Storylines: Boo makes it 226 for Nationwide Tour alums

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Boo's win ups Nationwide Tour alumni victory total to 226
Boo Weekley's successful defense of the Verizon Heritage Classic upped the number of Nationwide Tour alumni victories on the PGA TOUR to 226. In nine of this year's 18 TOUR events, a player with ties to the Nationwide Tour has accepted the champion's trophy on Sunday.

Baddeley

Strong Verizon Heritage showing
Of the top 11 finishers at Hilton Head Island, only one did not come to the PGA TOUR via the Nationwide Tour -- Anthony Kim -- who finished tied for second. The rest of the leaderboard included Weekley, Aaron Baddeley, Jim Furyk, Cliff Kresge, Jason Bohn, Stewart Cink, Lucas Glover, Matt Kuchar, Michael Letzig and Camilo Villegas.

GOLF CHANNEL domestic coverage begins
Golf Channel's domestic coverage of the Nationwide Tour begins this week at the Henrico County Open. It is the first of 13 U.S. events, plus one in Canada (Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic), GOLF CHANNEL will air between April and the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship at TPC Craig Ranch in early November. Viewers will notice new Nationwide Tour signage and on-site branding that reflects the Tour's new tagline "PGA TOUR Driven" and references to the Nationwide Tour as the "official proving ground of the PGA TOUR.

Begay

10-year anniversary of Notah Begay's 59
It was ten years ago at The Dominion Club that Notah Begay became the first Nationwide Tour player to break 60 in a Tour event. Tiger Woods' former Stanford teammate fired a 13-under-par 59 (32-27) in a round that included nine birdies and two eagles, one of which was a hole-in-one. Begay finished tied for sixth, three shots back of winner Bob Burns, who is in the field again this week. Like Al Geiberger, the first to shoot 59 on the PGA TOUR, Begay did not post a round in the 60s in the tournament. His 59 has since been matched by Doug Dunakey (1998) and Jason Gore (2005) on Nationwide Tour courses that were par 70 and 71, respectively.

Casey Wittenberg climbing
2003 U.S. Amateur runner-up Casey Wittenberg continues his consistent play through the first seven events of the year. The 23-year-old from Memphis is the only Nationwide Tour player to make all seven cuts. He enjoyed his first top-10 finish in 19-career Nationwide Tour starts (a third) over the weekend in the Athens Regional Foundation Classic, which pushed him 14 spots up the money list to No. 15. Wittenberg, who is in Virginia this week, has three other finishes of 19th or better in 2008. In seven Tour statistical categories, he is tied for 17th or better in every one.

Lyle

Jarrod Lyle maintains healthy money-list lead
With another top-10 finish (tie for seventh) in Athens, Australia's Jarrod Lyle padded his No. 1 spot on the money list. Having banked $189,090 thus far in 2008, the likeable Lyle holds a lead of almost $40,000 over fellow Aussie and Moonah Classic champion Ewan Porter. In six starts, Lyle has missed only one cut and otherwise finished 15th or better, including his Mexico Open presented by Corona win in early February.

Robert Damron: Fond memories of the EDS Byron Nelson Classic
Sunday's Athens Regional Foundation Classic winner Robert Damron has fond recollections of this week's PGA TOUR event. The Bay Hill Club resident captured the EDS Byron Nelson Classic in 2001.

Thompson

Familiar faces on the range
South Carolinian Kyle Thompson enjoyed a home game of sorts last week when he played in the Verizon Heritage Classic in Hilton Head Island, S.C., last week. Thompson earned his 2008 PGA TOUR card via the Nationwide Tour last year on the strength of two wins. When asked about making the adjustment from the Nationwide Tour to the PGA TOUR, the two-time academic All-American out of the University of South Carolina, who turns 29 on Friday (25th), said "I'm a rookie this year (on the PGA TOUR), and I really don't feel like a rookie. I look down the range, and I know 80 percent of the guys because they've come through the Nationwide Tour the last five years."

A putt here, a putt there
If you've wondered why TOUR players grind over virtually every shot, consider the following chart as it pertains to two important cutoff numbers on the Nationwide Tour: 1) making "THE 25" via the money list to earn a PGA TOUR card for the next season, and 2) making the top 60 to qualify for the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship:

Interestingly enough, the margins between Nos. 1 and 15 is two thirds of a shot and Nos. 1 and 60 is less than a third of a shot ... both razor thin when you consider Johnson, Walker and Atwal hit 5,889, 7,077 and 3,872 shots, respectively, last year.

Next week
The Nationwide Tour's five-event Southern swing heads to Valdosta, Ga., next week for the South Georgia Classic held at the Davis Love III-designed Kinderlou Forest Golf Club. At 7,781 yards, Kinderlou Forest is the longest course to host a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event. Georgia native John Kimbell captured his first Tour victory there at age 38.