Fresh start at WNB Golf Classic at Midland CC

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Oct. 8, 2008
By Adam Wallace, PGA TOUR Staff

After a well deserved two-week break, the Nationwide Tour is rested and ready to go at the WNB Golf Classic at Midland Country Club in Texas. Only two full-field events are left on the schedule after this week and then the top 60 on the money list will make their way to the Nationwide Tour Championship at TPC Craig Ranch (Nov. 6-9), the year's grand finale where the top 25 will be awarded their 2009 PGA TOUR cards.

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Jarrod Lyle will earn his PGA TOUR card at the end of the Nationwide Tour season, but if he can grab a third win, he'll be promoted early.

The $525,000 WNB Golf Classic features 21 of the year's 23 tournament winners, many of whom will be vying for the No. 1 spot on the money list with others seeking to grab a coveted spot among "THE 25". Multiple winners Jarrod Lyle, Scott Piercy and Colt Knost continue in their pursuit of a three-win PGA TOUR promotion this week. Only Chitimacha Louisiana Open winner Gavin Coles and Athens Regional Foundation Classic champion Robert Damron will not be in Midland. All but one player ranked between 25th and 60th on the money list is in the field (Damron at No. 57 being the exception).

For the fourth tournament in a row, Brendon de Jonge of Zimbabwe and Virginia Tech University is enjoying the view from the top of the money list with $378,973 in earnings. He can't get too comfortable though with Australian Jarrod Lyle trailing by only $7,911. For the third time this year, Ricky Barnes is the man on the bubble at No. 25 with $174,477. He leads Bubba Dickerson by $6,399. With $4,737 separating No. 17 Matt Weibring and No. 23 Ryan Hietala, the competition for "THE 25" has gotten particularly interesting.

The biggest jump on the money list of late was by Matt Bettencourt. The Californian improved 34 places to No. 19 after winning the Nationwide Tour's last event, the Oregon Classic. Two weeks before Bettencourt's big win, former University of Georgia star Brendon Todd enjoyed a similar bump with a victory of his own. On Sept. 7, Todd won the Utah Championship and elevated his ranking from 53rd to 15th.

The WNB Golf Classic was first played in 1992 and is one of the oldest events on the Nationwide Tour schedule. Since moving to Midland Country Club in 2002, the tournament has been decided by a playoff four times and never by more than two strokes. Last year's playoff between Brad Adamonis, Tjaart van der Walt, Vance Veazey and Ron Whittaker matched the second longest playoff in Nationwide Tour history. Adamonis was the last man standing when he overtook van der Walt with a par on the eighth playoff hole. The Tour's longest playoff ever came at the 1998 Lehigh Valley Open where Eric Booker defeated Notah Begay III in nine extra holes.

Adamonis credited his win to some great advice from his good friend and fellow Nationwide Tour member Erik Compton. Compton, who had a heart transplant when he was 13 years old, suffered a heart attack just two weeks before Adamonis' win. "He always tells me that I have the game and that I should never back down, even when I'm not playing my best," Adamonis said. Since then, Compton has had another heart transplant and is slowly working his way back into competitive golf. The Miami native is expected to compete in this year's PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament.

The first round of the WNB Golf Classic gets underway on Thursday. The Nationwide Tour is in Tennessee next week for the Chattanooga Classic presented by Black Creek.