NATIONWIDE TOUR STORYLINES – Week of July 11th CHIQUITA CLASSIC July 14-17 TPC River’s Bend, Maineville (Cincinnati), Ohio Purse: $550,000 First Prize: $99,000 2010 Champion: Tommy Gainey 156 players 12 th of 26 events 15 IN 16 WEEKS – The Chiquita Classic initiates a string of 15 tournaments over the next 16 weeks that culminates at the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island in Charleston, S.C. Oct. 27-30. Last year, 12 players played their way out of “The 25” over the final 15 events. Of the 12 who replaced them one ( Steven Bowditch ) came from as far back as No.145 on the money list. Five others were 68 th or higher on the money list in mid July. No doubt, aggressive play will be the order of the day over the next three months. ALUMNI WINS KEEP COMING ON PGA TOUR – Steve Stricker ’s win on Sunday at the John Deere Classic was his 11 th PGA TOUR title and the 310 th time a former Nationwide Tour player has won on the PGA TOUR. Stricker, who played on the Nationwide Tour in the early 90s, is fifth on the all-time alumni win list with his 11 TOUR wins. TOUR WINNER GARY WOODLAND LINKS WITH NEW KANSAS CITY EVENT – Tournament officials of the Nationwide Tour’s new “Midwest Classic” announced that Kansas native Gary Woodland has been named Honorary Tournament Chairman for 2011. Woodland was born in Topeka, Kan. and is a 2007 graduate of the University of Kansas. He won his first PGA TOUR title in March, the Transitions Championship near Tampa, and is currently ranked 42 nd in the Official World Golf Ranking. The Midwest Classic will be played Aug. 18-21 at Nicklaus Golf Club at LionsGate in Overland Park, Kan. RETURN ENGAGEMENT FOR PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAMER ANTHONY MUNOZ – Former Cincinnati Bengals’ great and longtime Cincinnati community supporter Anthony Munoz returns in his capacity as Honorary Chairman of the Chiquita Classic. Munoz played a prominent role in promoting and supporting last year’s inaugural event in his adopted hometown. The Southern California native who played collegiately at USC is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. HOMECOMING FOR BRETT WETTERICH – Cincinnati native Brett Wetterich returns to his native Cincinnati this week to play in the Chiquita Classic. The 37-year-old, who was a member of the 2006 U.S. Ryder Cup team, is coming off a Major Medical Extension on the PGA TOUR and appears intent on getting his PGA TOUR card back via the Nationwide Tour. Wetterich is in good shape to do so having won the Chitimacha Louisiana Open in March. He is currently 12th on the Tour’s money list. He has made six starts this year. LATIN AMERICAN PRESENCE IN CINCINNATI – Four representatives of the Mexican Golf Federation will be in the Chiquita Classic having earned spots via their top-25 finishes in the Tour’s last event, the Mexico Open…. Jose de Jesus Rodriguez, Octavio Gonzalez, Estanislao Guerrero and Oscar Fraustro . In addition, David Vanegas of Medellin, Colombia and the Tour de Las Americas also played his way into the Chiquita Classic with a T15 finish in Mexico. A T3 in Colombia earlier this year got him into Louisiana. He will be making his fifth Nationwide Tour start of 2011. MATHEW GOGGIN’S UPS AND DOWNS – Two years ago in July Australian Mathew Goggin was paired in the final group on Sunday with Tom Watson at the (British) Open Championship at Turnberry. Three late-round bogeys dashed his hopes of an Open victory as he finished two shots out of the Watson-Stewart Cink playoff. Last year on the PGA TOUR his form fell off and he dropped to 159 th on the money list. Late in the season he determined his irons were too upright and once the situation was addressed, he entered the 2011 season on the Nationwide Tour with a fresh and confident attitude. In his first start (Panama Claro Championship) he entered the winner’s circle. He has continued to distance himself from his Nationwide Tour competitors, adding one more win (Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open), a runner-up and a T4. The Tasmania native now sits atop the money list with a cushion of almost $90,000 over Nos. 2 and 3 Erik Compton and Kyle Thompson . GLOBETROTTING DANNY LEE RESUMES PLAY – 2008 U.S. Amateur champion Danny Lee is scheduled to return to the Nationwide Tour at the Chiquita Classic. Currently 19 th on the money list, his last appearance on Tour was the BMW Charity Pro-Am where he finished 3 rd and moved to 10 th on the money list. Lee has played five Nationwide Tour events this year, making every cut and finishing T7, T5 and 3 rd in his last three. Splitting time on the European Tour, his best finish in ten starts on that tour is a T2 in China. His next best finish among the six cuts he’s made is a T20 in Wales in early June. Lee has played in three countries on the Nationwide Tour and ten on the European Tour. 7’-4” RALPH SAMPSON HITS THE LINKS – Next week’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational will host its annual celebrity pro-am on Monday to kick off tournament week. The tallest player in the star-studded field will no doubt be 7-foot-4-inch Ralph Sampson . The three- time college basketball player of the year out of the University of Virginia and former NBA All Star in the 80s is making his first appearance in the pro-am that will be played at Muirfield Village Golf Club. HUNTER HAAS ON MAKING THE CUT – Hunter Haas spent Monday in Knoxville, Tenn. promoting the Nationwide Tour’s upcoming News Sentinel Open presented by Pilot, an event he won in 2004 and 2006. He commented: “I would argue with anybody that it’s harder to make the cut on the Nationwide Tour than it is the PGA TOUR. You have 10 less people making the cut. For the most part, the players are younger and hungrier.” Haas is currently 86 th on the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup points list. PATRICK CANTLAY – Patrick Cantlay has accepted an invitation to play in the RBC Canadian Open next week, which means he will not join his fellow college first-team All-Americans at next week’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational as previously indicated. BIRTHDAY BOYS – Nationwide Tour members celebrating birthdays this week are Keoke Cotner (July 11 th , turns 40), Rich Barcelo (12 th / 36), Josh Broadaway (14 th / 33), Dicky Pride (15 th / 42 ), Jason Enloe (16 th / 38) and Peter Lonard (17 th / 44). NEXT WEEK – The Tour travels north on interstate 71 to Columbus for the 5 th Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational at Ohio State University’s Scarlet Course. Fittingly, the event once again features college golf’s 2011 first-team All-Americans. # # # 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) .