Year in review: Sim rules Nationwide Tour in '09

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Michael Sim won three times on the Nationwide Tour, earning a promotion to the PGA TOUR.

There was only one story on the Nationwide Tour this year: Michael Sim.

Sim, born in Scotland and raised in Australia, began the season with a low profile. He was coming off a back injury and didn't even rate a full biography page in the Nationwide Tour's media guide. But before the season was over he was no longer a footnote -- he was being called by some the greatest player in Nationwide Tour history.

Sim won three times and earned the instant promotion to the PGA TOUR just as the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup began. But he returned to the Nationwide Tour to hold down No. 1 on the money list and earn a spot in the 2010 PLAYERS Championship.

Sim made the cut in 12 of his 14 Nationwide Tour starts and had nine top-10s, including wins at the Stonebrae Classic, the BMW Charity Pro-Am and the Christmas in October event. He lost in playoff at the Athens Regional Foundation Classic and finished second in the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship.

Sim shattered the single-season record for earnings with $644,142, more than $150,000 more than the total posted by Troy Matteson in 2005.

Sim had two goals for the season: to improve his short game and to improve the state of his mental game. He accomplished both. Sim led the Nationwide Tour in scoring (68.81), scrambling and putting and was second in driving accuracy. And with the help of sports psychologist Angela Pampling, wife of PGA TOUR player Rod Pampling, Sim was able to establish a solid pre-shot routine and hold up under pressure.

Most of the time Sim was applying the pressure, not bending to it. Now Sim gets a second shot at the PGA TOUR, and he is ready to get started.

"You know, I feel like I can win on the regular TOUR, and I feel like I can compete out here," Sim said. "I played two major championships this year, and I did reasonably well. And I'm definitely looking forward to next season."

A few of the other highlights from the 2009 Nationwide Tour season:

Fran Quinn got the 25th and final spot from the graduating class, beating Brian Stuard by less than $5,000. How he did it is almost Hollywood material, too. Quinn got sick on Friday of the Nationwide Tour Championship with a urinary tract infection and spent Saturday night in the hospital but was somehow able to put together final rounds of 75 and 74 to earn his spot. That earned the 44-year-old Quinn his PGA TOUR card for the first time since 1992. Now the Massachusetts native hopes to repeat the success enjoyed by the man who got the 25th spot a year ago -- Ricky Barnes, who nearly won the U.S. Open.

Matt Every was an All-American at Florida and played on the U.S. Walker Cup Team, but was winless in two full seasons on the Nationwide Tour entering the Nationwide Tour Championship. He picked a great time to break through. His win at Daniel Island in the season finale lifted him from No. 49 to No. 10 in earnings, which gives him playing privileges on the PGA TOUR in 2010. The Gators can have some nice alumni meetings next year.

Chris Tidland was the Bubble Boy in 2008 when he entered the last event ranked 25th on the money list. Things didn't go real well, as he finished 42nd and dropped to No. 28 in earnings, which put him back on the Nationwide Tour in 2009. Disappointed, but determined, the former Oklahoma State All-America came back strong to finish No. 6 on the money list in 2009 and regain his PGA TOUR card for the third time.

Blake Adams did everything except win in 2009 but was still able to earn his PGA TOUR card. Adams had a pair of seconds, a pair of thirds and eight top-10s. It was good enough to land the former Georgia Southern star at No. 3 on the money list and fuel his first promotion to the TOUR.

PGA TOUR player Brendon Todd only competed in four Nationwide Tour events in 2009, but he made history at the Athens Regional Foundation Classic by making a pair of aces on the same hole during a tournament. The former University of Georgia All-American aced the 14th hole with a 7-iron in the first round and an 8-iron in the second round. "It was a stroke of good luck, twice in a row," Todd said.

The Mexico Open presented by Corona Light was postponed in April after an outbreak of Swine Flu. It was contested in September and rookie Troy Merritt won it in a playoff over Adam Bland. This time it was the rain, not the flu, that was problematic. Nearly an inch of rain fell, making 6 inches of precipitation since the previous week.

Finally, as the Nationwide Tour celebrated its 20th anniversary, it celebrated the 20 greatest moments in its history. The honor went to Paul Stankowski's performance in 1996, when he became the only person to win back-to-back titles on the Nationwide Tour and PGA TOUR. Stankowski won the Louisiana Open by four shots, then won the BellSouth Classic in Atlanta after getting into the field as the sixth alternate.