Week 13 Approach Shots: Nationwide Tour Players Cup

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The Nationwide Tour returns to the Pete Dye Golf Club in Bridgeport, W. Va., for the sixth consecutive year when players compete in this week's Nationwide Tour Players Cup. A year ago, Rick Price edged Chris Anderson in a two-hole playoff. It was the second playoff in three years at the tournament. Jason Enloe is the only past champion in the field this week, and Enloe is coming in hot, having won the Fort Smith Classic a week ago.

Quick Facts

WHAT: 14th of 29 Nationwide Tour events WHEN: June 25-28 WHERE: Bridgeport, W. Va. COURSE: Pete Dye GC WHAT'S AT STAKE: $600,000 purse ($180,000 for winner) KEY LINKS: Tee times | Leaderboard Tournament page | "THE 25"

DYE'S DESIGN: The Pete Dye Golf Club has played close to par 72 in each of the first five years of the tournament. Last year's scoring average was 71.976, putting the course No. 18 among the 34 layouts played on Tour in 2008. For the second consecutive year, the toughest hole on the course was the 500-yard, par-4 ninth, which played to a scoring average of 4.406. That left it No. 8 among the toughest holes on Tour last year.

The Pete Dye Golf Club began in 1978 when the LaRosa family and Pete Dye made a commitment to transform 500 acres of abandoned, coal-mined land into a private golf retreat. Opened in 1995, the Pete Dye Golf Club has consistently been ranked among the nation's top courses -- and one which Pete Dye refers to as "18 of the most exciting and memorable holes that I have ever built on one course." Tournament winners the past four years have been pretty consistent. The winning scores since 2005 have been 17 under, 14 under, 15 under and 15 under.

PLAYER NOTES: Last year's champion Price went on to finish No. 12 on the money list and earn his PGA TOUR card for 2009. Price held a one-stroke lead over Anderson entering the final round at the Pete Dye Golf Club. His even-par 72 left him at 15 under, the same as Anderson, who needed only a 1-under 71 to force a playoff.

This week's field will feature the top 144 players from the 2009 money list. There will not be an open qualifier that usually results in 14 players joining the tournament field, and there will not be any sponsor's exemptions. The field consists of 16 of the top 20 money winners and 24 of the top 30. Leading money winner Michael Sim of Australia is taking the week off following his play at the U.S. Open (he tied for 18th). But two-time winner Kevin Johnson will be teeing it up in search of his third win and a possible instant promotion to the PGA TOUR.

D.A. Points holds the course record at the Pete Dye Golf Club, thanks to a 10-under 62 in the second round in 2004, the inaugural year of the event. Points went on to set a tournament-record 23-under score, while cruising to a five-shot win. Price, who shot an opening-round 64, was one of four players to win a tournament after opening with an 8-under 64. Two other players won in 2008 with opening-round 7-under 64s.

Parker McLachlin tied the Nationwide Tour record in 2007 for the largest 54-hole lead when he was ahead by seven shots entering the final round here. He tied Greg Kraft's mark of seven shots, set en route to winning the 2005 Northeast Pennsylvania Classic. McLachlin stumbled to a 5-over 77 in the final round to drop to a tie for fourth.

Weather forecast for the Fort Smith Classic presented by Stephens, Inc.

THURSDAY, Rd. 1 FRIDAY, Rd. 2 SATURDAY, Rd. 3 SUNDAY, Rd. 4 Isolated t-storms Temp: 87 high/66 low Partly cloudy Temp: 85 high/60 low Isolated t-storms Temp: 88 high/65 low Isolated t-storms Temp: 85 high/62 low

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

Nationwide Tour Players Cup snippets

TICKETS Fore CHARITY: The Nationwide Tour Players Cup has conducted a highly successful "TICKETS Fore CHARITY" program this year and will exceed $125,000 in donations to West Virginia charities. This week in history: Kevin Stadler, playing on a sponsor's exemption, won the Lake Erie Charity Classic in Pennsylvania on the same day his father, Craig, won the Champions Tour's Bank of America Championship in Massachusetts. Next week: The Nationwide Tour is idle the week of June 29-July 5. Tournament play will resume in Ontario, Canada, the following week at the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic.