Nationwide Tour storylines: Miccosukee Championship

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ONLY THREE STOPS LEFT -- The chase for "The 25" PGA TOUR cards has come down to its last three events. The Nationwide Tour's next two stops are full fields -- this week's Miccosukee Championship in Miami and next week's Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open at TOUR headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

They will be followed by the season's finale, the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island in Charleston, S.C., where only the top-60 money winners are eligible. The pressure to perform will be keen on virtually every player, but particularly those who are in and around Nos. 25 and 60.

HARDCOURT MISHAP -- Peter Tomasulo may have played his last Nationwide Tour event of 2010.

The captain of the 2004 NCAA Championship-winning University of California-Berkeley Bears suffered a broken bone in his right foot last Tuesday while playing in a pick-up basketball game with some of his fellow Tour players at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga's McKenzie Arena. Doctors put his foot in a splint forcing him to withdraw from the Chattanooga Classic and casting doubt on whether he'll be able to return to action before the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island.

The 2010 Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic winner was 13th on the money list and had made 12 of his last 13 cuts when the incident occurred. By Sunday evening Tomasulo had dropped to 15th.

"Hopefully I've made enough money to lock up my card, but freakier things have happened," he said.

Ironically, Tomasulo was treated at the same hospital, T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital, where earlier in the day he had made a visit with Joe Affrunti, Rob Oppenheim and Keegan Bradley to visit several young patients.

IRON MEN 2010 -- Four players have competed in all 26 Nationwide Tour events this year -- Andrew Svoboda (54th on the money list), Ryan Armour (72nd), Ty Harris (104th) and Bubba Dickerson (122nd).

There are two full-field events remaining, plus the 60-player Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island. Last year, no one played all 29 events. Six players, including Dickerson, played 28 of the 29.

THREE IN A ROW -- Keegan Bradley posted his third top-five finish in a row in Chattanooga on Sunday. During this period, the Vermont native who went to St. John's University in Queens, N.Y. has improved 22 places on the money list to 12th. Bradley's aunt is World Golf Hall of Fame member Pat Bradley.

PRODUCTIVE WEEK FOR CHRIS KIRK ON PGA TOUR -- The Nationwide Tour's second leading money winner had a successful week competing in The McCladrey Classic on the PGA TOUR. Playing on a sponsor's exemption, the St. Simons Island, Ga., resident finished T15 and collected a check for $54,480 while getting to sleep in his own bed all week.

LOVEMARK AND CHAPPELL IN FRYS.COM OPEN -- It's Jamie Lovemark's and Kevin Chappell's turn to represent their fellow Nationwide Tour players on the PGA TOUR this week.

The California natives have been invited to play in the Frys.com Open near San Jose, Calif. Lovemark came up short of victory via a three-man playoff in last year's tournament played in Scottsdale, Ariz. Lovemark is No. 1 on the Nationwide Tour money list. Chappell is 8th.

RECORD PURSUIT -- Daniel Summerhays needs $23,007 to match Blake Adams' 2009 record for most money won in a single season without winning a tournament. With three runner-up finishes, Summerhays is fourth on the money list with $376,742. The Utah native and BYU graduate has made 14 of his last 17 cuts and is a cumulative 171-under par over that stretch.

PROJECTING "THE BUBBLE" SPOT -- Here's how the chase for the 25th and final PGA TOUR card progressed last year over the final four events:

Through this year's 26th event (Chattanooga Classic), the 25th player (James Hahn) has earned $167,820. The final three purses in 2009 and 2010 are comparable.

CONGRATS TO HEATH SLOCUM -- The Nationwide Tour alumni win total grew to 286 over the weekend when Heath Slocum won The McGladrey Classic on the PGA TOUR. Slocum played the Nationwide Tour in 1997 (19 events) and 2001 (18 events). In 2001, he became the second player to earn a battlefield promotion to the PGA TOUR by winning three events that year.

NATIONWIDE TOUR FANTASY CHALLENGE -- With no changes to their point totals, Phil Boyle continues to maintain a big lead on Jack Wike in Golf Channel's Nationwide Tour Fantasy Challenge. Boyle has 250,520 points to Wike's 160,962.

The nine-week Challenge will conclude with the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island on Oct. 31. Contestants select a different player every week and earn points equal to their pick's earnings for that week.

The contestant with the most points will win a trip to the SONY Open in Hawaii. It's never too late to register (click here).

BIRTHDAY BOYS -- Celebrating birthdays in Miami this week are Jin Park of Phoenix, Ariz. (Oct. 12 , turns 31) and Kyle Reifers of Atlanta, Ga. (Oct. 13, turns 27).

NEXT WEEK -- The Nationwide Tour will play at PGA TOUR headquarters / TPC Sawgrass for the first time. The Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open presented by Planters is the 28th and final full-field event of 2010. The Jerry Pate/Bobby Weed-designed (1987) Dye's Valley Course is the host venue.