Historic payout could change a Tour player's fate

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BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. -- The rolling green hills are alive in north central West Virginia, but not with the sound of music -- at least this week.

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Not only did Justin Hicks win a sizeable check at the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic, but he also used his victory to get past border patrol.

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The sound of money is the siren's song that drew the best 144 players on the Nationwide Tour to the Pete Dye Golf Club for the Nationwide Tour Players Cup, where the circuit will finally cross the seven-figure barrier for the first time in its 18-plus year history.

So it stands to reason the biggest purse also would offer the biggest first-place check ever written. And it will. That whopper of an $180,000 prize will go a very long way to cementing the champion's spot among 'The 25,' practically guaranteeing his graduation to the PGA TOUR in 2009 if he remains upright.

To put the cash in perspective, it wasn't until the Nationwide Tour was in its fourth season in 1994 that the average purse exceeded $180,000.

Every man in the field knows what is at stake when the tournament begins Thursday on this 7,308-yard, par-72 track that is named for its architect and is considered the best the Mountain State has to offer.

They've done the math. Plus they saw first-hand what a rather sizeable first prize can do two weeks ago at the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic sponsored by Samsung.

Justin Hicks, who defeated Casey Wittenberg in a playoff, immediately became the Tour's poster boy for quantum leaps on the money list when he pocketed the $144,017 check. Stuck with conditional status while mired in 160th place before he stuck the first peg in the ground in Canada, he advanced 147 places while becoming full member for the rest of 2008 and 2009 should he not maintain his spot among 'The 25.'

"The biggest change for me is being able to set a schedule for the rest of this season,'' Hicks said. "I don't have to think about booking flights at the last minute in case I got into an event. It's pretty special for somebody like me. I've been out here for three and a half years chasing around conditional status.

"And I've gotten a lot of attention. People want to talk about me being in the top 25, but the goal is really No. 1, not 25.''

Speaking of attention, Hicks' victory also helped him sail through the border check point as he was driving to Detroit to play in a British Open qualifier in the wee hours Monday following his Sunday victory. The border agent asked Hicks what he was doing in Canada.

Playing in a golf tournament, he said.

How did you do?

"I won,'' Hicks said proudly.

A skeptical look crossed the agent's face.

"I'm like, 'You want me to get the jersey out of the back that I got signed as one of my gifts for winning it?" Hicks asked.

The agent waved him through.

Now that's priceless.

Speaking of which, that's the perfect descriptive adjective for Ben Bates, one of the Nationwide Tour originals. He is the only man to have played more than 1,000 rounds on the Tour and no one has made more cuts than Bates' 212.

When Bates talks about the Nationwide Tour, people listen.

"I was there in Bakersfield, Calif., in February of 1990 when Ben Hogan hit the ceremonial first tee shot,'' said Bates, 47, proudly. "And you know what? I was old when that happened.''

Bates wasn't sure if he'd live long enough to see a seven-figure purse on this Tour. But now that every player's wish has come to fruition, this oldie-but-goody couldn't be more pleased about far it has come since Day 1.

"This purse is a real eye-opener to me,'' he said. "It tells me that it's here to stay. Just watch a (PGA TOUR) event on TV nowadays. With the exception of about five players, just about everyone has come through here. And I'm talking about most of the best players in the world.''