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By Dave Lagarde
PGATOUR.com Correspondent

He's sneaking up on seven figures in earnings and will pass it any week now.

Paul Claxton finished second at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open in March. (WireImage)

But when Paul Claxton arrives at and surpasses $1,000,000 in career earnings on the Nationwide Tour, there will be no celebration. No grand fireworks display. No champagne corks popping. No confetti or streamers dropped from the heavens.

Claxton likely will smile sardonically and move on to the next event, not exactly sure whether he's passed a milestone or had a millstone hung around his neck.

"I can't believe it has taken this long,'' said Claxton, who inched his way toward the million mark with earnings of $2,483.93 after a tie for 43rd in last week's BMW Charity Pro-Am at The Cliffs, bringing his Nationwide Tour career earnings to a record $993,672.

Claxton wasn't referring to his earnings specifically. He was talking about every player who ever teed it up in a Nationwide Tour event over the course of the last 17 seasons.

"Just goes to show you we're not playing for a whole lot of money out here,'' he said. "In my opinion we could be playing for a little bit more because the sad part is, if it wasn't me about to pass $1 million it would be somebody else. And again, in my opinion, this is the next best place there is to play professional golf.''

Claxton, a native of Vidalia, Ga., should know. He has spent the better part of 10 seasons chasing money and the Nationwide Tour's ultimate reward, playing privileges on the PGA TOUR, which, in 2007, go to the top 25 money winners on the final earnings list. Claxton has spent three uneventful seasons in The Big Show, but he made it out through the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament, never off the Nationwide money list.

"I've been close, but not quite,'' he said.

Claxton, 39, finished 17th on the money list in 2001, the season he scored his lone Nationwide Tour victory. But only 15 players graduated then.

Through 11 tournaments in 2007, Claxton is well-positioned to finally take the major step. Thanks mainly to a second at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by Dynamic Industries, where Claxton lost in a playoff to Skip Kendall, he stands in 12th position on the '07 money list with $89,588. While Claxton's total is a far cry from leader and two-time winner Nick Flanagan's $229,077, more than two-thirds of the 32-two event season remains.

Claxton's wealth of experience tells him to keep his head down as well as his eyes away from the money list and to just keep on plugging.

"I really don't want to start watching the money list at this stage,'' he said. "I'll look much later on and see what I need to do. This is a long, hard road. You almost have to play every week (Claxton did not travel to Australia and New Zealand) and fight it out every week.''

His ideal scenario would be to pile money high early in the season and then free-wheel. Trouble is, he has never had that luxury. So, he is forced to grind, grind, grind on a tour that has become more competitive with each passing season.

"It really has been a huge increase, especially in the last four years,'' Claxton said. "There seems to be more seasoned players.''

Claxton points to the events Down Under, which began in 2002, as providing the impetus. Four Australians have used quick starts in those events to gain PGA TOUR cards in each of the last three seasons.

"They've let a lot of get into the (Nationwide) system that maybe never dreamed about it,'' Claxton said. "That really has added to it. Anyone who thinks this is a development tour is kidding themselves.''

The seasons have provided Claxton with a unique perspective on the tour and its trappings. Not that he really want the designation, but he is a walking Nationwide Tour history book. So here are some of his impressions.

Best Player: Zach Johnson with honorable mention to Stewart Cink.

"Zach just had an amazing year in 2003,'' Claxton said of the 2003 Nationwide Tour Player of the Year who rang up two victories, four seconds, three thirds and 16 top 25s in 20 starts. "Cink wasn't quite as good, but he was dominant too.''

Favorite city: Monterrey, Calif.

"We don't go there any more, but it was a beautiful part of the country that I had never seen before,'' he said. "And the course we played on (Fort Ord's Bayonet) was probably the toughest on Tour.''

Favorite restaurant: Outback Steakhouse.

"When you're on the road you have to look for consistency,'' he said. "Outback is consistent and probably the favorite hangout for the players.''

Best tournament: Nationwide Tour Championship.

"If you get there it means you've had a pretty good season,'' he said. "And there's no cut so I feel like I'm playing in a World Championship of Golf event.''

Sooner rather than later Claxton would like all of the above to be pleasant memories. He wants another chance to prove himself on golf's biggest stage.

"I'm a good player,'' he said. "But for some reason I haven't played my best when I've been out there. I'm dying for another opportunity.''