Nationwide Tour Storylines: Mylan Classic

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Here are the key storylines for the Mylan Classic presented by CONSOL Energy, which takes place this week at Southpointe Golf Club:

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THREE NOW ONE WIN AWAY: With his win on Sunday in the Knoxville News Sentinel Open, former Ben Hogan Award winner Chris Kirk became the third multiple winner on the Nationwide Tour this year, joining Tommy Gainey and Martin Piller. Nine tournaments remain for the trio to collect a third event and earn a battlefield promotion to the PGA TOUR.

CHRIS KIRK BUMPS JAMIE LOVEMARK FOR NO. 1: Chris Kirk is the new No. 1 on the Nationwide Tour money list. With $400,475 in earnings, the former University of Georgia star regained the spot he held for four weeks earlier in the summer. He is about $7,000 ahead of Jamie Lovemark, who did not play in Knoxville. Lovemark was atop the list for four weeks.

THE WINS KEEP COMING: Sunday's win by Matt Kuchar at The Barclays marked the 282nd PGA TOUR win by a former Nationwide Tour player. Alumni have won 22 times on the PGA TOUR this year. Dating back to the inception of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup in 2007, there have been only seven winners in the first 13 Playoff events. Four of the seven are Nationwide Tour alums -- Kuchar (1 win), Heath Slocum (1), Steve Stricker (2) and Camilo Villegas (2). The other three are Tiger Woods (3), Phil Mickelson (2) and Vijay Singh (2).

TOUR WELCOMES MYLAN AND INAUGURAL MYLAN CLASSIC IN PITTSBURGH: The Nationwide Tour welcomes international pharmaceutical company Mylan and presenting sponsor CONSOL Energy to the Tour's family of sponsors. The Mylan Classic presented by CONSOL Energy is one of four new tournaments on the 2010 Nationwide Tour schedule (Pacific Rubiales Bogotá Open, Chiquita Classic, Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open).

Southpointe Golf Club, located just south of Pittsburgh in Canonsburg, is the host venue. A series of activities are planned to coincide with the competition, including clinics and concerts. Western Pennsylvania legend Arnold Palmer is the tournament's honorary chairman. Another local favorite and PGA TOUR star Rocco Mediate is entered offering additional luster to the 156-player field.

Mediate

ROCCO RETURNS HOME: Greensburg, Pa. native Rocco Mediate will be a headliner when he returns home to Western Pennsylvania for the Mylan Classic. In addition to conducting a youth clinic on Tuesday and playing in the Wednesday pro-am, Mediate will be among the 156 teeing off on Thursday, marking his very first Nationwide Tour start. The 47-year-old joined the PGA TOUR in 1986, four years before the Nationwide Tour was launched. He has competed in 588 TOUR events and earned almost $15.5 million, winning five times. Mediate is eligible for the Mylan Classic as he did not qualify for the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.

JASON GORE, ANOTHER HOMECOMING: Jason Gore is another player who looks forward to the Mylan Classic. The winner of the 2005 84 Lumber Classic at nearby Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and Spa on the PGA TOUR has relatives in the Pittsburgh area. His mother Kathy lives in Monroeville and grew up in Turtle Creek. His brother Ron lives in South Park and a cousin lived at Southpointe before moving to Delaware.

Gore's uncle, John Kovac, who was a teaching pro at Manor Valley Golf Course near Export, taught a young Jason how to play the game. "I've been pressing too hard," said Gore, who is 129th on the money list. "I'm 100% percent and I feel great and I'm swinging great but I just haven't done anything well," he told PGATOUR.COM recently. Gore will look forward to the possibility of spending time with his boyhood idle and now friend, Arnold Palmer. Gore first met Mr. Palmer at a Latrobe Country Club clinic when he was an aspiring junior golfer.

SPONSOR EXEMPTIONS: Unrestricted sponsor exemptions have been issued to Sam Saunders, grandson of the honorary chairman, and Robert Rohanna, who won the recent Pennsylvania State Open. Honorary chair Arnold Palmer hopes to get to Southpointe during the week to follow Sam.

JUNIOR PLAYERS CHAMPION TO EARN SPOT IN WINN-DIXIE JACKSONVILLE OPEN: TPC Sawgrass hosts the AJGA's Junior PLAYERS Championship this Friday through Sunday on THE PLAYERS Stadium Course. The winner will receive an invitation to play in the Nationwide Tour's Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open presented by Planters in October. This will be the first Nationwide Tour event played at TOUR headquarters. Bobby Wyatt of Mobile, Ala., who recently shot 57 in the Alabama Boys State Junior, won last year's event.

GOLF CHANNEL LAUNCHES NATIONWIDE TOUR FANTASY CHALLENGE: GOLF Channel has announced a new online consumer promotion, the "Nationwide Tour Fantasy Challenge". Participants will select different Nationwide Tour professionals from "The 25" (money list) over the final nine weeks of the season, beginning with this week's Mylan Classic. They will earn points based on their players' earnings each week. The fantasy player with the most points will win a grand prize trip to attend the PGA TOUR's Sony Open in Hawaii in January, 2011. The top-25 finishers will earn prizes from Cleveland Golf or Golf Channel. For details and/or to register, go to www.golfchannel.com/nationwidetourfantasy.

ANSYS TICKETS Fore CHARITY ? TAKING OFF: First-year efforts in the Mylan Classic's Ansys TICKETS Fore CHARITY ? program have taken off. Total proceeds are expected to reach at least $250,000. TICKETS Fore CHARITY ? allows non-profit organizations to sell and receive 100% of all proceeds from tournament tickets they sell. Inspired by the program's strong launch, Southpointe-based Ansys has made a $10,000 contribution to the existing $25,000 bonus pool that will go to participating charities based on their percentage of overall ticket sales.

CHITIMACHA LOUISIANA OPEN AWARDS $142,000 TO CHARITY: Despite a challenging economy, the Chitimacha Louisiana Open distributed checks totaling $142,329 to 47 local and regional charities last Wednesday. "This is the tournament's best day of the year", said incoming tournament chairman Will Arledge. The tournament has generated $3.75 million for charity since 1992.

59 WATCH: University of Kansas product Gary Woodland is the latest player to toy with breaking 60 in a PGA TOUR-related event. Last Monday, Woodland posted an 11-under-par 60 at the Links at Kahite outside Knoxville during the open qualifier for the Knoxville News Sentinel Open. He had a 20-foot eagle putt on his final hole to post 59. Woodland took advantage of his playing opportunity with a top-25 finish (T16) which earns him a spot in this week's Mylan Classic. He held the halfway lead in Knoxville by two shots.

NEXT WEEK: The Nationwide Tour travels west to Salt Lake City for the Utah Championship presented by Utah Sports Commission (Sept. 6-12), home of "Mustache Week".