Nationwide Tour Reaches the Turn at Peek'n Peak  PGA TOUR Staff With the Nationwide Tour reaching the halfway point this week, the competition to secure one of the 25 coveted PGA TOUR cards available for 2008 is just beginning and a tight battle for No. 1 is in the works. The Tour heads north this week to Lake Findley, N.Y. and the Upper Course at Peek'n Peak Resort for its 16th of 32 events. On Thursday 156 players will tee off in the Peek'n Peak Classic with 10 of the year's tournament winners in the field, including last week's Knoxville Open presented by Food City champion Chez Reavie. Also scheduled to be at Peek'n Peak are 13 former PGA TOUR winners led by seven-time winner Bill Glasson. Sunday's champion will collect a $108,000 first prize from a total purse of $600,000. No. 2 money-winner Nicholas Thompson is looking to overtake Nick Flanagan for the top spot. The Australian and 2003 U.S. Amateur champion is idle for the third straight week. Thompson has carved what was a $17,300 Flanagan lead two weeks ago down to $5,425 thanks to a tie for 9th in Knoxville. The 24-year-old former Georgia Tech All-American and Walker Cup team member is in the midst of a very busy week. He traveled from Knoxville to Southern Pines, N.C. to be with his 12-year-old sister Alexis on Monday and Tuesday as she makes U.S. Women's Open history. Twelve years, four months and one day old when she qualified on June 11th, Thompson will be the championship's youngest contestant ever. Brother Nicholas walked the Pine Needles course with "Lexi" on Monday and Tuesday to help her with her yardages and course preparation before heading to New York to rejoin the Nationwide Tour. The Coral Springs, Fla. native has been either No. 1 or No. 2 on the money list the last nine weeks. He was also No. 1 for one week in February following his win in the HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship. Finishing atop the money list at season's end has its rewards, including a spot in next year's PLAYERS Championship field. The rest of the field will be focused this week and in the 16 events that follow on maintaining or playing their way into "The 25". The top-25 money winners at the Tour's final tournament, the Nationwide Tour Championship at Barona Creek, will secure 2008 PGA TOUR playing privileges. Last year, every player who was inside the top 10 after 16 (of 31) events earned his card, yet nine of those ranked 11-25 did not. Esteban Toledo, the 2005 Peek'n Peak champion, moved 43 spots up the money list to No. 25 after finishing third and eighth, respectively, in Rochester, Minn.and in Knoxville, Tenn. The native of Mexico holds the Peek'n Peak Classic's 72-hole record (14-under par 274). He is vying for his second win on the Nationwide Tour having won his first in March at the Livermore Valley Wine Country Championship in northern California. The Upper Course is a par-72, 7,025-yard course designed by John Exley which opened for play in 1996. Peek'n Peak Resort has been the host site of the tournament since the Nationwide Tour came to western New York in 2002. Last year, John Merrick needed three playoff holes to defeat Gavin Coles en route to his first Nationwide Tour victory. Merrick is now on the PGA TOUR and currently ranked 126th on FedExCup list. All four rounds will be televised on GOLF CHANNEL beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET on Thursday. |
