By Maureen Callaghan
PGA TOUR staff

LIVERMORE, Calif. -- One lucky player will make history this week by becoming the winner of the Nationwide Tour's first-ever Livermore Valley Wine Country Championship. It's the fifth event of the season and the first of three inaugural events for the Tour in 2006.

The host organization for this week's tournament is the Livermore Valley Wine Growers Foundation, a collection of vineyards in the area that are dedicated to giving back to the community and promoting the region.

Proceeds from the tournament will benefit children's charities in Northern California.

Set in the heart of the Bay Area's wine country, The Course at Wente Vineyards is located 45 minutes east of San Francisco and was designed by one of golf's legends, Greg Norman. The par-72, 7,185-yard course is nestled in the rolling hills and scenic valleys of California's oldest family owned and operated winery, Wente Vineyards.

Headlining the tournament's impressive field include top guns on the Nationwide Tour and a collection of former PGA TOUR winners including former PGA champion, Wayne Grady, two former Presidents Cup team members and a pair of Ryder Cup team members. All four 2006 Nationwide Tour winners will also be on hand including last week's Chitimacha Louisiana Open winner, Johnson Wagner.

Players to watch this week include two University of California at Berkeley graduates, Peter Tomasulo and Charlie Wi. Tomasulo is playing his first full season on the Tour after winning the Alberta Classic and finishing fourth at the Nationwide Tour Championship last year. Wi won earlier this year on the European Tour at the Maybank Malaysian Open and played in several PGA TOUR events in 2005.

Also in the field is former Stanford University star, Notah Begay III. A four-time PGA TOUR winner and the only Native American to play on the U.S. Presidents Cup team, Begay was also the first player in Nationwide Tour history to shoot a 59 when he competed in the 1998 Dominion Open. After receiving a major medical exemption in 2005 due to chronic back problems, Begay will return to the field this week with hopes of regaining his form.

After a two-week hiatus, the Nationwide Tour heads to Athens, Ga., on April 17 for the second inaugural event of the season, the Athens Regional Foundation Classic at Jennings Mill Country Club.