Notes: Aggies lead money list; alums in THE PLAYERS

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Martin Piller won the Stadion Athens Classic at UGA.

The Nationwide Tour is idle this week during THE PLAYERS Championship. The celebrity-filled BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation will be played next week (May 13-16) at two courses in South Carolina and one in North Carolina, with Greenville, S.C. serving as the host city.

AGGIES BOBBY GATES AND MARTIN PILLER 1-2 ON NATIONWIDE TOUR MONEY LIST -- Former Texas A&M roommates Bobby Gates and Martin Piller are currently 1-2 on the Nationwide Tour money list. Piller, who grew up and still resides in Dallas, Texas, made a big jump from 16th to 2nd with his Stadion Athens Classic at UGA win on Sunday. It was Piller's third top 10 of the year. Gates, a Floridian who now lives in The Woodlands, Texas, has led the money list all year having won and finished 3rd in New Zealand and Australia, respectively, to start the 2010 season. Both 24, Gates (Dec. 31) and Piller (Nov. 14) were born only 47 days apart. "Bobby congratulated me and said 'good win but you're still behind me'", said Piller. "It gives me motivation. We're good friends and we hate losing to each other." With No. 3 Kevin Chappell only 23 and No. 6 Chris Kirk turning 25 on Saturday, youth is being served on the Nationwide Tour this year.

GROWING NUMBERS FOR PLAYERS -- The percentage of Nationwide Tour alumni in THE PLAYERS Championship continues to increase. This year's field of 145 includes 89 former Nationwide Tour players. This compares with 79, 85 and 81 players in 2007, '08 and '09, respectively.

MICHAEL SIM OUT / BRENDON DE JONGE IN AT PLAYERS -- The last four weeks have been very disappointing for 2009 Nationwide Tour Player of the Year Michael Sim. The 25-year-old Aussie was forced to withdraw from the Masters Tournament with a shoulder problem. Scheduled to be out approximately one month, Sim was a late WD from last week's Quail Hollow Championship on the PGA TOUR. Then last Friday he was forced to drop out again. He will miss this week's PLAYERS Championship. Sim originally became eligible for THE PLAYERS as a result of leading the Nationwide Tour money list last year. He was replaced in the field by another former Nationwide Tour Player of the Year, Brendon de Jonge (2008) of Zimbawe and Virginia Tech.

FIRST-TIME ALUMNI PARTICIPANTS -- This week's PLAYERS Championship field on the PGA TOUR will feature 16 Nationwide Tour alumni who will competing in the prestigious event for the first time -- Ricky Barnes, Kris Blanks, Chad Collins, Jason Day, Brendon de Jonge, Derek Lamely, Marc Leishman, Spencer Levin, Bill Lunde, Bryce Molder, James Nitties, D.A. Points, Alex Prugh, Chris Stroud, Roland Thatcher and Jimmy Walker. Levin was a Monday addition to the field when another Nationwide Tour alum, Steve Stricker, had to withdraw. Collins replaced Anthony Kim, who withdrew on Tuesday.

POPULAR BMW EVENT CONTINUES STAR-STUDDED TRADITION -- Another impressive lineup of celebrities from the worlds of acting, entertainment and sports returns again this year to compete in the BMW Charity Pro-Am. Among the 26 celebrities are actors Catherine Bell, Thomas Gibson, Oliver Hudson, Samuel L. Jackson, Terry O'Quinn, Kurt Russell and Patrick Warburton, entertainers Javier Colon, Don Felder, Branford Marsalis and Joe Don Rooney and sports figures Jim Rice, George Rogers, Sterling Sharpe, Kordell Stewart and Dabo Swinney. The event features professionals, celebrities and amateur contestants playing one round at the host Thornblade Club in Greenville, S.C., Carolina Country Club in Spartanburg, S.C. and Bright's Creek Golf Club across the state line in Mill Spring, N.C. The top 14 celebrity/amateur teams return to Thornblade for the final round on Sunday.

JERRY RICE ENCORE -- One other name very familiar to sports fans will be at the BWM Charity Pro-Am, Jerry Rice. The Pro Football Hall of Fame electee will be competing as a professional contestant on the Nationwide Tour for the second time this year. The former San Francisco 49er great was tournament host and made his professional debut in last month's Fresh Express Classic at TPC Stonebrae in the San Francisco Bay area. Shooting rounds of 83-76-159 to miss the cut, Rice was extremely well received by his fellow players, tournament officials and everyone he came in contact with.

UGA STARS AND GOLF COURSE STAND UP -- University of Georgia stars Harris English and Russell Henley both put in very positive performances in the Stadion Athens Classic at UGA, finishing T27 and T35, respectively. English and Henley received sponsor exemptions into the field as a result of having the two best Bulldog scoring averages this year. They helped lead their team to the SEC title two weeks ago and will compete for the NCAA national title in early June. The UGA Golf Course received rave reviews from Nationwide Tour players and officials alike. The Robert Trent Jones layout (1968) that received a redesign by Davis Love III in 2006 played firm and fast and was in immaculate condition.

SOUTH CAROLINA'S MARK ANDERSON VYING FOR "25" -- Mark Anderson of Beaufort, S.C. heads home to the Palmetto State next week for the BMW Charity Pro-Am. The 2008 University of South Carolina graduate and two-time All-American is enjoying good success in his rookie year on the Nationwide Tour. In seven starts he has only missed one cut and posted three top 10s, including a 5th on Sunday in the Stadion Athens Classic at UGA after making the cut in the PGA TOUR's Verizon Heritage the week before while playing on a sponsor exemption. His best finish is a T4 in the Panama CLARO Championship in February. Anderson improved nine spots to 16th on the money list on Sunday. He led the first two rounds in Athens.

MAJOR MANNING / DID YOU KNOW? -- Second-year Nationwide Tour member Major Manning is the nephew of NASCAR's Vice Chairman and Executive Vice President Jim France. The two-time Augusta State University All-American wears the NASCAR Nationwide Series logo on his golf shirt. Manning was born in Daytona Beach and grew up in Clarkesville, Ga. where he won the Class 4A state golf title in high school.

CLARK KELLOGG TO HOST NATIONWIDE PRO-AM IN COLUMBUS, OHIO -- The Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational (July 19-25) recently announced that Clark Kellogg will host the tournament's 2010 Celebrity Pro-Am at his alma mater's golf course, the Ohio State University Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio. Kellogg played basketball at OSU in 1980-82 before becoming a first-round draft pick of the NBA's Indiana Pacers. He enjoyed five quality seasons in the NBA until chronic knee problems forced him to retire. Kellogg has been a CBS Sports' college basketball game and studio analyst for the last 18 seasons. Kellogg joins NASCAR's Juan Pablo Montoya (Pacific Rubiales Bogotá Open) in hosting Nationwide Tour pro-ams in 2010.

BIRTHDAY BOYS -- Celebrating birthdays this week are D.J. Brigman of Albuquerque, N.M. (May 3rd / turns 34), Michael Clark II of Orlando, Fla. (May 4th / 41), Bubba Dickerson of Hilliard, Fla. (May 6th / 29), Chris Kirk of St. Simons Island, Ga. (May 8th / 25) and Ted Brown of Richmond, Va. (May 9th / 31).

NEXT WEEK -- The BMW Charity Pro-Am in Greenville, S.C. See "Popular BMW Event..." note