NATIONWIDE TOUR STORYLINES – Week of June 25Th
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NATIONWIDE TOUR STORYLINES – Week of June 25th UNITED LEASING CHAMPIONSHIP at VICTORIA NATIONAL GOLF CLUB June 28 – July 1 Victoria National Golf Club Newburgh, Indiana (Evansville) Purse: $550,000 First Prize: $99,000 New event 156 players 13 th of 27 events All four rounds on Golf Channel “BATTLEFIELD PROMOTION” WATCH IS OFFICIALLY ON – With Casey Wittenberg ’s second 2012 win coming Sunday at the Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open, the watch for a “Battlefield Promotion” is officially on. In March, the 27-year-old from Memphis won his first Nationwide Tour title, the Chitimacha Louisiana Open. He jumped eight spots to No. 2 on the money list, behind Paul Haley II . The last player to earn a three-win promotion to the PGA TOUR was Michael Sim in 2009. Only eight players have accomplished the feat since it came into effect in 1997. ALUM MARC LEISHMAN GRABS FIRST PGA TOUR WIN – Australia’s Marc Leishman snared his first PGA TOUR win on Sunday at The Travelers Championship after firing a final-round 62. It upped the Nationwide Tour alumni win total on TOUR to 334. Leishman is a 2008 Nationwide Tour graduate who went on to be named 2009 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year. The 28-year-old demonstrated his penchant for going low in 2008 when he posted a 21-under score and matched the Nationwide Tour record for largest victory margin (11 shots) at the WNB Golf Classic in Midland, Texas. U.S. OPEN CHAMP REFLECTS – After graduating from Wake Forest University in 2008, recent U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson turned to the Nationwide Tour to hone his game for golf’s biggest stage, the PGA TOUR. “There’s a small line that separates the Nationwide Tour and the PGA TOUR”, he told John Dell for PGATOUR.COM. “I found out quickly out those guys on the Nationwide Tour were really, really good. I’m thankful I was able to play the Nationwide Tour…There are some guys who play on that Tour for three or four years but once they get to the PGA TOUR they are so prepared. They are ready to win and compete.” In another interview he said, “I don’t think I would have gotten through Q-School my first try (otherwise).” UNITED LEASING / VICTORIA NATIONAL MAKE TOUR DEBUT – The Nationwide Tour will be making its first visit to Evansville, Ind. this week at the United Leasing Championship at Victoria National Golf Club. The tournament has a great sponsor in United Leasing and Indiana’s top-ranked Victoria National as the host venue. With the Evansville community fully embracing the event, all signs point to the Championship being a great addition to the Tour schedule and the Indiana golf scene. SUPER FIELD SET TO TEST VICTORIA NATIONAL – The Tour is approaching mid-season, with this week’s Evansville stop the 13 th of 27 events. Though a lot will happen between the United Leasing Championship at Victoria National Golf Club and season’s end in October, “The 25” is starting to take shape. The Championship is attracting one of the strongest fields of the year. As of Friday’s commitment deadline, nine of the top 10, 23 of the top 25 and 91 of the top 100 were entered. The 91 of 100 tops all other tournaments played to date. Cumulatively, players in the field have 36 PGA TOUR wins. NATIONWIDE TOUR ON WEDNESDAY, NASCAR VICTORY LANE ON SUNDAY – “Drafting” off his pro- am appearance in last Wednesday’s Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open, Clint Bowyer collected his sixth NASCAR title on Sunday at the Sprint Cup circuit’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 on the road course in Sonoma, Calif. Bowyer, who hails from Emporia, Kan., played in the pro-am as a guest of Hawker Beechcraft. MATT DAVIDSON RETURNS FROM BASKETBALL INJURY – New Jersey native Matt Davidson made his first appearance of 2012, having been sidelined since December as a result of a knee injury he suffered while playing pickup basketball. The 2004 Furman University grad shot 68-67-72-72 (-5) to finish T48. “I kind of sulked the first two weeks but I had to let go once I had my surgery,” Davidson told the Trentonian newspaper. “I told myself not to have great expectations (this week). I didn’t want to put too much pressure on myself.” Davidson finished 34 th on the Tour money list last year and 66 th in 2010. BIRTHDAY BOYS – No players in the field celebrate birthdays this week. NEXT WEEK – The Tour is off next week, before heading to Salt Lake City for the Utah Championship presented by Utah Sports Commission (July 12-15). # # # James Cramer Jeff Adams Joe Chemycz Royce Thompson 904-273-3293 904-273-3397 904-273-3305 904-543-7419 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) .