Nationwide Tour Insider: Race for 'The 25' heats up

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Two-time winners Michael Sim and Kevin Johnson are at the top of "The 25" as the season approaches the halfway point.

The 2009 Nationwide Tour season is nearing its halfway point, with this week's Fort Smith Classic presented by Stephens, Inc. being the 13th of 29 official events. As the race to earn a spot in "The 25" heats up, it's a good time to take a closer look at earnings-to-date and what it might portend for the rest of the year.

More than half of the players in the top 25 on the money list at this same point last year (through 12 events played) went on to finish the season in the top 25 and earn their PGA TOUR cards. Only three came from outside to the top 50 -- Matt Bettencourt (93), Spencer Levin (144) and Scott Piercy (150). Bettencourt won twice late in the year and finished as the leading money winner for 2008.

Last year, the 25th position on the final money list was $218,902 (Ricky Barnes). Two players with two wins apiece have already surpassed this amount. With a current total of $388,117, Michael Sim would have placed fourth in the 2008 final standings and Kevin Johnson would have finished 18th with $253,445. While both Sim and Johnson have likely locked up end-of-year money list promotions, either or both of them would earn instant status on the PGA TOUR with a third win.

Sim's dominating performance this year is reflected in the $319,545 difference between his total and the 25th position (Skip Kendall at $68,572). Last year the difference through twelve events was $140,827 between David Mathis ($223,679) and J.J. Killeen ($84,852).

With two spots in "The 25" effectively secured by Sim and Johnson, that leaves 23 up for grabs. We could expect about half of them to be taken by players already in the top 25, the majority of the rest to come from the top 50 and a few longshots to surge into the top 25 in the second half of the season.

Three things to know about ...

Hardscrabble Country Club

1. At 6,783 yards from the tournament tees, Hardscrabble CC was the third shortest course of the 33 played on the Nationwide Tour in 2008. This is nearly 1,000 yards less than Kinderlou Forest Golf Club, the longest of the year and home of the South Georgia Classic. 2. Although longer than only two, it played more difficult than 17 other courses on Tour last year. 3. The 18-hole record at Hardscrabble is 10-under 60, which was set by Jeff Freeman in 2001 and matched by Chris Couch in 2005.