Nationwide Tour E-Notes- Week of August 13 Three players who competed on the Nationwide Tour last year finished in the Top-20 at last week's PGA Championship. Boo Weekley led the way with a T9 finish while Ken Duke and Brandt Snedeker each finished T18. The Nationwide Tour will be well represented at this year's Presidents Cup. The U.S. team boasts seven alums -- Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson, David Toms, Steve Stricker, Stewart Cink, Woody Austin and Lucas Glover -- while the International side has two -- Ernie Els and Stuart Appleby. Irondequoit CC, the site of this week's Xerox Classic, is one of the shortest courses on the Nationwide Tour at 6,720 yards. That doesn't mean it's easy, though. Last year, Irondequoit played as the eighth most difficult course on the Tour at 1.063 strokes over par. The Xerox Classic is the 23rd event of the season and will feature a $600,000 purse, making it one of 13 events on the schedule offering at least $600,000 in prize money. Sunday's winner will take home $108,000. The Irondequoit Country Club got its start in 1916 as a nine-hole layout designed by famed golf architect Donald Ross. In 1952, a second nine was added when land was purchased from the neighboring and world-renowned Oak Hill Country Club, abutting its famous East Course. The resulting 18-hole course is considered one of the favorites among the Nationwide Tour membership. A year ago at the Xerox Classic, Kevin Stadler posted the first of his two victories of the season, storming back from three strokes down at the beginning of the day to clip Glen Day by a stroke. The victory worth $108,000 -- coupled with another win at the Albertsons Boise Open -- was enough to propel Stadler into the 12th spot on the final money list, with $294,657. In the process, the son of Champions Tour player Craig Stadler became one of a Tour-record 22 players to surpass $200,000 in earnings last season. In addition to Kevin Stadler's one-stroke win in 2006, Rick Price claimed the inaugural Xerox Classic by a single shot over Andrew Pratt in 2005. It represented Price's only Tour win. Four of the Top-10 players in Driving Accuracy have won this year -- Omar Uresti, Skip Kendall, Paul Claxton and Chez Reavie. Only one player in the Top-10 in Driving Distance has won - Jason Day. Of the players who have already won on Tour in 2007, two-time winner Roland Thatcher posted the best finish at last year's Xerox Classic.The former Auburn University All-American tied for sixth, three strokes behind champion Kevin Stadler. In just two seasons, the Xerox Classic has already contributed more than $100,000 to area charities. Local organizations that benefit from the tournament include the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center, the YMCA of Greater Rochester, The First Tee of Rochester and the Education Programs of the Rochester Broadway Theatre League. |