Nick Flanagan to make TOUR debut at Turning Stone Resort
 
Sep. 17, 2007

Australian Nick Flanagan will make his debut as a member of the PGA TOUR this week at the Turning Stone Resort Championship in Verona, NY. The 23-year-old became the first player since 2005 to earn a three-win promotion to the PGA TOUR on Aug. 19 when he came from seven shots behind on Sunday to win the Xerox Classic at Irondequoit Country Club in Rochester, N.Y. He won two other events in the spring, the Hernico County Open in Richmond, Va. and the BMW Charity Pro-Am at the Cliffs near Greenville, S.C.

Jason Gore was the last to earn a victory promotion in 2005. Flanagan is the eighth player in Nationwide Tour history to achieve the feat.

Flanagan's first event was delayed as he was not eligible for the four-week PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. He returns to upstate New York with good memories of his last visit to the area. Atunyote Golf Club at Turning Stone Resort near Syracuse is the venue for this first-year event.

The 2003 U.S. Amateur champion has played in 11 PGA TOUR events. In 2004, he competed in 10, including the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open. His last PGA TOUR appearance was in 2005 when he finished T23 in the British Open.

A native of New South Wales, Australia, Flanagan is still second on the Nationwide Tour money list behind two-time '07 winner Roland Thatcher. Flanagan earned $369,951 in 17 starts this year. He hasn't ruled out competing again on the Nationwide Tour in 2007 as the TOUR's leading money winner will be fully exempt on the PGA TOUR in 2008 and receives a coveted spot in the PLAYERS Championship field.

Flanagan will be joined by 24 other Nationwide Tour players on the PGA TOUR in 2008. The top-25 money winners earn TOUR cards at the concluding event of the season, the Nationwide Tour Championship at Barona Creek near San Diego, Ca., Nov. 1-4.