Nationwide Tour's Class of '11 makes PGA TOUR debut

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- As the PGA TOUR's first full-field event of 2012, this week's Sony Open in Hawaii will feature the debut of the Nationwide Tour class of 2011. Twenty-three of last year's 25 graduates who earned their PGA TOUR cards based on their finish on the Nationwide Tour money list will be at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu for the $5.5 million tournament.

The 23 players are (with final 2011 money list position in first column, plus age as of Jan. 1st):

Thirteen of the 23 players are first-year members of the PGA TOUR (denoted by "R" next to their name above). Former U.S. Amateur winner (2008) Danny Lee, 21, is the youngest member of the class of 2011.

The only players not entered in Hawaii are Mathew Goggin of Australia and Charlotte, N.C. (No. 3 on the money list) and Garth Mulroy of South Africa and Raleigh, N.C. (No. 21). Mulroy is in South Africa competing in European Tour events.

The class of 2011 follows a very successful 2010 group of 25 graduates, five of whom won a total of six PGA TOUR events last year, more than any other Nationwide Tour class. Headlining the class was Keegan Bradley, who won a major, the PGA Championship, as well as the HP Byron Nelson Championship. At season's end he was named PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year.

The Sony Open in Hawaii features a 144-player field, of which 101 are Nationwide Tour alumni.

The 2012 Nationwide Tour season kicks off next month with three events in Latin America, beginning with the Pacific Rubiales Colombia Championship presented by Samsung (Feb. 16-19) in Bogotá. It will be followed by the Panama Claro Championship (March 1-4) in Panama City and the Chile Classic presented by Pacific Rubiales (March 8-11) in Santiago.