Archive: Nationwide Tour Grad Q&A   Richard Johnson finished first on the Nationwide Tour money list., with two wins and two runner-up finishes. Johnson had eight top-10 finishes on the season and both wins came in the final four weeks. He closed the year with a win at the Nationwide Tour Championship, which vaulted him from No. 6 to No. 1 on the money list and earned him fully-exempt status in 2008.  Chez Reavie finished 18th on the Nationwide Tour money list. In front of record crowds at one of four events remaining from the original 1990 Nationwide Tour schedule, Reavie shot a 5-under-par 67 to finish at 18 under to win the noxville Open presented by Food City for his first career Nationwide Tour victory. He made 15 cuts in 27 Nationwide Tour starts in 2007 and compiled 10 top-25 finishes.  Brenden Pappas finished 22nd. Pappas is headed back to the PGA TOUR after finishing tied for fifth in the Nationwide Tour Championship. Pappas lost his PGA TOUR card after the 2004 season and headed back to the Nationwide Tour, where he finished 24th in 2006. Pappas was especially consistent in the second half of 2007 -- he didn't miss a cut in his last 12 starts of the year. He shot 68 or better in all four rounds of the Nationwide Tour Championship to collect a check for $29,450, his largest of the year.  Justin Bolli finished eighth on the Nationwide Tour money list in 2007. He Notched the second victory of his career at the Northeast Pennsylvania Classic, making birdie on two of the final three holes and finishing the event at 14-under 270, one stroke clear of Richard Johnson and Patrick Sheehan. The win helped him share Player of the Month honors in August with Nick Flanagan. Bolli also posted top-10 finishes at the Price Cutter Charity Championship (3) and the Xerox Classic (T4). He had a hole-in-one on No. 6 during the second round of the Peek'n Peak Classic.  Jon Mills finished fourth on the 2007 Nationwide Tour money list. He went on a a torrid stretch that saw him make nine consecutive cuts, with seven top-20 finishes and a T37 at the Northeast Pennsylvania Classic his worst showing. That streak culminated with a win at the Albertsons Boise Open, where a tournament-record 21-under 263 and an eagle-par-birdie finish produced a three-stroke win over D.A. Points. The first-place check of $121,500 moved him to fifth on the money list, locking up his PGA TOUR card for the 2008 season. Was named the Nationwide Tour's September Player of the Month.  Michael Letzig finished 12th on the Nationwide Tour money list in 2007. He tallied a career-best T3 finish at the HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship, finishing just one stroke out of a Nicholas Thompson/David Morland IV playoff. He moved into a share of the lead after 36 holes, but a 7-over 79 in the third round dropped him well down the leaderboard. Still, Letzig rebounded with a 7-under 65 in the final round to pull within one of the leaders. Letzig also finished inside the top 10 at the Athens Regional Foundation Classic (fourth).  Nick Flanagan won three times on the Nationwide Tour in 2007 and became the eighth player in Nationwide Tour history to earn an immediate three-victory promotion to the PGA TOUR and the first since Jason Gore in 2005. He made 12 of 17 cuts during the 2007 Nationwide Tour season, with six top-25 finishes. He also finished the season third on the money list, with $369,951 despite not playing in the final eight events. He made the cut in his first two TOUR starts after the promotion, a T18 at the Turning Stone Resort Championship and a T17 at the Viking Classic.  Brad Elder finished 17th on the 2007 Nationwide Tour money list, earning himself an exemption for the 2008 PGA TOUR. He won in impressive fashion at the Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open in early August. He carded three rounds of 65 or better in that event and scored his third career Nationwide Tour win. In 2006, he had a hole-in-one during the final round of the Movistar Panama Championship. He aced the 198-yard sixth hole, using a 5-iron-the second ace of the week and the third in tournament history.  Paul Claxton is heading back to the PGA TOUR after finishing 12th in the Nationwide Tour money race in 2007. Claxton won the Melwood Prince George's County Open in late May and became the first player to break the $1 million career earnings barrier on the Nationwide Tour. He Recorded his second runner-up finish of the year at the Peek'n Peak Classic. His strong showing moved him into the top spot on the money list, a position he would hold for three weeks. |
