Northeast Pennsylvania Classic

The following information is compiled by the PGA TOUR's Communications Department and distributed to the various media outlets covering this tournament. PGATOUR.COM brings you exclusive access to the BUY.COM Steamtown Classic Notebook.

THE 2001 SCHEDULE... The BUY.COM Steamtown Classic is the ninth of 29 official events on the BUY.COM TOUR. Following the stop in Moosic, Pa., the TOUR heads north of the border for the Samsung Canadian PGA Championship in Ontario, Canada (June 4-10) -- the TOUR's first tournament in Canada.

A LOOK BACK AT 2000... Jeff Hart emerged from a crowded leaderboard in Sunday's final round, posting a 2-under-par 70 to win the inaugural Steamtown Classic by one stroke over Ian Leggatt. Hart began the day tied for the lead with John Wilson, Charles Warren and Steve Woods, with Tommy Biershenk and Lee Rinker one stroke back.

Keith Clearwater and Pat Bates posted course-record 5-under-par 65s to share the first-round lead at Glenmaura National.

Jimmy Johnston grabbed the second-round lead at 4-under 136 after adding a 69 to his opening score of 67. Twenty players were within four strokes of the lead. Hart matched the course record with his 5-under 65 in Saturday's third round to move into a four-way tie for the lead, the most players tied for the 54-hole lead on TOUR during the 2000 season.

During Sunday's final round, Paul Gow and Leggatt missed chances to force a possible playoff with Hart. Gow was 7-under for the day and needed only a par on the final hole to finish at 5-under for the week, but suffered a double-bogey on the final hole when his second shot failed to clear the hazard that guards the front of the green.

Leggatt three-putted the final hole from 18 feet, which gave him a course-record matching 65 left him one off the he pace.

The win for the 40-year-old Hart was worth $81,000 and vaulted him from No. 31 to No. 8 on the money list. Hart went on to finish No. 15 on the final money list and earn his 2001 PGA TOUR card.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS... Keith Clearwater established the course record at Glenmaura National with his 5-under-par 65 in the opening round of the 2000 Steamtown Classic. Pat Bates matched that mark a short time later to join Clearwater at the top of the leaderboard. Jeff Hart (third), Ian Leggatt (fourth) and Paul Gow (fourth) also posted 65s before the week was done.

NO REPEAT... Jeff Hart will not be back to defend the title he won in 2000. Hart finished No. 15 on last year's money list ($175,489) and was one of 15 players who earned their 2001 PGA TOUR cards. As the TOUR winds its way through its twelfth season in 2001, no player has successfully defended a title and only two players have won the same tournament twice. Chris Smith captured the 1995 and 1997 Dakota Dunes Opens and Ryan Howison won the 1997 and 1999 Lakeland Classics.

HART'S NUMBERS... Jeff Hart's first career victory gave him the largest paycheck of his career, $81,000. Hart made the cut in 20 of 27 events last year and earned a total of $178,489 to finish No. 15 on the final money list. Hart tied for fifth at the BUY.COM Louisiana Open in April and tied for third at the BUY.COM Dakota Dunes Open in late July. Hart had a total of nine top-25 finishes during the year. His victory at Steamtown came in his 209th professional start (129 on the PGA TOUR, 80 on the BUY.COM TOUR) dating back to 1985.

HOLES-IN-ONE... There has not been a hole-in-one in recorded in the one year the tournament has been contested at Glenmaura National Golf Club.

THE TOUGHEST HOLES ON TOUR... The 491-yard, par-4 sixth hole proved to be the most difficult hole for last year's event. The hole played to a stroke average 4.402 for the week, making it the 10th toughest hole on the 2000 BUY.COM TOUR. The converted par 5 yielded only 27 birdies for four days, along with 224 pars, 123 bogeys, 22 double-bogeys and seven "others". The second toughest hole at Glenmaura was the 460-yard, par-4 16th, which played to a stroke average of 4.305.

A DIFFICULT COURSE... Glenmaura National Golf Club proved to be an extremely difficult test during its inaugural tournament. The converted par-70 course played to a stroke average of 72.861 for the week, ranking it as the fourth most difficult course on the 2000 BUY.COM TOUR.

AMONG THE TOUGHEST BACK-TO-BACK... The 15th and 16th holes at Glenmaura National ranked among the toughest back-to-back holes on the 2000 BUY.COM TOUR. Both holes ranked among the top 50 toughest holes for the season. The 240-yard 15th played to a stroke average of 3.293, while the 16th played to an average of 4.305.

MOVING ON TO THE PGA TOUR... Four of the top-10 finishers at last year's BUY.COM Steamtown Classic earned their 2001 PGA TOUR playing privileges. All four were among the top-15 on the final money list and are now playing on the PGA TOUR. Jeff Hart (first place/No.15 on the money list). Ian Leggatt (second/No. 5), Paul Gow (T3/No. 9) and Tim Clark (T8/No. 3) all graduated to the PGA TOUR this year.