Chappell moves to No. 1, former college stars shine

text size

UCLA'S KEVIN CHAPPELL JUMPS TO NO. 1 -- With his T2 finish at the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation, former UCLA Bruin Kevin Chappell bumped Bobby Gates from the top spot on the Nationwide Tour money list. The 23-year-old from Fresno, Calif., won the Fresh Express Classic at TPC Stonebrae near San Francisco last month. He has four top 10s in nine starts. Gates, who played in the PGA TOUR's Valero Texas Open in his adopted home state last week on a sponsor exemption, was No. 1 after the first eight tournaments of the season. Chappell has earnings of $190,621and a lead of more than $4,000 over Gates.

FORMER COLLEGE STARS SHINE AT BMW CHARITY PRO-AM -- Finishing second two shots back of BMW Charity Pro-Am winner Justin Hicks was a trio of recent college players of the year -- Kevin Chappell (2008 Jack Nicklaus Award/UCLA), Chris Kirk (2007 Ben Hogan Award/Georgia) and Jamie Lovemark (2007 Fred Haskins Award/USC). It was Kirk's second runner-up of the year (Moonah Classic). Lovemark has a T2, two third-place finishes and a T5 in eight starts. Both are seeking their first Nationwide Tour victory. Kirk is No. 4 on the money list, Lovemark No. 8. Tommy "Two Gloves" Gainey joined them at T2, his best Nationwide Tour finish in 33 starts. He finished third in Panama in February. Gainey is 17th on the money list.

WINN-DIXIE JACKSONVILLE OPEN GRANTS AJGA / JR. PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP EXEMPTION -- The Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open presented by Planters has announced that the winner of the 2010 AJGA Junior PLAYERS Championship will receive an exemption into the October Nationwide Tour event. The Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open, the final full-field event of the season, is new to the Nationwide Tour schedule this year. It will be played Oct. 21-24 on Dye's Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass, the home of the PGA TOUR. The Junior PLAYERS will be played Sept. 3-5 at the TPC Sawgrass PLAYERS Stadium Course under set-up conditions replicating those of THE PLAYERS Championship. The Junior PLAYERS will be held for the fourth straight year at TPC Sawgrass. Last year Bobby Wyatt of Mobile, Ala. won by three shots posting a score of 6-under-par 210 for his three trips around the 7,215-yard layout. AJGA alumni include former Nationwide Tour players and major champions Stewart Cink, Lucas Glover and David Toms, plus Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open official player host and 2003 U.S. Open champion Jim Furyk.

GRAYSON MURRAY, 16, TO REPRESENT N.C. HIGH SCHOOL GOLFERS IN THE REX -- Grayson Murray, a 16-year-old high school sophomore from Raleigh, will be representing his fellow North Carolina high school golfers in The Rex Hospital Open after winning the tournament's Junior Invitational. Murray shot 69-67-136 at Lonnie Poole Golf Course at North Carolina State University and TPC Wakefield Plantation over the weekend to top a field of 76 boys and 12 girls. His prize is a spot in the 156-player Rex Hospital Open field which gets underway on Thursday. Murray is the state's top-ranked junior player and has already verbally accepted a scholarship to attend Wake Forest. He won the North Carolina 4-A individual title last Tuesday.

MICHAEL SIM RETURNS TO ACTION ON PGA TOUR -- Michael Sim played in his first event last week, the Valero Texas Open, since having to withdraw from the Masters on April 2nd. A shoulder injury forced the 2009 Nationwide Tour Player of the Year to miss Augusta as well as THE PLAYERS, which he was eligible for as the Nationwide Tour's leading money winner last year, and the Wachovia Championship. No doubt not in top form, the 25-year-old Aussie missed the cut. His last start prior to his injury was the World Golf Championships-CA Championship in mid-March. Sim is entered in this week's HP Byron Nelson Championship. He still maintains a spot inside the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking (49th).

MEDIA GUIDE CORRECTION / MEXICO OPEN -- The yardage listed in the 2010 Nationwide Tour Media Guide for the Mexico Open (page 1-6) should be 7,808 yards. It is incorrectly listed as 6,810 yards.

BIRTHDAY BOYS -- Celebrating birthdays this week at The Rex Hospital Open are Rick Price of Jupiter, Fla. (May 18th / turns 42) and Scott Brown of North Augusta, S.C. (May 22nd / 27).

NEXT WEEK -- The Nationwide Tour is off next week, resuming play June 3-6 at Melwood Prince George's County Open at the University of Maryland Golf Course in College Park, Md.