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Dave Lagarde
PGATOUR.com Contributor

It is a nice number, 199 is. But comparatively speaking, it cannot touch the roundness of 200.

And the round one -- No. 200 -- is coming soon. That's 200 as in 200 victories on the PGA TOUR by former members of the Nationwide Tour.

The total currently stands at -- need a hint? -- 199 and counting following Aaron Baddeley's win in Phoenix two weeks ago, meaning the next win will mark a milestone. And likely it won't be long, considering they come at a rate of more than 12 per season or better than 25 percent annually.

Those numbers indicate the Nationwide Tour is to the PGA TOUR what Utah's famous Bonneville Salt Flats was to land speed records. That is a tried and true proving ground.

Class of 2006 alumnus Jeff Quinney has three top-ten finishes in four starts. (Badz/WireImage.com)

And that is what recent graduates of the Nationwide Tour have been doing practically every week as the TOUR got rolling in 2007.

Proving they have plenty of game.

Proving they have more than enough mettle.

Proving they belong on golf's biggest stage.

Consider:

A record 12 (of 21) 2005 graduates retained playing privileges in 2007, including eight who banked more than $1 million. One of them, Charley Hoffman, broke through at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic last month.

The Class of '06 is off to a flying start led by Jeff Quinney's three top-10 finishes in four starts. In all seven players have accounted for a total of nine top-10s.

"It's just confidence,'' Quinney said. "Everyone can play out there (the Nationwide Tour). The top 30, 40 guys could easily be out here (PGA TOUR). It's not that big of a difference.

"I think we can win out here. We had a great Tour last year, very competitive. It's basically the same thing (as the PGA TOUR), just a little bit different stage. But I feel like we're all prepared. It's not like we're just coming out here to make cuts and squeak by. We want to be there on Sunday.''

Three of them -- 54-hole leaders Brandt Snedeker and Andrew Buckle as well as Quinney, were right there Sunday at the Buick Invitational. Although Tiger Woods roared from behind for the victory, each finished in the top eight as did '05 grad Bubba Watson.

"The Nationwide Tour gave me the experience and the confidence to know that seeing guys that came before me on the Tour play so well, like Camilo (Villegas) last year and Nathan Green and so many guys that played so well so early out here,'' said Snedeker, who shot 61 in his first round as a PGA TOUR member. "It just gave me the confidence to know I can come out here and compete and play with them.''

The PGA TOUR season is a marathon, not a sprint and it's very early in the year. Nevertheless seven '06 graduates fit snugly inside the first 51 names on the money list and 12 of the 22 grads are inside the all-important top 125. Quinney (eighth) and Snedeker (17th) own the highest standing.

"It just shows you how strong golf is getting, to be honest,'' said Baddeley, a 2002 member of the Nationwide Tour. "It shows you how strong the Nationwide Tour is and that it was really good preparation for coming out here. The Nationwide Tour was great for me. I loved it.''

What's more, veteran players have taken notice.

"I think it's really neat to see how these guys are blossoming off the Nationwide Tour,'' Billy Mayfair said. "It was great to get these young kids exempt on this TOUR and have them play well out here. Charley Hoffman is a great example.''

So what's going on?

Patrick Sheehan, a 2002 graduate who kept his PGA TOUR playing privileges until last season, noticed a major difference between then and now in the first Nationwide Tour event of 2007, the Movistar Panama Classic. Fairways were narrower. Rough was higher. Greens were faster than when he left five years ago. All in all, it means the cream of the Nationwide Tour crop is better prepared to face the exacting demands of the PGA TOUR course set-ups. The only difference is in the size of the purse and galleries and the much, much sweeter perks. But once they're between the ropes it's all but the same, except if a Woods or Mickelson happens to be playing alongside on a weekend.

"The course mirrored the set-up for a PGA TOUR event more so than when I left in 2002,'' Sheehan said. "That's good for everyone.''

So Nationwide Tour members will be looking into a mirror again, beginning Thursday in the Jacob's Creek Open Championship in Adelaide, Australia. They'll move on to Christchurch, New Zealand, the following week for the HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship.

In case you wonder about the golf Down Under, there is opportunity to be seized, money to be won and trophies to hoist high. Look no further than the start of the beginning of the 2005 and 2006 season to see the big picture.

In '05 Australian Steven Bowditch parlayed a victory in the Jacob's Creek Open Championship and a playoff loss to Peter O'Malley the following week in New Zealand into a PGA TOUR card.

In '06 three Aussies, Paul Sheehan, Jarrod Lyle and Michael Sim, all used the fortnight as a springboard to an opportunity for fame and fortune.

Who's next?