PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- The Nationwide Tour will be coming to Valdosta, Ga., in April of 2007. According to a trilateral statement released Monday by the Tour, the South Georgia Medical Center Foundation, Inc. and the Langdale Industries, Inc., the event, called the South Georgia Classic, will be presented by Langdale Industries, Inc., and held at the Davis Love III-designed Kinderlou Forest Golf Club.

The South Georgia Medical Center Foundation will serve as the host organization and the South Georgia Medical Center will be the charitable recipient from the event.

According to Ray Chitty, SGMC Foundation president, the golf tournament will help toward meeting the fundraising goals of the Foundation for the next year. “As a not-for-profit hospital, charitable donations help cushion our financial shortfalls and help us to purchase new equipment and add new services,” Chitty said. “We are especially pleased to be asked to participate in bringing the Nationwide Tour to Valdosta.”

The $600,000 tournament will be held the week of Apr. 9-15 and will offer a first-place prize of $108,000.

“The Tour is very pleased to be coming to Valdosta and to Kinderlou Forest GC,” said Bill Calfee, Chief of Operations for the Nationwide Tour. “This event is a great new addition to the Tour and we expect that the golf course will be well-received by our players.”

Kinderlou Forest is a par-72 course that can play as long as 7,781 yards from the championship tees.

“The design of the course takes advantage of a variety of the land’s existing natural features and combines many traditional design elements and playing strategies,” said Love. “It should be a good test of golf for the skilled players on the Nationwide Tour.”

The South Georgia Medical Center is a 335-bed, regional referral hospital that serves patients in a 13-county area in South Georgia and North Florida. As a public, not-for profit hospital, South Georgia Medical Center is committed to serving the needs of members of the community. Proceeds from the golf tournament and other donations to the SGMC Foundation help maintain the high standards of care and state-of-the art technology at SGMC.

“Over the years, donations to the SGMC Foundation have helped us construct the Pearlman Cancer Center, the Dasher Heart Center and most recently, the Langdale Hospice House,” explains SGMC CEO James McGahee. “We would not be able to offer such comprehensive services without the financial support of generous donors. The Langdale Family has been a tremendous supporter of quality healthcare for decades. We are very happy to be included in this premier venture.”

The Langdale Company was founded in 1894 and today is one of the leading manufacturers of wood products in the United States. The company’s current holdings include 10 wood products plants, land holdings, automobile dealerships, banks, a hotel and the Kinderlou Forest Golf Club.

“Langdale Industries, Inc., and Kinderlous Forest Golf Club, L.L.C., are proud to have the opportunity to partner with South Georgia Medical Center Foundation, Inc., to generate financial support for South Georgia Medical Center. We have long been supporters of the Medical Center, and are excited that this Nationwide Tour event will showcase the Kinderlou Forest golf course,” said Johnny Langdale, President of Langdale Industries, Inc.

The Nationwide Tour is owned and operated by the PGA TOUR and is currently in its 17th year of operation. Nationwide serves as the umbrella sponsor of the Tour which consists in 2006 of 31 tournaments in four countries playing for approximately $17 million in prize money.

About Nationwide Tour

Part of the PGA TOUR family, the Nationwide Tour began in 1990 and sends its Top 20 graduates each season to the PGA TOUR. Nationwide is currently in its fourth year as the umbrella sponsor of this Tour. The PGA TOUR is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. and its web-site is www.pgatour.com.

About Nationwide

Nationwide, based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest diversified insurance and financial services organizations in the world with more than $157 billion in assets. Nationwide ranks #99 on the Fortune 100 list. The company provides a full range of insurance and financial services, including auto, homeowners, life, health, commercial insurance, administrative services, annuities, mutual funds, pensions and long-term savings plans.