Top 60 ready to battle for 25 PGA TOUR cards at finale

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J.J. Killeen enters the Tour Championship on the top of the Nationwide Tour money list.

The Nationwide Tour has reached their final event of the season. The field has been narrowed down to the top 60 players. And the pressure is on.

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After Sunday's last putt drops and the winner receives the Nationwide Tour Championship trophy, the 25 graduates will be feted at a card ceremony on the grounds of Daniel Island. PGATOUR.COM will begin streaming the event live at approximately 5:30 p.m. ET.

At its core, this week at the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island is really about possibilities. Everyone, from Nos. 1 to 60, has a shot at a PGA TOUR card with the winner taking home $180,000. The top nine on the money list have a shot at the money title, which means fully exempt status on TOUR and a spot in THE PLAYERS Championship.

After the final putt drops, 25 will graduate to the PGA TOUR; Nos. 26-40 will be exempt into the finals of PGA TOUR q-school; and Nos. 39-60 will be fully exempt on the Nationwide Tour in 2012.

For some, like rookie Travis Hampshire, half battle was just getting here.

"Last week was a bit of a pressure cooker for me because I knew I definitely needed to make the cut to help my chances of getting here to the Tour Championship," he said. "And we did. We didn't play great on the weekend, but we played solid enough to get here, so this is just a bonus for me."

Hampshire's T32 finish at the Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open was good enough to keep him at No. 58 on the money list.

"For my rookie year out here, it's already a success," he said. "If you've made it here, you've had a pretty solid year."

That doesn't mean he's sitting back this week.

"The goal this week is to win," he said. "I know that I can still get a TOUR card if I play really well, so that's the goal."

On the other end of the spectrum is J.J. Killeen. Killeen, one of four players with two wins this season, has held the top spot on the money list for seven weeks. He's locked up his spot on the PGA TOUR for 2012. By all accounts, his season is a success no matter what happens this week. Does that make this tournament any less important to him? Hardly.

"I still want to have a good week, play good golf. I'm going to try to win the golf tournament," he said.

Killeen has missed his last two cuts, but if he were to get a third win at Daniel Island, regardless of where he ends up on the money list, it would also guarantee fully-exempt status on the PGA TOUR for 2012.

No. 2 Ted Potter Jr. isn't about to take it easy either. When his season began, he expected to spend most of his time on the mini-tours. Then he won two Nationwide Tour events to find himself at the Tour Championship with the PGA TOUR within reach and he's not taking anything for granted.

"Just like any other tournament, I'm trying to win. Just trying to have a solid week and see how it goes," he said. "But if I finish 60th this week, it's still a great year.

"I never thought I'd be here this week. Starting my season out on the mini-tours -- I never even thought I'd be playing the Nationwide Tour this season. By the end of the year, I thought I'd be at q-school. It's nice knowing I don't have to go there."

The atmosphere at Daniel Island was relaxed on Wednesday, as the pro-am went on through the afternoon featuring celebrities like Bill Murray and Darius Rucker. But once 8:25 a.m. ET rolls around Thursday things are sure to be different.

Last year the Ralston Creek Course was the 10th hardest course on Tour, and it looks to be an equally tough test this year.

"If the wind blows it's going to be very difficult," Hampshire said. "The rough is pretty juicy around the greens and the green complexes are very difficult. Making sure that your approach shots are in the proper spot is very important."

"It's fast and firm," Killeen added. "It's playing really difficult. So whoever wins is going to have a really great round."

And whoever does manage to card that great round will stamp their ticket to the PGA TOUR for 2012.