Nationwide Tour set for North American schedule

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NATIONWIDE TOUR LAUNCHES NORTH AMERICAN SCHEDULE NEXT WEEK -- After an strong start to the 2010 season that featured events in New Zealand, Australia, Panama and Colombia including two that ended in a playoff, the Nationwide Tour will play its first tournament on domestic soil next week.

The Tour visits Broussard, La. for the 19th playing of the Chitimacha Louisiana Open. Former U.S. Amateur champion Bubba Dickerson will be at Le Triomphe Country Club to defend. The Nationwide Tour will play 25 more tournaments in the U.S., Canada and Mexico through the end of October when the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island in Charleston, S.C. brings the 21st season to a close.

ALISTAIR PRESNELL'S BRILLIANT DEBUT -- Nationwide Tour member Alistair Presnell made the most of his first World Golf Championships and PGA TOUR appearance last week. The Aussie moved up 18 spots on the WGC-CA Championship leaderboard Sunday thanks to a 64 at TPC Blue Monster in Miami, Fla. With birdies on the last three holes, he finished T6 and collected a career-high check for $214,300. P

resnell earned his spot in the WGC field as a result of finishing among the top two on last year's PGA Tour of Australasia money list. The Melbourne native and former air conditioning mechanic played his first full season on the Nationwide Tour last year, winning the Moonah Classic in Australia but fell short of earning his 2010 PGA TOUR card via "The 25". He has made the cut in all four of his Nationwide Tour starts this year, with a T15 at Moonah Links his best finish. Presnell will celebrate his 31st birthday next Friday.

ALUMNI DOUBLE -- With Ernie Els and Derek Lamely hoisting trophies in Miami (WGC-CA Championship) and Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular) respectively, the Nationwide Tour count for alumni victories has now reached 268. The South African Els was active on the Nationwide Tour in 1991, while Lamely, an Illinois native who now resides in Ft. Myers, Fla., finished fourth on last year's Nationwide Tour money list to earn his 2010 PGA TOUR card. Eight of this year's 12 PGA TOUR events have been won by former Tour players.

LAMELY'S QUICK IMPACT -- Derek Lamely's win in the Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular came in only his eighth PGA TOUR start after earning his TOUR card last fall via "The 25" on the Nationwide Tour.

ALUMNI DOMINATE PUERTO RICO FIELD -- The field for the Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular was dominated by Nationwide Tour alumni. Of the 70 players who made the cut, 57 formerly played on the Nationwide Tour. Of the 13 who did not, four were PGA TOUR members (Steve Elkington, Kirk Triplett, Mark Calcavecchia and Billy Mayfair) prior to the launch of the Nationwide Tour in 1990. Of the top-23 finishers, just four (including Elkington and Mayfair) did not have the Nationwide Tour connection.

4 FOR 4 IN TAMPA PGA TOUR QUALIFIER -- Nationwide Tour members Ryan Armour, Ben Bates, Bob Heintz and Ty Harris will make the most of what is an idle week for their tour. The group secured the four Monday qualifying spots for this week's PGA TOUR Transitions Championship. While Armour, Bates and Heintz have considerable PGA TOUR experience, Harris will be making only his second PGA TOUR start (2007 St. Jude Championship, missed cut). The Michigan native is a 2005 graduate of Georgia State University.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BOYS -- Three Nationwide Tour members will celebrate birthdays next week -- Scott Gardiner (March 22), Scott Stallings (March 25) and Alistair Presnell (March 26).

55 NEW FACES -- As the official proving ground of the PGA TOUR, the Nationwide Tour is forever introducing new names and faces to the world of professional golf. In 2010, the Nationwide Tour roster of fully-exempt and conditionally-exempt players features 55 "rookies." The roster includes 14 non-Americans representing Argentina (1), Australia (3), Canada (4), Chile (1), New Zealand (1), South Africa (1) and South Korea (3). A rookie is defined as having made less than seven starts in any one season on the Nationwide Tour.

DID YOU KNOW? -- Almost one of four Nationwide Tour events ends in a playoff. Since the Tour's inception in 1990 144 of the 600 events (24.1 percent) played to date have ended in a playoff. One-stroke victory margins, 207 (34.5 percent), have also been plentiful. This brings the total tournaments decided by a playoff or one stroke to 58.6%.

NEXT WEEK -- The Nationwide Tour is at Le Triomphe Country Club in Broussard, La. for the 19th playing of the Chitimacha Louisiana Open.