The numbers "25" and "60" are on everyone's minds this week PGA TOUR Staff Chattanooga, Tenn. -- The Chattanooga Classic presented by Black Creek is the 30th of 32 official events on the Nationwide Tour this year. In the four-year history of the Chattanooga Classic no tournament has been decided by more than one stroke. The past two years have ended in a playoff. In 2006, Kyle Reifers shot a final-round 61 to come from seven strokes back to catch Brandt Snedeker in regulation. He captured the title with a birdie on the first playoff hole. ![]() Brenden Pappas is just barely in THE 25. (Feldman/WireImage) With only two events left before the season finale -- the Nationwide Tour Championship at Barona Creek near San Diego -- time is running out for those who are on the cusp of making the elite 60-player field. Only $2,263 separates No. 58 Chris Riley and No. 63 Todd Fischer. David Morland IV is the man on the fence at No. 60. The Canadian has a $1,117 lead over last week's No. 60 Kris Blanks. This is also a nerve-wracking time of year for those trying to finish among the top-25 money winners and earn a PGA TOUR card for 2008. South African Brenden Pappas retains the 25th spot for the second week in a row, just $432 ahead of University of Georgia product Franklin Langham, who dropped three spots last week. Last week, Brad Adamonis won the WNB Golf Classic in Midland, Texas to jump from 69th to 30th and secure his spot in the Nationwide Tour Championship field. Two weeks ago he was 88th on the money list. A top-10 finish this week would likely put him inside THE 25. The Nationwide Tour's money leader and two-time winner Roland Thatcher remains in position to capture his third win and an instant promotion to the PGA TOUR, but he's taking a different approach this week. The Auburn University graduate's regular caddie will not be on the bag. ESPN.com's golf editor Jason Sobel will be instead. Thatcher encouraged the pairing as a means of attracting new fans to the Nationwide Tour. Sobel will be filing stories everyday about his experience. After a great stretch of play this summer, Thatcher has inexplicably missed the cut in four of his last five starts. His scoring average at Black Creek Club is 68.67 and his best finish in the event is a T8 in 2004. Also looking for his third win of the season is Kyle Thompson. The University of South Carolina graduate won the Rex Hospital Open and the Oregon Classic earlier his year. His best finish in Chattanooga is a second in 2003. Matthew Jones continues his strong play of late. While winless, the Australian has been in three playoffs. The most recent was two weeks ago at the Mark Christopher Charity Classic, It was his fourth runner-up of the season. Last week, the 27-year-old finished T15 at the WNB Golf Classic. Since the National Mining Association Pete Dye Classic in August, Jones has moved from 30th on the money list to No. 7, which ensures his PGA TOUR card for next year. The purse for the Chattanooga Classic presented by Black Creek is $475,000, with the winner's share $85,500. Next week the Nationwide Tour heads to Miami, Fla., for the final full-field event of 2007, the Miccosukee Championship. |