WEB.COM TOUR STORYLINES – Week of October 22 Nd
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WEB.COM TOUR STORYLINES – Week of October 22 nd WEB.COM TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP at TPC CRAIG RANCH Oct. 25-28 TPC Craig Ranch, McKinney, Texas (Dallas) Purse: $1,000,000 First Prize: $180,000 2011 Champion: Ken Duke 60 players 27 th of 27 events / Final event of 2012 at which “25” PGA TOUR cards will be awarded All four rounds televised live on Golf Channel ONE OF GOLF’S MOST COMPELLING WEEKS – There are 26 tournaments down and one left to determine “The 25” who will go on to be PGA TOUR members in 2013. Who will be Sunday’s winners and losers in the battle to nail down the last few “25” spots? Will Casey Wittenberg hang on to the top spot and secure the perks of being No. 1 (fully-exempt status and the ability to make his own schedule, plus a spot in THE PLAYERS)? The same scene plays out every year on the Web.com Tour in October but it never gets old and never loses its edge and excitement. “25” CARD CEREMONY PUTS CAP ON 2012 SEASON – On Sunday (Oct. 28 th ) at TPC Craig Ranch the 25 leading money winners will be awarded their PGA TOUR membership cards for 2013 and Tiffany hand- engraved money clips at the “Card Ceremony” attended by graduates, their family, friends and others, and presided over by Web.com Tour president Bill Calfee and Web.com chairman, president and CEO David Brown . PGATOUR.COM will stream the Ceremony live, beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET. Golf Channel will be on hand to record the festivities for later airing. BIG SECOND-HALF MOVE – The first half of Russell Henley ’s rookie year on the Web.com Tour was clearly a struggle. The second half was anything but for Sunday’s Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open presented by Planters champion. Entering August, the 23-year-old from Macon, Ga. and the University of Georgia was 88 th on the money list. A T7 (Cox Classic) and T2 (Midwest Classic) in August jumped him into “The 25” picture at No. 31. The last three weeks he caught fire, with two playoff wins (Chiquita and Winn-Dixie) and a third (Miccosukee). Henley now finds himself No. 3 in earnings, with a shot at catching No. 1 Casey Wittenberg , who has a $42,087 advantage. “25 BUBBLE” ACTION – No. 25 Camilo Benedetti takes a razor-thin lead of just $287 over No. 26 Doug LaBelle II into the Web.com Tour Championship. The Colombian finished T10 on Sunday at TPC Sawgrass/Dye’s Valley Course to move up three spots. THREE IN, THREE OUT – Three players who started last week outside the top 60 played their way in – B.J. Staten (69 th to 32 nd ), Kevin Foley (66 th to 54 th ) and Ben Martin (94 th to 60 th ). Their good fortune came at the expense of Duffy Waldorf (55 th to 61 st ), Aron Price (57 th to 63 rd ) and Jeff Gove (60 th to 65 th ). ALUM “TWO GLOVES” GRABS FIRST WIN – 2010 Web.com Tour graduate Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey snared his first PGA TOUR win on Sunday in glorious fashion, shooting 60 to win the McGladrey Classic by a shot. The South Carolinian is one more in the long line of Web.com Tour alumni who have won on the PGA TOUR. His was the 345 th alumni win and 25 th of 2012. SALESMANSHIP CLUB BRINGS WEB.COM TOUR BACK TO “BIG D” – In 2008, the Salesmanship Club of Dallas hosted the Web.com Tour Championship for the first time at TPC Craig Ranch. Matt Bettencourt nailed down the title with a 6-foot par putt on the 72 nd hole. All 60 contestants heaped praise on TPC Craig Ranch. The Championship returns to TPC Craig Ranch this year after spending the last three at Daniel Island Club in Charleston. The Salesmanship Club will once again conduct the event. # OF TWO-TIME WINNERS GROWS TO FIVE – Russell Henley joined Casey Wittenberg, Ben Kohles, Luke Guthrie and Shawn Stefani among those who now have won two titles each this year. The most multiple winners on Tour came in 1995 when there were seven. The last two years there were four each year. 2012 WINN-DIXIE EVENT ANNOUNCES $1.85 MILLION TO CHARITY – The Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open presented by Planters announced last week a charity contribution of $1.85 million for 2012. After donations of $1.6 million and $1.8 million in the tournament’s first two years, the event’s three-year total reached a spectacular $5.25 million. TOPSY-TURVY 2008 SUNDAY FOR RICKY BARNES – Though Matt Bettencourt won the 2008 title, Ricky Barnes got his share of attention that Sunday afternoon. Twenty-seven years old at the time, Barnes danced around “The 25” bubble much of the latter part of the season. He came to Dallas 22 nd on the money list. On Sunday he had what surely were some of his most nervous hours ever as a professional golfer waiting for play to finish. He was in, he was out….even convinced at one point that he no longer had a chance, he readied himself to leave TPC Craig Ranch. When David Branshaw failed to birdie the par-5 18 th Barnes was in…on the number at 25. An example of what the final Sunday of the year on the Web.com Tour is all about! Barnes went on to the PGA TOUR and has not looked back. PGA TOUR CANADA – With last week’s announcement that the PGA TOUR has agreed to assume operational control of what will become PGA TOUR Canada in 2013, the top five players in Canada will receive playing privileges on the Web.com Tour in 2014, while the next five will be exempt into the finals of next fall’s Web.com Tour qualifying tournament. WEB.COM TOUR IMPACT – 2011 Web.com Tour graduate and winner of the recent Frys.com Open Jonas Blixt gave credit last week for his success to his three years (2009-2011) on the Web.com Tour. “I’m lucky I was in contention a couple of times and learned how to deal with the pressure. I don’t think I would have handled the pressure and everything that well last Sunday if it wasn’t for the Web.com Tour. I’m very grateful to that tour and for the experience, and they run it so well. I had a good time, a really good time out there.” BIRTHDAY BOYS – Celebrating birthdays at the Web.com Tour Championship at TPC Craig Ranch are Fabian Gomez (Oct. 27 th / turns 34) and Justin Hicks (28 th /38). NEXT WEEK – The 2012 season concludes this week at the Web.com Tour Championship at TPC Craig Ranch. # # # 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 Web.com Tour visit www.pgatourmedia.com Media and fans can also follow the Tour on Twitter ( http://twitter.com/webdotcomtour) and Facebook (www.Facebook.com/WebDotComTour ) .