Print this page  |  Close Window

PGA TOUR Staff

Chris Riley, who picked up his first Nationwide Tour title last week at the Rochester Area Charities Showdown at Somerby presented by Think, has only entered two tournaments this season. And in all eight of his rounds, he has been under par, with six of his eight scores in the 60s.

Arjun Atwal has the current longest made-cuts streak on the Nationwide Tour. Atwal has played on the weekend in 10 consecutive events six this season and four in 2001, the last year he was on Tour. Miguel Carballo is next, with nine consecutive made cuts. All have come this season.

Of the nine 2006 Nationwide Tour graduates who played in the U.S. Open, Ken Duke and Brandt Snedeker had the best finishes, both tying for 23rd. Five of the nine players made the cut.

Five players have been atop the money list this season, with Nick Flanagan the leader for the last five weeks. Flanagan has amassed $249,417 this year. Others who have led the money list include Miguel Carballo (one week), Scott Sterling (two weeks), Nicholas Thompson (two weeks) and Skip Kendall (four weeks).

At last week's Rochester Area Charities Showdown at Somerby presented by Think, Jamie Lovemark, an amateur who just completed his freshman year at the University of Southern California, finished second behind winner Chris Riley. He is the second amateur to make the cut this season. Jason Anthony tied for 58th at the Livermore Valley Wine Country Championship earlier this season. In 2006, three amateurs -- Thomas Hagler IV (T24 at the Chattanooga Classic), Luke List (T35 at the Chattanooga Classic) and Gipper Finau (T58 at the Utah EnergySolutions Championship) -- made cuts at Nationwide Tour events.

Past Knoxville Open champions playing this week include two-time winner and defending champion Hunter Haas, as well as Dave Rummells (1997), Robin Freeman (1998) and Kim Felton (2005). Haas also won the 2004 title.

The tournament returns to Fox Den Country Club for the ninth year. Last year, the 7,142 -yard par-72 layout played to a stroke average of 71.559, making it the 25th-toughest course of the season.

Six of the last eight events have been decided by either one stroke or a playoff. Eleven of the 17 champions at the Knoxville Open have made the event their first win on the Nationwide Tour.

This week, the PGA TOUR is near Hartford, Conn., for the Travelers Championship. J.J. Henry is the defending champion there. Henry, who graduated from the Nationwide Tour after the 2000 season, picked up his lone Nationwide Tour title at the Knoxville Open. In 2000, the second year Fox Den Country Club hosted this event, Henry edged Tripp Isenhour, Spike McRoy, Gene Sauers and Chris Smith by a stroke. Henry finished 13th on the money list that season.

Jeff Maggert, J.J. Henry and Vaughn Taylor are the three past champions in this event who have gone on to represent the United States at the Ryder Cup. Maggert played for the U.S. in 1995, 1997 and 1999 after winning the inaugural Knoxville Open in 1990. Henry, who won in Knoxville in 2000, and Taylor, in 2003, both played in last year's Ryder Cup. Maggert also made the U.S. Presidents Cup team in 1994.

Nine players have shot 8-under 64s at this tournament to hold a share of the Fox Den Country Club 18-hole record. The first 64s came from Chris Smith and Don Reese in 2000. Heath Slocum, Sonny Skinner and Patrick Burke had 64s in 2001, followed by Darron Stiles in 2002, Vaughn Taylor in 2003 and Jason Buha and Jimmy Walker in 2004. The tournament's 18-hole record is 63 by 10 players at Willow Creek Country Club and Three Ridges Country Club, the two previous sites of this event. The most-recent 63s came from Craig Kanada and Gene Sauers in 1998.

Hunter Haas' five-stroke win a year ago is only the third-largest margin of victory in tournament history. Tim Conley earned a seven-stroke victory in 1993, the first year the tournament was a 72-hole affair. And Heath Slocum defeated Keoke Cotner and Joe Daley by six strokes in 2001.