NATIONWIDE TOUR STORYLINES – Week of June 6th THE REX HOSPITAL OPEN June 9-12 TPC Wakefield Plantation, Raleigh, N.C. Purse: $550,000 First Prize: $99,000 2010 Champion: John Riegger 9th of 26 Events MET (N.Y.) GOLF WRITERS HONOR NATIONWIDE INSURANCE – Nationwide Insurance will receive the Bing Crosby Award from the Metropolitan (N.Y.) Golf Writers Association on Tuesday (June 7 th ) in Tarrytown, N.Y. First presented in 1978, the Award honors an “individual or organization that promotes and supports the game of golf through commercial sponsorship of quality events”. Previous honorees include Foot-Joy, Buick, the Western Golf Association, Shell Oil, MasterCard, the Salesmanship Club of Dallas and Phoenix Thunderbirds, plus Bob Hope, Yogi Berra, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem (Gold Tee Award) and Ernie Els (Winnie Palmer Award) will be among others receiving awards. Nationwide executive John Aman and Nationwide Tour president Bill Calfee will be in attendance. STEVE WHEATCROFT LIGHTS UP PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, MD – It doesn’t happen very often, but some weeks virtually everything can go right for a professional golfer….and last week at the Melwood Prince George’s County (Md.) Open presented by Under Armour was just that week for Steve Wheatcroft . A second- round 60 propelled the 33-year-old Pennsylvania native to a week in which he made several contributions to the Nationwide Tour record book. Among his achievements were; 1) 255 winning score was the lowest 72-hole mark in the 22-year history of the Nationwide Tour (by three shots), 2) 12-shot victory topped the previous mark by one, 3) 31 birdies tied Craig Lile (2003 Cox Classic), 4) his seven- and eight-shot leads after the second and third rounds, respectively, were Tour records, and 5) second-round 60 was one off the all-time low. Perhaps the best news of all was that Wheatcroft’s special performance came in front of family and friends, who drove down from the Pittsburgh area, and his girlfriend. An eagle on the 72 nd hole put an exclamation point on the week. “I’m absolutely over-the-top ecstatic,” he said. “I’ve been out here for five years and never won. I wanted to make that next step and I wanted to do it in a big way.” Mission accomplished! STRICKER STRIKES AGAIN / WIN NO. 307 – Wisconsin’s Steve Stricker added his 10th PGA TOUR victory at the Memorial Tournament on Sunday, increasing the Nationwide Tour’s alumni win count to 307. Stricker, who played on the Nationwide Tour in 1991, has the fifth most TOUR wins among alumni. It’s been a particularly strong year for alumni on the PGA TOUR – only five of the 24 events played to date have not been won by former Nationwide Tour players. REX HOSPITAL-BORN TY TRYON – It’s only fitting that The Rex Hospital Open would extend a sponsor exemption to Ty Tryon . Now 27, Tryon was born June 2, 1984 at The Rex Hospital in Raleigh. At 17, Tryon was the youngest player to earn a PGA TOUR card at the 2001 PGA TOUR Qualifying School. Things did not go particularly well once he turned 18 and was able to enter TOUR events as a member. After a bout with mononucleosis Tryon never regained competitive form and lost his playing privileges in 2003. Now married and the father of two, he gained conditional status on the Nationwide Tour this year as a result of his finish in last December’s Qualifying School. Tryon will be making his first 2011 start on Tour. His last appearance in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event was 2008 when he played in three Nationwide Tour events. He made one of three cuts that year (May/Fort Smith Classic). His only other PGA TOUR start since 2003 was last year’s U.S. Open (missed cut). Tryon’s grandfather is a three-time New York State Amateur champion and his dad lost the New York State Junior to Jeff Sluman . Tryon is named after Chevy Chase’s “Caddyshack” character, Ty Webb. On Monday, Tryon qualified for the U.S. Open. POPULAR JUNIOR INVITATIONAL RETURNS – For the sixth year in a row, The Rex Hospital Open officially kicked off tournament week with The Rex Hospital Open Junior Invitational at TPC Wakefield Plantation. Playing 36 holes from the back tees, Carter Jenkins of Leesville Road High School in Raleigh bested 54 of North Carolina’s top male high school golfers with a 4-under total on Sunday. Jenkins earned an exemption to compete alongside the rest of the Nationwide Tour players beginning on Thursday. Last year, Carter’s high school teammate Grayson Murray won the Junior Invitational and went on to make the cut. Murray was runner-up on Sunday. ALL-AMERICANS INVITED TO NATIONWIDE / COLUMBUS EVENT FOR FIFTH YEAR -- College golf’s Ping first-team All-Americans were announced last Thursday by the Golf Coaches Association of America following the stroke-play portion of the NCAA Championship in Stillwater, Okla. The 11-member squad will be invited to compete in next month’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational at Ohio State University’s Scarlet Course (July 21-24) in Nationwide’s hometown of Columbus, Ohio. The team includes: Patrick Cantlay / UCLA (Jack Nicklaus Award winner) Kevin Tway / Oklahoma State Bud Cauley / U. of Alabama Peter Uihlein / Oklahoma State Luke Guthrie / U. of Illinois Bank Vongvanij / U. of Florida Morgan Hoffmann / Oklahoma State James White / Georgia Tech John Peterson / Louisiana State Andrew Yun / Stanford Patrick Reed / Augusta State UCLA freshman Cantlay was honored at the Memorial Tournament on Sunday as the 2011 Jack Nicklaus Award winner (Division I male college player of the year). The last freshman honoree was 2010 Nationwide Tour Player of the Year Jamie Lovemark. Cantlay also received the Phil Mickelson Award (outstanding freshman). LSU’s Peterson won the Arnold Palmer Award as medalist in the NCAA Championship. The tradition of inviting college golf’s best has been in place all five years the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational has been played. Invitees will remain eligible even if they turn professional. U.S. OPEN QUALIFYING –Nationwide Tour members captured five of the 10 available spots at Rockville, Md. on Monday. Jon Mills, Elliot Gealy, Ty Tryon, Bubba Dickerson and Will Wilcox will tee it up next week at Congressional Country Club in nearby Bethesda. Geoffrey Sisk and Matthew Richardson finished one-two in the Summit, N.J. qualifier, while University of Georgia senior and Stadion Classic at UGA winner Russell Hendley secured a spot in Ball Ground, Ga. HOT HOOSIERS – The two players who shot 60 on the Nationwide Tour this year – Travis Hampshire (first round, BMW Charity Pro-Am) and Steve Wheatcroft (second round, Melwood Prince George’s County Open) – have at least one thing in common. Both played college golf in the state of Indiana. Hampshire is a 2003 graduate of Purdue University with a degree in business and Wheatcroft a 2001 Sports Marketing & Management graduate of Indiana University. DAVID TOMS AWARD – Justin Lower of Malone University was named the 2011 recipient of the David Toms Award, which is presented annually by the Golf Coaches Association of America to a men’s collegiate golfer who has overcome adversity to achieve collegiate excellence. Six years ago at Easter time Lower’s father and brother were killed in an auto accident when his father, who was intoxicated, lost control of his car. Young Lower struggled greatly in the aftermath but his drive to play golf gave him direction and meaning. Lower persevered and went on to excel at Malone on the golf course, capturing medalist honors at the 2010 NAIA Championships. In the classroom, he became the first member of his family to graduate from college. David Toms , a 1995 Nationwide Tour graduate, plays a very active role in the award that bears his name. BIRTHDAY BOYS – Celebrating birthdays this week are Billy Hurley (9th / turns 29). NEXT WEEK – The Tour heads to Kansas for the Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open (June 16-19), one of four original Nationwide Tour events from the inaugural season of 1990 that are still on the schedule. # # # James Cramer Jeff Adams Joe Chemycz Adam Wallace 904-273-3293 904-273-3397 904-273-3305 904-543-7405 For the latest information, scores and updates on the Nationwide Tour visit www.pgatourmedia.com Media and fans can also follow the Tour on Twitter ( http://twitter.com/nationwidetour ) and Facebook (www.Facebook.com/NationwideTour) .