NATIONWIDE TOUR STORYLINES – Week of May 28Th

NATIONWIDE TOUR STORYLINES – Week of May 28th THE REX HOSPITAL OPEN May 31 - June 3 TPC Wakefield Plantation, Raleigh, N.C. Purse: $550,000 First: $99,000 2011 Champion: Kyle Thompson 156 players 10 th of 27 events 24 OF “25” HEADED TO RALEIGH - Of the 25 leading money winners on the Nationwide Tour, only No. 13, PGA TOUR member Edward Loar , is not entered in The Rex Hospital Open. Eighty-four of the top 100 are currently committed. Of last year’s top-seven finishers at TPC Wakefield Plantation, six finished among “The 25” who earned 2012 TOUR cards at the end of the season. Kyle Thompson won the event by one shot last June. THE WINS KEEP COMING – With wins in the last three PGA TOUR events, the Nationwide Tour alumni victory count is now 332. On Sunday, 2003 Nationwide Tour Player of the Year Zach Johnson collected his eighth TOUR win at the Crowne Plaza Invitational in Fort Worth, Texas. BIO KIM / ASIA ONE WEEK, BACK ON THE NATIONWIDE TOUR THIS WEEK – Bio Kim returns to the Nationwide Tour two weeks after winning a OneAsia Tour event in his native Seoul, South Korea, the second of his career. At 21, Kim is the Tour’s youngest member. He has top-seven finishes in his last two starts and is 30 th in earnings. GRAYSON MURRAY EARNS REX JUNIOR INVITATIONAL SPOT AGAIN – On Sunday, Rex Hospital sponsored the “Junior Invitational” for the sixth year in a row. Fifty-six of North Carolina’s top high school golfers played 36 holes from the back tees at TPC Wakefield Plantation. Capturing medalist honors (5- under 137) and earning a spot in The Rex Hospital Open for the second time was Grayson Murray of Raleigh’s Leesville Road High School. In 2010, Murray became the second youngest player in Tour history to make a cut when he shot a second-round 67 and finished T55. He is headed to Wake Forest. Last year, Carter Jenkins became the third youngest to play in a Nationwide tour after winning the Invitational. He was a 15-year-old sophomore at the time at the same high school. He shot 76-80 and missed the cut. BMW CHAMPION REFLECTS – “The Australian” newspaper caught up with BMW Charity Pro-Am winner Nick Flanagan on his drive home to Florida after his win. Flanagan reflected on his ups and downs of the last few years: “Probably ’09 was the toughest year. I packed up and went home for about two months. I hung out with some friends, did a bit of traveling up and down the coast, did a bunch of surfing. There were times when I thought I needed to give it a rest for a couple of years and get the motivation back. It was one of those things – when I did it for two months or so I definitely get the motivation back….I hung in there. It’s a nice feeling.” “HAPPY” TWEET – On that same drive from Greenville, S.C. to Jacksonville Beach, Fla. Nick Flanagan tweeted: “Feel like Happy Gilmore …”, referencing Gilmore's (played by Adam Sandler) championship- winning shot that involved a carom of its own in the golf-themed movie. Flanagan pumped his mid-iron approach to the 72 nd hole at Thornblade Club over the green and it rebounded off a TV cameraman onto the green. He drained a 15-footer, then defeated fellow Aussie Cameron Percy , with whom he had dinner the night before, in a three-hole playoff. Flanagan enjoyed the drive home with his girlfriend, Corinne Byrum , daughter of Champions Tour member Tom Byrum . TROPHY DELIVERY – The U.S. Army Golden Knights will make a special delivery after the last putt drops on Sunday at TPC Wakefield Plantation – The Rex Hospital Open trophy for the closing ceremony after jumping from an airplane onto the 18 th fairway. TWO PLACES AT ONCE – TPC Wakefield Plantation course designer Hale Irwin has lent his name and support to The Rex Hospital Open as co-chair of this year’s event, along with Glen Wesley of the Carolina Hurricanes. Unfortunately, the World Golf Hall of Fame member cannot be in two places at once, thus Irwin will be in Raleigh in spirit as he plays the Champions Tour’s Principal Charity Classic in Iowa. GOLF VACATION - What did Jeff Gove do on his week off? He returned home and won the Washington Open Invitational by a mere 11 shots. Gove, 40, also visited his 94-year-old grandmother and other relatives. For two days, he and his pro-am partner were paired with Gove’s father, Gary, and uncle, Mike. Gove last played in the Open in 2002. Fellow Washington native Andres Gonzales made the trip from the HP Byron Nelson Championship in Dallas to play and finished T5. BIRTHDAY BOYS – Celebrating birthdays in Raleigh this week are Jeff Gove (28 th /turns 41), James Sacheck (28 th /26), Michael Putnam (1 st /29), Darron Stiles (1 st /39) and Will Wilcox (2 nd /26). NEXT WEEK – The Nationwide Tour heads from Raleigh to Leon, Mexico next week (May 7-10) for the Mexico Open at El Bosque Country Club. # # # 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) .

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