Nationwide Tour Storylines -- Week of July 30
 
Jul. 31, 2007

Roland Thatcher joins Nick Flanagan; is one win away from three-win promotion to PGA TOUR -- Roland Thatcher's win on Sunday in the Cox Classic presented by Chevrolet puts the former Auburn All-American one win away from earning his PGA TOUR card for the rest of 2007 and 2008. Earlier in July, he won the Peek'n Peak Classic. Australian Nick Flanagan is the Nationwide Tour's only other two-time winner (Henrico County Open/April, BMW Charity Pro-Am at The Cliffs/May) in 2007.

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The kid can go low -- 19-year-old Jason Day has demonstrated a penchant for going low. In the final round of the Fort Smith (AR) Classic presented by Stephens, Inc. in May, he shot 62 to finish fourth. Over the weekend, he posted rounds of 62 and 63 to finish one shot behind Cox Classic winner Roland Thatcher. He played the front nine at Champions Run on Saturday and Sunday in 57 strokes (28-29). His 17-under 125 equalled the lowest 36-hole score (back-to-back rounds) in Nationwide Tour history (Jeff Freeman/2001 Fort Smith Classic, Jason Gore and David Branshaw/both at 2002 Gila River Golf Classic). Maybe it was the buzz haircut he gave himself earlier in the week.

Thatcher is new no. 1 -- Roland Thatcher's $117,000 winner's check on Sunday gave him a commanding lead on the Nationwide Tour money list. He has a $100,249 lead over Jason Day. Former No. 1 Paul Claxton, who held the top spot for four weeks in a row, missed the cut in Omaha and slipped to third. Day has the slimmest of leads on Claxton, $34. Only $21,685 separates Day and No. 5 Nicholas Thompson. Nick Flanagan is No. 4. Thatcher is the seventh player to lead the money list this year.

Having fun -- Following his win, Roland Thatcher commented: "The excitement isn't just limited to the fans because we enjoy it as well. We all have a pretty healthy addiction to competition, and it doesn't get any better than what we faced out there today."

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Wichita's own Chez Reavie -- The 25-year-old former Arizona State University All-American was born in Wichita. His family moved to Arizona when he was a young boy. With $186,918 in earnings (8th), the winner of this year's Knoxville Open presented by Food City has all but locked up his 2008 PGA TOUR card in this, his second full season on the Nationwide Tour. At season's end, the top-25 money winners will graduate to the PGA TOUR. In his lone appearance in the Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open last year, Reavie finished T14.

Another "original" -- For the second time in three weeks, the Nationwide Tour will play in one of its four original cities. The Tour visited Springfield, Mo., two weeks ago for the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr. Pepper. Knoxville, Tenn., and Boise, Idaho, are the other two cities that have held Tour events for 18 consecutive years.

THE "25" update -- Two caddies will be wearing gold vests this week who weren't wearing them last week. Moving into THE "25" were Australian Greg Chalmers (from 26 to 24) and B.J. Staten (28 to 25). Moving out of THE "25" were Marc Turnesa (23 to 27) and James Driscoll (25 to 29). Each gold vest features a number, which is symbolic of a player's position among the top 25 on the money list. All other caddies wear red, white or blue vests.

Kansan Chris Thompson -- Chris Thompson has not had a lot to cheer about this year, but things took a big swing for the better when he shot 60 to take the first round Cox Classic lead. He followed it up with rounds of 71-69-66 to finish T8 and move 34 spots up the money list to No. 82. Thompson will truly be home this week. He was born in Independence, Kan., and lives in Lawrence, where he graduated from the University of Kansas in 1999.

Summerhays debut -- Daniel Summerhays finished T37 at the Cox Classic, collecting his first check as a professional for $3,120.

GOLF CHANNEL's "Quest for the Card" schedule -- Golf Channel will air four more third-quarter episodes of "Quest for the Card: Inside the Nationwide Tour," its 30-minute highlight/feature show about the Nationwide Tour. "Quest" will air the week of August 7th and 21st and September 4th and 18th. The show first airs at 6:30 p.m. ET (6 p.m. on August 7th), with four more re-airs later in the week. A fourth-quarter schedule will be announced in the near future.

The PGA TOUR wins keep coming -- Jim Furyk notched the 209th win on the PGA TOUR by a former Nationwide Tour player and 13th this season.

Did you know? -- Lanny Wadkins is the uncle of Nationwide Tour player Ron Whittaker. The 1994 Wake Forest University graduate enjoyed his best finish of 2007 in the Cox Classic, a T4. He improved 20 spots on the money list to No. 33 and is now less than $21,000 from joining THE "25." Whittaker's first lesson came at age two from another former Deamon Deacon of some renown -- Arnold Palmer.