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ONLY $469 SEPARATES NOS. 25 AND 26
Talk about a razor-thin margin; a mere $469 separates Chris Tidland at No. 25 and his nearest pursuer, Hunter Haas. This is the slimmest margin of this decade. Coincidentally, Tidland has the next slimmest margin since 2000. In 2004, he was on the outside looking in at No. 21 when 20 cards were awarded, by $1,455. The largest deficit was $5,362 in 2001.

CARD PROGESSION
Effective last year, the Nationwide Tour began offering 25 PGA TOUR cards. Since the Tour's inception in 1990, the number of cards issued has been commensurate with its steady growth:

GOLF CHANNEL TO AIR "CARD CEREMONY" ON TUESDAY EVENING
GOLF CHANNEL will air the Nationwide Tour's Card Ceremony on Tuesday, Nov. 11, as part of the final episode of "Quest for the Card: Inside the Nationwide Tour" at 7 p.m. ET. The Ceremony will be held at TPC Craig Ranch immediately after play on Sunday.

de Jonge

MONEY TITLE IS MEANINGFUL
Brendon de Jonge enters the Nationwide Tour Championship No. 1 on the money list with a $39,897 lead over Jarrod Lyle of Australia. In the unlikely event de Jonge finishes last, Lyle would need a fourth-place finish or better to overtake him, assuming no one overtakes Lyle. The incentive to earn the top spot is significant as it awards fully-exempt status on the PGA TOUR next year and an invitation to THE PLAYERS. But a lot can happen between now and Sunday. Last year, Richard Johnson of Wales leapt from sixth to first by winning the Championship. De Jonge needs to make $79,174 to reach Troy Matteson's single-season earnings mark of $495,009. He would need to finish first or second to get there.

DE JONGE LOOPS FOR FRIEND IN Q-SCHOOL QUALIFIER
How did the Nationwide Tour's leading money winner Brendon de Jonge spend last week in preparation for the Nationwide Tour Championship? He walked 72 holes with the bag of one of his best friends on his shoulder at the first stage of the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament at Treyburn Country Club in Durham, N.C. De Jonge grew up with Bruce McDonald in Zimbabwe. McDonald was an All-American at the College of Charleston and now resides in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. Unfortunately, McDonald tied for 45th, six shots off the pace, and did not advance.

COURSE DESIGNER WEISKOPF TO BE IN ATTENDANCE
TPC Craig Ranch architect Tom Weiskopf is scheduled to attend the Nationwide Tour Championship. The 1973 British Open champion and winner of 15 PGA TOUR events has more than 40 course designs to his credit.

Compton

CALLAWAY GARDENS IN GEORGIA IS COMPTON'S NEXT TEST
Next week (Nov. 12-15), two-time heart transplant recipient Erik Compton will continue his quest to earn a PGA TOUR card at the Mountain View Golf Course at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Ga. The Miami native and former University of Georgia All-American came from seven shots off the pace on Oct. 24 in Miami to advance in the first stage of the PGA TOUR's Qualifying Tournament. The third and final stage takes place in Palm Springs, Calif., at the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West, Dec. 3-8. Compton has received a sponsor exemption to play in this week's PGA TOUR event, the Children's Miracle Network Classic. He has competed in 84 Nationwide Tour events since 2002, with his best finish a playoff runner-up in the 2003 Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open.

PALMER IS NO. 237
For the fourth week in a row, a Nationwide Tour alumnus has won a PGA TOUR event. Ryan Palmer's win at the Ginn sur Mer Classic was the 237th PGA TOUR title claimed by a Nationwide Tour grad. The Amarillo, Texas, native played the Tour in 2003, winning once in New Zealand and earning his TOUR card with a sixth-place finish on the money list.

NEXT EVENT
This week's Nationwide Tour Championship at TPC Craig Ranch is the 30th and final event of the 2008 season.

THIS WEEK IN NATIONWIDE TOUR HISTORY
Nov. 7, 2006: Nationwide and the PGA TOUR announce the company will extend its umbrella sponsorship agreement of the Tour for five years, through 2012. Nationwide became the umbrella sponsor in 2003.