Week 23 Approach Shots: Utah Championship

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The 11th Utah Championship is this week at Willow Creek Country Club in the Salt Lake City suburb of Sandy. In 2008, despite opening with a 12-under 130 through 36 holes, Brendon Todd was still two strokes behind Marc Leishman at the halfway point. Todd couldn't keep up his torrid pace, but his 65-67 finish was enough to give him a six-stroke victory over six players, leading to his promotion to the PGA TOUR.

Quick Facts

WHAT: 23rd of 29 Nationwide Tour events WHEN: Sept. 10-13 WHERE: Sandy (Salt Lake City), Utah COURSE: Willow Creek Country Club WHAT'S AT STAKE: $550,000 purse ($99,000 for winner) KEY LINKS: Tee times | Leaderboard | Tournament page | "THE 25"

After this week, only five full-field tournaments remain on the schedule before the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island in Charleston, SC. The top-60 on the money list after the Miccosukee Championship on Oct. 18 qualify for the season-ending event. At the conclusion of the season, the top-25 money-winners will get their 2010 PGA TOUR cards.

MEXICO OPEN WINNER TROY MERRITT / AN IMPRESSIVE COLLEGE RESUME: Playing in only his 12th Nationwide Tour event, Troy Merritt captured the Mexico Open at El Bosque Golf Club in Leon on Sunday, thanks to a 20-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff. The 23-year-old Boise resident won nine events while attending Boise State University, including seven in his senior year and an NCAA record five in a row. As a senior, he led the nation in scoring average (69.53). In 2007-08 he was a second team All-American. Prior to arriving at Boise State, Merritt won 12 times in his first two college seasons at Division II Winona State in Minnesota. He made a huge leap from 146th to 27th on the Nationwide Tour money list and is now only $376 and two spots outside "The 25". Prior to Mexico, Merritt had made five cuts in 10 starts. "I won a lot in college," Merritt said on Sunday. "The difference between college and here is the level of play. Out here it's unbelievable. Anybody out here can win any week of the year." Next week's 20th Albertsons Boise Open at Hillcrest Country Club will be a homecoming for Merritt.

THE SLIMMEST OF LEADS: Only the top 25 money winners will earn their PGA TOUR cards for 2010 via the Nationwide Tour. Through the first 22 events the competition couldn't be much closer. Mexico Open playoff runner-up Adam Bland now occupies the 25th spot....but not by much. He is $273 ahead of Martin Piller, who is $103 ahead of Troy Merritt. One other money list number a lot of players are focused on is 60. The top 60 qualify for the season's $1 million grand finale, the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island in Charleston, S.C. Making the field historically gives every player a mathematical shot at "The 25" and ensures fully-exempt status on the Nationwide Tour for the following year if he does not finish inside "The 25". Current No. 60 Hunter Haas maintains a $544 lead over J.J. Killeen.

RICKIE FOWLER AND SAM SAUNDERS TO MAKE PROFESSIONAL DEBUTS IN BOISE NEXT WEEK: On Sunday, Rickie Fowler will wrap up his impressive amateur career at the Walker Cup at Merion Golf Club in Pennsylvania, then board a plane on Monday for Idaho and the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft, where he will make his first start as a professional. Also making his first start there as a professional in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event will be Sam Saunders, grandson of Arnold Palmer. Fowler, 20, recently completed his sophomore year at Oklahoma State University. Saunders, 22, was a member of the Clemson University golf team the last three years. Fowler and Saunders are from Murrieta, Calif. and Windermere, Fla., respectively.

FEDEXCUP & PRESIDENT CUP CONNECTIONS: Of the 70 players who remain in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, 40 are former Nationwide Tour members. Points leader Steve Stricker tops the list. The Wisconsin native played the Nationwide Tour in 1991 before joining the PGA TOUR. The Nationwide Tour will be represented by nine alumni at next month's Presidents Cup. They include Steve Stricker, Zach Johnson, Stewart Cink, Sean O'Hair, Jim Furyk and Lucas Glover on the United States Team and Camilo Villegas, Ernie Els and Tim Clark on the International Team.

CHRIS TIDLAND NAMED PLAYER OF THE MONTH FOR AUGUST: Two-time Oklahoma State University All-American Chris Tidland earned Nationwide Tour Player of the Month honors for August. The 1995 NCAA Championship medalist won the Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open and finished T8, T16 and 4th in his other three starts to climb from 10th on the money list to 2nd. All but two of his 16 rounds were in the 60s. Congratulations, Chris!

"FINS & PINS" AND "MUSTACHE " RETURN: On Tuesday the "Fins and Pins" competition was conducted for players, caddies, friends and family, with a fishing event taking place in the lake beside the ninth green and a ten-pin bowling competition on the alleys at Willow Creek. It's also "Mustache Week" in Utah. Roger Tambellini is the defending champion of a competition that was spearheaded last year for the first time by Bob Burns, Chris Anderson and Chris Smith. Approximately 35 players and staff participated and on Sunday Utah Championship officials distributed 2,500 fake mustaches to spectators. The 2009 winner will be announced on Sunday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ARNOLD PALMER: On Thursday, the legendary Arnold Palmer turns 80. A strong supporter of the Nationwide Tour over the years, the Nationwide Tour wishes Mr. Palmer well as he celebrates his 80th birthday!

STEVE STRICKER'S WIN IS NO. 256: Steve Stricker's win on Monday in the BMW Championship was not only his third of 2009, it upped the number of times a Nationwide Tour alum has won on the PGA TOUR to 256.

EL BOSQUE / THE LONGEST YARD: Last week's venue for the Mexico Open, El Bosque Golf Club, assumed the mantle as the Nationwide Tour's longest course. At 7,808 yards, it is 27 yards longer than Kinderlou Forest Golf Club, site of the South Georgia Classic in Valdosta, Ga. El Bosque, however, does not play as long as Kinderlou Forest given it is 6,800 feet above sea level in Leon, Mexico.

GOLF CHANNEL WILL BE THERE: As "THE 25" action heats up on the Nationwide Tour, Golf Channel will televise five of the final seven events, beginning with this week's Utah Championship.

LAST WEEK: Nationwide Tour rookie Troy Merritt of Boise, Idaho defeated Adam Bland of Australia at the 51st Mexico Open presented by Corona Light when he sank a 20-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff, the Tour's 10th of the year.

NEXT WEEK: The Nationwide Tour heads to Idaho for the 20th Albertsons Boise Open at Hillcrest Country Club.

Weather forecast for the Utah Championship

THURSDAY, Rd. 1 FRIDAY, Rd. 2 SATURDAY, Rd. 3 SUNDAY, Rd. 4 Partly cloudy Temp: 90 high/61 low Partly cloudy Temp: 86 high/58 low Partly cloudy Temp: 83 high/58 low Partly cloudy Temp: 87 high/64 low

DTN/Meteorlogix is the official weather provider of the PGA TOUR. For more information, click here

Utah Championship Presented by Utah Sports Commission snippets

HONORING 9/11 All flagsticks at the Willow Creek Country Club this week will feature United States flags during Fridays first round of the Utah Championship. Friday is Sept. 11, marking the eighth anniversary of the tragedies that occurred in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. in 2001. MOVING ON This Sunday, Rickie Fowler will wrap up his impressive amateur career at the Walker Cup at Merion Golf Club in Pennsylvania. His next start will be at the Albertsons Boise Open the week after the Utah Championship. TIGHT ON MONEY Through the first 22 events this season, the money-list race couldnt get a whole lot closer. Mexico Open playoff runner-up Adam Bland now occupies the 25th spot. He is $273 ahead of Martin Piller, who is $103 ahead of Troy Merritt, the Mexico Open winner.