NEWS

Nationwide Tour Weekly E-notes
 
Apr. 24, 2007
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By PGA TOUR Staff

  • Nick Watney's win last week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans was the third consecutive PGA TOUR win by a former Nationwide Tour player. Zach Johnson began the streak at the Masters and Boo Weekley won the following week at the Verizon Heritage. The record, by the way, is seven in a row and was set last year. The victory by Watney was the 203rd by a former Nationwide Tour player on the PGA TOUR and the seventh this year.

  • This week's Henrico County Open has been the site of some scoring history on the Nationwide Tour. Notah Begay III shot 59 here in 1998 to become the first player to break 60 on the Tour and Daniel Chopra shot a record 30-under here in 2004.

  • Martin Laird's victory last week at the Athens Regional Foundation Classic was his first and it made him the first player from Scotland to win on the Tour. Players from 18 countries outside the U.S. have won on the Nationwide Tour.

  • Two players who competed in last year's Henrico County Open have already won on the PGA TOUR. Eric Axley and Boo Weekley were both on hand in Richmond last season before going on to victory on the PGA TOUR, Axley at the 2006 Valero Texas Open and Weekley just two weeks ago at the Verizon Heritage Classic.

    News from the Henrico County Open

  • Matt Kuchar won the 2006 event and earned $81,000, which helped the former Georgia Tech All-American eventually finish No. 10 on the money list with season earnings of $300,867. Kuchar was one of a record 10 players to surpass $300,000 in prize money on last year's Nationwide Tour. Being a part of the 2006 graduating class puts Kuchar in select company, as 16 players (out of 22) are currently ranked among the top 144 in the FedExCup point standings. Kuchar is 92nd on the list.

  • This week's event will be played for the sixth straight year -- and the 13th overall -- at the par-72, 7,201-yard Dominion Club. Last year the course played to an average of 73.428, making it the fourth-toughest course on Tour. A big reason for that difficulty was the treacherous par-4 eighth hole, which yielded just 12 birdies over four days and ranked as the Tour's toughest hole in 2006, with a stroke average at 4.560. In all, six holes at the Dominion Club ranked among the Tour's 50 toughest holes, including Nos. 8, 9, 13, 14, 16 and 17.

  • Each player in the 156-man field may want to avoid the lead after the first day. In 14 previous events, the 18-hole leader has never gone on to win the tournament. By comparison, the 36-hole leader has won five of 14 times (36 percent), while the 54-hole leader has won eight out of 14 times (57 percent).

  • If the past is any indication, expect a close finish on Sunday. In 14 previous events, the Henrico County Open has been decided by two strokes or less 12 times, including five playoffs and a one-stroke margin of victory four times.

  • Five of the six winners on the Nationwide Tour are playing this week, including Miguel Carballo, John Kimbell, Scott Sterling, Nicholas Thompson and Omar Uresti. The only player missing is Chitimacha Louisiana Open winner Skip Kendall.

  • A 59 has been recorded three times during the history of the Nationwide Tour, with Notah Begay III the first to do so at The Dominion Club during the second round of the 1998 Henrico County Open. Begay began his round on the back nine with a 4-under 32, followed by a sensational, 9-under 27 on the front nine. His closing nine holes were highlighted by an eagle on the par-4 first hole and a hole-in-one on the par-3 third hole. Doug Dunakey (1998 Miami Valley Open) and Jason Gore (2005 Cox Classic) are the other two players to record 59s.

  • Matt Kuchar became the ninth player in 14 years to notch his first Nationwide Tour win at the Henrico County Open. With his win at the 2002 Honda Classic, Kuchar is one of five past champions of the Henrico County Open to have also won on the PGA TOUR, joining three-time TOUR winners Chad Campbell and Olin Browne, as well as Bob Burns and Mark Hensby.

  • Four former U.S. Amateur champions are playing pretty much each week on the Nationwide Tour this season -- and four are scheduled to tee it up in Richmond this week, including 1999 champion David Gossett, 2001 winner Bubba Dickerson, 2002 winner Ricky Barnes and 2003 champion Nick Flanagan.