Notes: Nine Nationwide Tour players in field at U.S. Open

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Ty Tryon also played the U.S. Open last year. He finished in a tie for 80th.

CONGRATS TO 1997 ALUMNUS HARRISON FRAZER Dallas, Texas native Harrison Frazer surpassed the $10 million mark in career earnings with his first PGA TOUR win on Sunday at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. It was his 355th TOUR start and the 308th time a Nationwide Tour alumnus has won on TOUR. Frazer graduated to the PGA TOUR from the Nationwide Tour after the 1997 season. He won once in 1997 (South Carolina Classic, Florence, S.C.). Alumni have now won 80% of this year's PGA TOUR events (20 of 25).

IMPACT STAT As the competition deepens, it is becoming increasingly difficult to retain membership on the PGA TOUR. Of the players earning their 2011 PGA TOUR cards via the Nationwide Tour or Q-School last year, 18 are currently inside the top 125 on the PGA TOUR money list. Further demonstrating the value of Nationwide Tour experience, 16 of those 18 played the Nationwide Tour on a regular basis in 2010 (20+ events, except one who played 14).

NINE EN ROUTE TO CONGRESSIONAL Nine members of the Nationwide Tour this year have played their way into this week's 111th U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club near the nation's capital -- Brad Adamonis, Sang-Moon Bae, Elliot Gealy, Jon Mills, Matthew Richardson, Geoffrey Sisk, Kirk Triplett, Ty Tryon and Will Wilcox. In addition, University of Georgia All-American and Stadion Classic at UGA winner Russell Henley is in the field.

JOEY SINDELAR NAMED HONORARY CHAIR IN COLUMBUS Joey Sindelar has been named Honorary Chairperson of the fifth Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational, following in the footsteps of fellow Buckeye greats Jack Nicklaus, John Cook and Meg Mallon, and longtime former golf coach Jim Brown. The fourth-year Champions Tour member was a three-time All-American at Ohio State University and a member of the Buckeyes' 1979 NCAA championship winning team. OSU's Scarlet Course will host the July 21-24 event.

KELLY CLIMBING THE EARNINGS LADDER With two runners-up in six starts, Washington state native Troy Kelly has gotten his 2011 season off to a strong start. Kelly collected the first-place check ($99,000) when amateur and UGA star Russell Henley won the Stadion Classic at UGA. Sunday's $41,066 payday at The Rex Hospital Open catapulted the former University of Washington third-team All-American to No. 2 on the Nationwide Tour money list with $152,749. Aussie Mathew Goggin leads with $195,898. Kelly's play has been solid all year with three other top-30 finishes and only one missed cut. The 32-year-old competed on the Nationwide Tour in a limited capacity in recent years (26 starts; best finish, T2, 2009 Chattanooga Classic) and earned his PGA TOUR card for the 2009 season, only to miss 14 of 17 cuts.

NATIONWIDE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP AT DANIEL ISLAND ENHANCES SCHEDULE Mark Bryan of Hootie & The Blowfish and one of his favorite organizations, Carolina Studios, have partnered with the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island and its host group, Student Transportation of America Education Foundation, to conduct a celebrity pro-am and host a concert in conjunction with the Tour's final event of the year. Bryan and 23 fellow celebrities, plus Nationwide Tour professionals, will participate in a pro-am event at Daniel Island Club's Ralston Creek course on Tuesday, Oct. 25th. That evening a concert open to the public will be held on the grounds of the Club. Carolina Studios is a Charleston, S.C.-based non-profit youth music and media arts program spearheaded by Bryan.

REIFERS FEAST OR FAMINE THUS FAR IN '11 Two-time Wake Forest University All-American Kyle Reifers has sandwiched six missed cuts in and around a T6 in the season-opening Panama Claro Championship and last week's T5 in The Rex Hospital Open. He is 47th on the current money list.

CARTER JENKINS, 15, THIRD YOUNGEST COMPETITOR Fifteen-year-old Carter Jenkins shot 76-80-156 in The Rex Hospital Open. Jenkins, who will be a high school junior in the fall, earned a spot in the field when he captured The Rex Hospital Open Junior Invitational on June 5th with a four-under-par 36-hole total at TPC Wakefield Plantation. He is the third youngest Nationwide Tour competitor at 15 years, 10 months and 25 days (Michelle Wie / 13 years, 11 months, 7 days) and Gregory LaVoie / 15, 8, 2). Jenkins has made a verbal commitment to attend UNC-Greensboro.

BIRTHDAY BOYS Three Nationwide Tour players celebrated birthdays on Monday -- Nick Flanagan (13th / turned 27), leading money winner Mathew Goggin (13th / 37) and John Riegger (13th / 47). All three are entered in Wichita. A fourth, Jeff Brehaut, was also born on June 13th, but he is not entered this week.

NEXT WEEK The Tour heads to Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico for the Mexico Open presented by Banamex (June 23-26). Jamie Lovemark won last year's event after hitting a 6-iron from 235 yards to three feet for eagle to defeat B.J. Staten on the first hole of a playoff.