Nationwide Tour E-Notes: Race is on for Top 60
 
Oct. 3, 2007

With only four weeks left to qualify for the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship at Barona Creek. A tight race is developing to finish among the Top 60 on the money list, with only $31 separating #59 Fabian Gomez and #61 Joe Daley.

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Chad Campbell

Chad Campbell's victory last week at the Viking Classic was the 18th this year by a former Nationwide Tour player on the PGA TOUR and the 214th overall.

Nine former players competed in last week's Presidents Cup, and they combined to post a 23-16-4 record. David Toms topped the group with a 4-0-1 record.

Now in its 14th season, the Mark Christopher Charity Classic will feature a purse of $525,000 an increase of $25,000 from a year ago with Sunday's winner taking home $94,500. Additionally, GOLF CHANNEL will provide coverage for the fifth straight season.

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Kevin Na

Kevin Na used his home course at the par-71 Empire Lakes Golf Course to his advantage last year to walk away with his first Nationwide Tour victory. Na snapped a streak of 13 straight come-from-behind winners on the Nationwide Tour. A 69 on Sunday was enough to propel Na to a three-stroke win over Chris Tidland and Jeff Quinney.

The par-71 Empire Lakes Golf Club will host the Mark Christopher Charity Classic for the eighth straight year. The 7,017-yard layout played to an average of 70.762 a year ago, making it the 22nd-most-difficult course of the season. The par-4 sixth hole played as the Tour's 17th-toughest hole of the year, yielding a 4.361 average and giving up just 29 birdies.

The Mark Christopher Charity Classic will have a celebrity flair to it this week as Kenny G will tee it up for the second time on the Nationwide Tour. The noted saxophonist made his only other start at this same tournament in 2005, recording rounds of 82-83 and missing the cut by 23 strokes.

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Troy Matteson

Six of the last seven winners of the Mark Christopher Charity Classic have been first-time winners, most recently Kevin Na in 2006. Throughout the 13-year history of the tournament, only three players had won prior to their win in Rancho Cucamonga, including Charles Raulerson (1998), Brad Elder (1999) and Troy Matteson (2005).