. By visiting nationwide.com/teamnationwide, fans can track the success of the 19 players throughout the season, view bios and videos, participate in contests, and more. "Team Nationwide" and the Nationwide Tour's recently announced "The 25" program provide fans two programs that allow them to follow the success and impact of recent graduates and the quest for a PGA TOUR card by current Tour members seeking to make the transition to the PGA TOUR.

INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS LED BY AUSSIES HAVE STRONG PRESENCE IN "THE 25" -- One-quarter of the way through the 2007 Nationwide Tour season (8 of 32 events completed), six Australians are among "The 25" and in contention to earn a coveted PGA TOUR card for 2008 -- Nick Flanagan (No. 8 / Henrico County Open winner), Aron Price (11th), David Lutterus (15th), Matthew Jones (16th), Greg Chalmers (22nd) and Marc Leishman (24th). Argentina's Miguel Carballo (6th), Scotland's Martin Laird (7th), Canada's David Morland IV (12th) and Chris Baryla (25th), and England's Gary Christian (18th) increase the international representation in the top 25 to 11 through last week's Henrico County Open.

EIGHT STARTS / EIGHT DIFFERENT WINNERS -- To date, the Nationwide Tour has not had a repeat winner in its first eight tournaments. The eight winners hold down the first eight spots on the money list : 1-Skip Kendall, 2-Nicolas Thompson, 3-Omar Uresti, 4-Scott Sterling, 5-John Kimbell, 6-Miguel Carballo, 7-Martin Laird and 8-Nick Flanagan. There have been three playoffs.

NICK FLANAGAN IS NO. 50 -- In winning in Richmond, VA on Sunday, Nick Flanagan became the 50th different international player to win a Nationwide Tour event. The 50 winners are from 18 different countries, with Australia having the most wins, 28. Flanagan won the 2003 U.S. Amateur at age 19 at Oakmont CC.

KEN DUKE SCORCHING HOT ON TEXAS WEEKEND -- 2006 Nationwide Tour Player of the Year Ken Duke continued his good play this spring in Dallas. After making the cut on the number at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship, Duke recorded the best 36-hole score on the weekend. His 64-66--130 total on Saturday and Sunday jumped him all the way to tie for seventh. He collected a check for $203,175. After a slow start in 2007, he has three top 10s in his last three starts (Verizon Heritage/tie for 10th, Zurich Classic of New Orleans/2nd and EDS Byron Nelson Championship/tie for seventh). Duke has earned nearly $1 million ($986,175) during this stretch and moved into 29th spot in the FedExCup.

DID YOU KNOW? Phil Mickelson's former Arizona State University teammate Todd Demsey extended his cuts made string to eight in the Henrico County Open. He remains the only player on the Nationwide Tour to have made the cut in all eight events this year.