Power Rankings: Fresh Express Classic

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After an extended break the Nationwide Tour will resume this week with the Fresh Express Classic at TPC Stonebrae just outside of San Francisco.

The Fresh Express, with a purse of $600,000, will begin Thursday in Hayward, Calif. at the 7,100-yard layout that plays to a par 70. The Golf Channel will provide coverage Thursday and Friday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. ET and on Saturday from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Final round coverage on Sunday is from 7 to 9:30 p.m.

This will be the Tour's fourth tournament of the season. Winning the first three tournaments were Matthew Goggin, Brenden Pappas and Brett Wetterich.

Pappas leads the money list in the early going with Goggin next followed by Wetterich.

Also playing and serving as tournament host is pro football hall of famer Jerry Rice, who also played in last year's tournament. Rice shot 83-76 to miss the cut last year.

Here are the top five players going into this week's events.

Power Rankings: Fresh Express Classic at TPC Stonebrae

Rank   Player Comment Bubba DICKERSON It's a shame the Tour had to take a break because Dickerson has been improving each week. He went from a tie for 16th to a tie for eighth to a third-place showing. The next step might just be a victory for Dickerson, who is fourth on the Nationwide Tour's money list this season. Darron STILES Three tournaments and three good finishes for Stiles, a 37-year-old who played at Florida Southern. He opened the season with a tie for second, then had a tie for eighth before tying for 13th at the Chimacha Louisiana Open late last month. Elliot GEALY After a break from pro golf, Gealy is back on the Nationwide Tour and in three events ranks 25th on the Nationwide Tour money list. Gealy, a former player at N.C. State, last played full-time on the Nationwide Tour in 2007. Mathew GOGGIN He won the season-opening tournament at the Panama CLARO Championship, but then missed the cut in the next tournament. He tied for 40th at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open. Brenden PAPPAS The leading-money winner on the Nationwide Tour is off to a great star. Pappas, 40, was on the Nationwide Tour in 2007 and '09. In 2007 he finished 22nd on the money list that got him back to the PGA TOUR.

John Dell has covered golf for the Winston-Salem Journal in North Carolina for the last 17 years. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR. You can reach him at johndell@triad.rr.com.