Week 29 Approach Shots: Nationwide Tour Championship
By PGATOUR.COM Staff
The 2009 Nationwide Tour season concludes this week in Charleston, S.C., at the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island. This is the 10th site for this tournament, which made its debut in 1993 when David Duval won at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Oregon. Michael Sim is playing his second Nationwide Tour since he graduated to the PGA TOUR following his third Tour 2009 victory. He continues to lead the money list, by $150,128 over Chad Collins. A year ago at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, Matt Bettencourt defeated Jeff Klauk. Both players moved onto the PGA TOUR. The top-60 money-winners are at the Rees Jones-designed Daniel Island Club's Ralston Creek Course this week, with the top-25 on that list at the end of the week earning their 2010 PGA TOUR playing privileges.
| Quick Facts | ||||||||||
|
BACK ON THE ISLAND: The Nationwide Tour returns to the Daniel Island Club after a two-year absence. The Tour played the PalmettoPride Classic at the site in October of 2006. Australian Michael Sim celebrated his 22nd birthday with a playoff victory over Ken Duke in a rare Monday finish due to inclement weather. It was the first and only time in Tour history that regulation play was pushed into a Monday finish. Sim made two pars on Monday morning to force the playoff with Duke, who had finished at 12 under.
SIM TOWERS: Michael Sim continues to add to his record run at No. 1 on the money list this year. The 24-year old Australian took over the top spot on the money list when he captured the Stonebrae Classic in early April. He has been No. 1 since then, a string of 23 consecutive weeks, the longest continuous streak in Nationwide Tour history. Tom Lehman previously held the longest streak, with 20 straight weeks to close out the 1991 season.
AT STAKE: As the final event of the year, the Nationwide Tour Championship takes on much significance this week. It will determine "The 25" PGA TOUR cards for 2010 that will be awarded after play on Oct. 25th. Here's what's at stake based on one's final position on the final money list:
1-25.......receive PGA TOUR cards for 2010
26-60.....are fully exempt on the Nationwide Tour in 2010
61-100...are conditionally exempt on the Nationwide Tour in 2010
26-40.....are exempt into the Final Stage of the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament
41-70.....are exempt into the Second Stage of the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament
INSIDE THE COURSE: The Ralston Creek course will play to a distance of 7,446 yards this week, the same distance it was for the PalmettoPride Classic in 2006. The par-72 layout played to a scoring average of 72.528 that year. The toughest hole was the 450-yard 16th, which had a scoring average of 4.370 to tie for 14th on the list of the most-difficult holes on Tour that year.
MORE SIM: Michael Sim's 23 weeks at No. 1 on the money list now represents the second-highest number of total weeks at No.1 by any player. Joe Ogilvie holds the Tour mark for being at No. 1 for 31 weeks during his career. Tripp Isenhour was No. 2 on the list, with 22 total weeks at the top.
RACE FOR NO. 1: Finishing the year No. 1 on the Nationwide Tour money list has its perks. Michael Sim has held down the top spot for a record 23 consecutive weeks in 2009. With earnings of $536,142 (another record), the Aussie, who turns 25 on Friday, holds a $150,128 lead over Chad Collins. Less than $20,000 separates Collins and Nos. 3 and 4 Blake Adams and Derek Lamely. With a $180,000 first prize, all three have a mathematical chance to catch Sim, who will also be in the Nationwide Tour Championship field this week. The Nationwide Tour's leading money winner is fully-exempt on the PGA TOUR next year and gets invited to THE PLAYERS Championship. Sim can break the $600,000 mark with a four-way tie for second or better.
DRIVING HOME: With one event remaining, Australia's Won Joon Lee has a seven-tenths of a yard advantage over Blake Adams of Eatonton, Ga. (313.3 vs. 312.6) in the Driving Distance stat. Lee, who was born in South Korea, beat Adams out for the title last year, but by a more convincing 6.6 yards per drive average. His 315.7 yard average in '08 was more than the leader on the PGA TOUR (315.1/Bubba Watson).
CLOSING THE DOOR: Holding the 54-hole lead has often led to victory at the Tour Championship. Only twice in 16 years has the tournament winner not held or shared the lead after three rounds. David Duval was in second place, three shots back when he rallied to win in 1993, the first year the tournament was held. Craig Kanada was in sixth, six shots back when he came from behind to win in 2006 at The Houstonian in Texas.
FAST STARTERS: Only three times has an 18-hole co-leader gone on to win the Tour Championship. Stewart Cink (1996), Steve Flesch (1997) and Bob Heintz (1999) all shared the lead after the opening round and eventually won the tournament. No player who has held the outright lead after the first day has won the event.
GIVING BACK: The Nationwide Tour event played in Nationwide Insurance's hometown announced charitable donations Monday of $881,720 from this year's event. The Columbus, Ohio-based Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational made the second largest tournament donation on Tour this year, bringing their three-year total to $1.7 million. The Albertsons Boise Open recently announced a 2009 donation of $1.3 million.
GRAD SUCCESS: 2007 graduate Martin Laird of Scotland outlasted two other Nationwide Tour grads, George McNeill and Chad Campbell, on Sunday to win the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Laird's title increased the number of alumni wins on the PGA TOUR to 258. The first six finishers in Las Vegas were Tour alumni.
| Weather forecast for the Nationwide Tour Championship | ||||||||
|
| Nationwide Tour Championship snippets | ||||||
|
Shop your favorite brand name golf equipment and accessories at SHOP.PGATOUR.COM
PGATOUR.com is part of Turner - SI Digital, part of the Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network 