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NATIONWIDE TOUR STORYLINES – Week of March 23rd
Chitimacha Louisiana Open
presented by Dynamic Industries
March 23-29
Le Triomphe Country Club
Broussard, Louisiana (Lafayette)
Purse: $550,000 First Prize: $99,000
2008 Champion: Gavin Coles
5th of 29 Nationwide Tour events
CHITIMACHA MARKS START OF 20th YEAR’S DOMESTIC SEASON – After a strong start to the 2009 season in Panama, Australia and New Zealand, the Nationwide Tour returns to America to launch the domestic portion of its 20th year. This week’s Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by Dynamic Industries joined the Nationwide Tour schedule in 1992 as did tournaments in Greenville, SC and Midland/Odessa, TX. The only host cities that have been around longer are Boise, ID, Knoxville, TN, Springfield, MO and Wichita, KS, which were launched in the Tour’s inaugural season, 1990.
MARTIN PILLER / A YOUNG GUN TO KEEP AN EYE ON? – In his first four Nationwide Tour starts, 23-year-old Martin Piller of Dallas, TX has caught the attention of a number of people who follow the Nationwide Tour. One of only eight players to compete in all three phases of last fall’s PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament, Piller is fully exempt on the Nationwide Tour this year based on his T40 finish. The recent Texas A&M grad (‘08) had two top-10 finishes “Down Under” – a T-8 at the Moonah Classic in Australia and a runner-up in the Michael Hill New Zealand Open. He was the only player in the New Zealand Open to shoot four rounds in the 60s. Heading to Louisiana, he is fifth on the money list. As a youngster growing up in Duncanville, TX, Piller played baseball, soccer and ice hockey. His mother is a television producer. After turning professional last year, he won his first event, the Texas State Open, which included a hole-in-one.
REMEMBERING PAUL STANKOWSKI’S HISTRIONICS IN LAFAYETTE – Paul Stankowski’s win in the 1996 Chitimacha Louisiana Open was just the beginning of a remarkable run of three weeks in which history was made. After capturing a four-shot win at Le Triomphe, the California native headed east to Atlanta where he would get in the PGA TOUR’s BellSouth Classic field as an alternate. A few days later on Easter Sunday, he found himself in the winner’s circle, making him the first and still only player to win back-to-back events on the Nationwide Tour and PGA TOUR. The fun wasn’t over after Atlanta though as Stankowski would receive an invite to play in the Masters tournament the following week. The Nationwide Tour is about to announce its “20 Greatest Moments” program, which will serve as the centerpiece of the Tour’s 20th-year celebration activities. It’s a pretty good bet Stankowski’s feat will be among them. Stankowski returns this week to compete at Le Triomphe.
WELCOME TO THE TOUR – Allistair Presnell of Australia and Steven Alker of New Zealand earned fully-exempt status on the Nationwide Tour for the rest of 2009 and the entire 2010 season as a result of their respective wins earlier this month in the Moonah Classic and HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship. Presnell has indicated his first Nationwide Tour start as a member will be the Athens (GA) Regional Foundation Classic in mid-April. Alker plans to make his debut next week at the Stonebrae Classic at the TPC San Francisco Bay at Stonebrae.
STRONG PGA TOUR START FOR ROOKIE SCOTT PIERCY – Las Vegas native and resident Scott Piercy is often mentioned as one to watch on the PGA TOUR among those coming out of the 2008 Nationwide Class of 25 graduates. Though he missed the cut last week in the Transitions Championship near Tampa, Piercy has finished T19 or better in the five tournaments where he has made the cut (seven starts total). One important area he has excelled in is the ability to go low. In 25 rounds played, the 30-year-old out of San Diego State University has recorded three 65s (all in the fourth round) and five 66s. A total of 15 of his 25 rounds (60%) have been in the 60s. He is currently 34th in the FedExCup standings, with earnings of $574,906. Piercy won twice last year in his first full season on the Nationwide Tour and finished ninth on the money list to earn his TOUR card.
CRAIG PERKS HEADS INSTRUCTION AT HOST LE TRIOMPHE – Since coming to America and graduating from the University of Louisiana – Lafayette (formerly Southwestern Louisiana) in 1990, New Zealander Craig Perks has called the Lafayette area home. Upon retiring from competitive golf in 2007, he was named Director of Instruction at Le Triomphe Country Club, this week’s host venue. He will see many familiar faces when the Nationwide Tour arrives in town. It was seven years ago this week Perks reached the pinnacle of his career, winning THE PLAYERS Championship with an eagle-birdie-par finish on Sunday, March 24th.
MEXICO OPEN PRESENTED BY CORONA LIGHT – The Nationwide Tour’s event in Mexico has modified its presenting sponsor. Previously presented by Corona, the new official tournament name of the May 21-24 event is the “Mexico Open presented by Corona Light”.
NEXT WEEK – The Nationwide Tour travels west to California and the first Stonebrae Classic at the TPC San Francisco Bay at Stonebrae (April 3-6). On Tuesday (March 31), the Tour will announce the centerpiece program of its 20th-year celebration, the “20 Greatest Moments” in Nationwide Tour history.
20 YEARS / THIS WEEK IN NATIONWIDE TOUR HISTORY – March 24, 2002: Craig Perks becomes the second Nationwide Tour alumnus to win THE PLAYERS Championship, using just one putt over the final three holes at the TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course. March 28, 1999: Jacksonville native David Duval is the first Nationwide Tour alumnus to win THE PLAYERS, his 10th PGA TOUR title. He does so on the same day his father, Bob, is winning the Champions Tour’s Emerald Cost Classic near Pensacola, FL, making Bob and David the first father-son duo to win on the PGA TOUR and Champions Tour the same day.
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