Three two-time winners are rested and ready for Utah

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SANDY, Utah -- In addition to coming off a one-week break, Jarrod Lyle, Colt Knost and Scott Piercy have a few other things in common. Each has two wins, is assured of a spot on the PGA TOUR next year and will be in the field this week at the Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank looking for a third win and the immediate promotion to the PGA TOUR that would come with it.

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Defending champion Franklin Langham has had a disappointing season but could turn that around with another strong finish in Utah.

Willow Creek Country Club will host the Nationwide Tour event for the ninth straight year. The Championship gets underway on Thursday.

Scott Piercy, a Las Vegas native and resident, became the newest member of the two-win club after capturing the Northeast Pennsylvania Classic two weeks ago in Scranton, Pa. Piercy began the year as a conditionally-exempt player and did not make his first start until May. In his last three tournaments, he has won twice with a tie for sixth finish sandwiched in between, and jumped all the way from No. 123 on the money list to No. 12.

Jarrod Lyle of Australia has been atop the money list more weeks (14) than any other player this year. But entering the Utah Championship, he finds himself No. 2. Brendon de Jonge passed him to get to the top spot with a tie for second finish in Scranton, one week after winning his first Tour event, the Xerox Classic in Rochester, N.Y. The Zimbabwean can't get too comfortable, though, as his lead is only $4,090.

Speaking of small margins, all but the first of the nine Utah Championships played to date have been decided by two or less strokes. Last year's champion, Franklin Langham, hopes to become the first player in Nationwide Tour history to successfully defend a Nationwide Tour title. Langham, however, would not be considered one of the favorites. The likeable Georgian is struggling mightily this year having missed 12 of 13 cuts.

Brothers and Utah natives Daniel and Boyd Summerhays are among the fan favorites this week. Boyd is playing on a sponsor's exemption and Daniel is a fully-exempt member after winning the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational in Nationwide's hometown of Columbus, Ohio, in July of 2006. Daniel made history by becoming the first amateur to win a Nationwide Tour event. Since turning pro shortly after his win, he has graduated from Brigham Young University, become a father and now stands 34th on the money list. Given their Salt Lake City roots, the Farmington, Utah, residents will have many area fans in the gallery cheering them on.

Also playing this week on a sponsor's exemption is television golf commentator Bobby Clampett. Clampett was a three-time All-American at nearby BYU (Provo, Utah) from 1978-80. The 48-year-old, who expects to play on the Champions Tour after he turns 50 on April 22, 2010, won the Southern Open on the PGA TOUR in 1982. In 1984, he became the youngest player to exceed $500,000 in career earnings.

There are only six events left to earn a spot in the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas (Nov. 6-9) where the top-60 money winners will gather for only the second $1 million purse in Tour history. Currently Fran Quinn occupies the 60th and final spot. His margin over David McKenzie is only $546.

Making the Tour Championship field is critical, as once a player gets to TPC Craig Ranch, he has a chance to earn one of "The 25" PGA TOUR cards for 2009 that will be awarded when play concludes on Sunday. In "The 25" race, Cox Classic champion Ryan Hietala clings to a $174 lead over No. 26 Matt Every.

All four rounds of the Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank will be televised on the Golf Channel starting Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Next week the Nationwide Tour will be in Boise, Idaho, for the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft.