NATIONWIDE TOUR STORYLINES – Week of May 9th

The Nationwide Tour is idle during this week’s PLAYERS Championship. The Tour will be in South Carolina next week for the popular BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation (May 19-22), the seventh of 26 tournaments in 2011.

UGA’S MAKES TOUR HISTORY – For only the second time in its 22-year history an amateur has won a Nationwide Tour event. Russell Henley of Macon, Ga. was one of two U. of Georgia teammates ( /T18) who earned spots in last week’s Stadion Classic at UGA based on their college scoring averages this year. When the 72-hole event was complete on Sunday Henley was a two-shot winner over , putting him in the Nationwide Tour record book with . Summerhays, playing on an invitation as a first-team All-American out of Brigham Young U., was the first amateur victor on Tour when he won the 2007 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational at the Ohio State University Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio. He is now a member of the PGA TOUR after playing 3 ½ seasons on the Nationwide Tour. Henley’s win came on the Bulldogs’ home track, the UGA Course in Athens. The 22-year-old is a three-time All-American who shared low amateur honors (T16) at last year’s U.S. Open at Pebble Beach GL in California. He is a senior who will graduate on Friday with a degree in Housing and Consumer Electronics. He has 60 days to join the Nationwide Tour and play in the Tournament Winner category for the 2011 season. If he passes on this option, Henley can still join for the 2012 season at the end of this year using the same category. He indicated he has no plans to turn pro in the next couple of months. Henley and teammate English turn their immediate attention to the upcoming NCAA Golf Championship regional competition May 19-21. Jamie Lovemark (2007) and Rickie Fowler (2009) came close to winning as amateurs, both succumbing in playoffs.

FIVE NEW MEMBERS – It’s been quite a good year thus far for non-members of the Nationwide Tour. Through six events five players have become eligible due to strong play – Matt Hendrix, Russell Henley, , Ted Potter, Jr. and Will Wilcox . Potter and Henley are eligible for fully-exempt status based on their wins. Hendrix, Knox and Wilcox secured special temporary membership as a result of making the same or more money than last year’s 100 th player on the money list ($48,193) this year. Non-members gain entry via sponsor exemptions, Monday qualifiers and/or by finishing 25 th or better in the previous week’s event. U. of senior Andres Echavarria finished runner-up in March in the Chitimacha Louisiana Open but competed as an amateur, thus potential earnings did not count toward possible membership. See note above for more on Henley’s situation.

FIRST-TIME ALUMNI IN PLAYERS – This week’s PLAYERS Championship field includes nine Nationwide Tour alumni who will be playing in the event for the first time – Keegan Bradley , Tommy Gainey, , , Michael Sim, Brendan Steele, Josh Teater, Jhonattan Vegas and Gary Woodland. Last year’s Nationwide Tour Player of the Year and leading money winner Jamie Lovemark was eligible but back problems that have plagued him all year forced his withdrawal. Sim was in a similar position last year. Eligible after leading the Nationwide Tour money list in 2009, the Australian developed a shoulder problem that kept him out of both THE PLAYERS and the Masters.

All but Sim and Teeter were on the Nationwide Tour last year and played in October’s Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open presented by Planters at the TPC Sawgrass’ sister course, Dye’s Valley. Gainey had the best finish, a T18. Vegas was the only one who missed the cut. Kirk was forced to withdraw before the first round.

RECORD NUMBER – There are a record 91 Nationwide Tour alumni in THE PLAYERS field of 145, including defending champion . The breakdown for the last five tournaments is: 2011 – 91 2010 – 89 2009 – 81 2008 – 85 2007 – 79

AHEAD OF THE GAME – Former Nationwide Tour members have captured 16 of 20 PGA TOUR events (80%) thus far in 2011. This is well ahead of last year when alumni won 28 of the TOUR’s 47 events (60%). Lucas Glover ’s win on Sunday at the Wells Fargo Championship was alumni win No. 304 on the PGA TOUR.

GLOBETROTTER – Danny Lee returned to the Nationwide Tour last week after playing in three European Tour events in Asia, which included a T2 in the Volvo China Open. The 2008 U.S. Amateur Champion from New Zealand finished T5 at the Stadion Classic at UGA on Sunday and is inside “The 25” at No. 23. He finished T7 in his previous Nationwide Tour start in Louisiana and has made the cut in all four Tour starts this year. Lee is entered in next week’s BMW Charity Pro-Am.

STARS WILL HEAD TO CAROLINA FOR BMW CHARITY PRO-AM – Next week’s BMW Charity Pro-Am will once again feature a wide array of celebrities from the worlds of acting, entertainment and sports. The lineup includes the return of Wayne Gretzky and wife, Janet , plus Greg Kinnear , Joe Pesci, Kevin Sorbo , Cheech Marin , Javier Colon (The Voice), Mark Bryan (Hootie & The Blowfish), Don Felder (The Eagles), Joe Don Rooney (Rascal Flatts), Patrick Warburton (Seinfeld), Oliver Hudson (Rules of Engagement), Terry O’Quinn (Lost), Michael Pena (The Lincoln Lawyer) and Gary Valentine (King of Queens). Andy Buckley (The Office), Rob Morrow (Numb3rs), Brad Brownell (Clemson basketball coach) and Danny Sullivan (former race car champion) will be first-time participants. Since 2001, the BMW Charity Pro-Am has raised nearly $8 million for more than 150 charities. Jerry Rice , who participated as a professional contestant last year, was scheduled to play this year as a celebrity but was forced to withdraw due to a scheduling issue.

IMPORTANT BIRTHDAY APPROACHES FOR STEVE PATE – With his 50 th birthday right around the corner (May 26 th ), six-time PGA TOUR winner and 2010 Pacific Rubiales Bogotá Open champion Steve Pate bid farewell to the Nationwide Tour last week in Athens, Ga. Playing in his 94 th Tour event, Pate finished T62. The former UCLA Bruin will turn his attention to the Champions Tour and is expected to debut at the Senior PGA Championship in two weeks.

DID YOU KNOW? There have been eight playoffs on the PGA TOUR this year and all eight have been won by Nationwide Tour alumni.

NEXT WEEK – The BMW Charity Pro-Am (May 19-22) which features a celebrity format played over three courses in Greenville and Spartanburg, S.C. and Mill Spring, N.C.

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James Cramer Jeff Adams Joe Chemycz Adam Wallace 904-273-3293 904-273-3397 904-273-3305 904-543-7405

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