Nationwide Tour announces schedule for 2010 season

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- The 2010 Nationwide Tour schedule was released Monday and features 28 events in 17 states and six countries outside the United States.

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2010 Nationwide Tour schedule
Notes: New events, more

The Tour's 21st season will open with four international events in New Zealand, Australia, Panama and Colombia in late January through early March, with the domestic schedule beginning in late March in Louisiana. The year will culminate with 25 PGA TOUR cards being issued for 2011 in Charleston, S.C., at the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island in October.

"In the wake of celebrating our 20th season, this schedule reflects the growing stature of the Nationwide Tour and its unique place in golf," said Nationwide Tour president Bill Calfee. "We continue to be impressed with the positive momentum and the undeniable impact our players and tournaments are having. From entering the South America market with Camilo Villegas to hosting an event here at TPC Sawgrass and PGA TOUR headquarters to several title sponsor renewals, new tournaments and new host relationships with popular sports figures Jerry Rice, Gary Williams and Chip Beck, 2010 stands to be the best season ever for the Nationwide Tour and the many charitable organizations it supports."

"We wish this year's competitors the best of luck as we approach another season of exciting Nationwide Tour golf," said Jim Lyski, chief marketing officer for Nationwide Insurance. "We look forward to continuing our efforts to provide an On Your Side experience for fans as the next generation of PGA TOUR standouts emerges on the Nationwide Tour this year."

In 2010, Nationwide enters its eighth year as umbrella sponsor of the Nationwide Tour, with the agreement in place through 2012.

There will be two new domestic tournaments on the 2010 schedule, the Mylan Classic outside Pittsburgh (Sept. 2-5), which marks the Tour's first visit to golf-rich Western Pennsylvania since 1992, and the Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open (Oct. 21-24), to be played at PGA TOUR headquarters on the TPC Sawgrass' Dye's Valley course in north Florida.

The Tour has also added a new international event, the Pacific Rubiales Bogotá Open presented by Samsung (March 4-7), the PGA TOUR's first official money event in South America.

Sports figures are becoming commonplace on the Nationwide Tour. In 2010, Camilo Villegas and Juan Pablo Montoya (Pacific Rubiales Bogotá Open), Jerry Rice (Stonebrae Classic), Chip Beck (Stadion Athens Classic at UGA), Gary Williams and Fred Funk (Melwood Prince George's County Open) and Wayne Gretzky (Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic) will all have prominent roles in their respective events. And the BWM Charity Pro-Am will continue its tradition of featuring familiar names from the film, entertainment and sports fields.

In addition to three new tournaments, there will be new venues in the University of Georgia Golf Course (Stadion Athens Classic at UGA / April 29-May 2) and the University of Maryland Golf Course (Melwood Prince George's County Open / June 3-6), making for a trio of universities (Ohio State University Scarlet Course, Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational / July 22-25) that will be hosting Nationwide Tour events in 2010.

Golf Channel, which is available in 82 million households in the U.S., continues to be the Nationwide Tour's exclusive television home in 2010. In addition to GOLF CHANNEL coverage in the United States, Nationwide Tour events can be seen in 72 countries abroad, reflecting the ever-growing international player membership on both the PGA TOUR and the Nationwide Tour. The first tournaments to air will be the season-opening "down under" events that are co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour of Australasia -- the Michael Hill New Zealand Open (Jan. 28-31) and the Moonah Classic in Australia (Feb. 4-7). The Stonebrae Classic (April 15-18) in the San Francisco Bay area will be the first domestic event televised. In all, 16 tournaments will air.

The focus of the more than 200 players with Nationwide Tour eligibility will be the 25 PGA TOUR cards for 2011 that will be awarded to the Nationwide Tour's 25 leading money winners at season's end. As the PGA TOUR's official proving ground, Nationwide Tour alumni have won 260 PGA TOUR titles since the Tour's inception in 1990.