Week 16 Approach Shots: Cox Classic

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In 2008, Ryan Hietala defeated David Branshaw in a one-hole playoff at the Cox Classic in Omaha, NE. The host course, Champions Run, has been the site of this tournament since the event's inception in 1996 when the course was known as The Champions Club.

A stretch of 14 tournaments in 14 weeks begins this week at the Cox Classic, culminating at the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island in mid-October. The Mexico Open, originally scheduled for May 18-24 that was postponed because of H1N1 virus concerns, will be played August 31-September 6.

Quick Facts

WHAT: 16th of 29 Nationwide Tour events WHEN: July 23-26 WHERE: Omaha, Neb. COURSE: Champions Run WHAT'S AT STAKE: $725,000 purse ($130,500 for winner) ROUND 1 ON TV: GOLF, 12:30-2:30 p.m./2-4:30 a.m. ET ROUND 2 ON TV: GOLF, 12:30-2:30 p.m./2-4:30 a.m. ET ROUND 3 ON TV: GOLF, 6:30-9:30 p.m./2-4 a.m. EDT ROUND 4 ON TV: GOLF, 7-9:30 p.m./12 a.m.-2 a.m. EDT KEY LINKS: Tee times | Leaderboard Tournament page | "THE 25"

Charles Warren, the tournament champion in 2004, remains No. 1 on the Cox Classic all-time money list. The former Clemson standout has earned $149,387 in his six career starts in Omaha. Besides his win, Warren tied for third in 2000 and tied for 12th in 2001. Roland Thatcher, winner in 2007, is No. 2 on the list, with $135,425 earned in only three starts. Ryan Hietala, last year's victor, is No. 3, with $129,525 in five starts.

HISTORIC RUN: Some record-setting events have taken place in Omaha over the years. Chris Smith established a Tour record in 1997 with an 11-stroke winning margin. Six years later, Chip Beck became the first player in Tour history to make a hole-in-one on a par-4 when he aced the 315-yard ninth hole. In 2005, Jason Gore matched the lowest score in Tour history with a 59 in the second round. Overall, the lowest single-round scoring average in Tour history came in the third round in 2007 when the average score was 67.758.

NO EASY FEAT: Hanging onto the third-round lead and winning hasn't been easy at the Cox Classic. Roland Thatcher (2007) is the only 54-hole leader to go on to win the tournament in the past six years. Thatcher, at 18-under par, held a two-shot lead two years ago and needed a 6-under 65 on the last day to hold off Australian challenger Jason Day and win by one.

BIRDIE BINGE: Birdies are commonplace at Champions Run, which annually ranks among the easiest courses on the Nationwide Tour. The average winning score over the first 13 years of the tournament has been 21.6 strokes under par.

UNDER PAR OR BUST: No champion has ever posted a round above par in Omaha. Jason Gore's opening round, even-par 71 in 2005 is the only round by a tournament winner that has not been below par. Gore came back the next day with a Tour-record-matching 59 in the second round, which moved him to within three shots of the lead at the time.

EAGER FOR EAGLES: Two eagles in a single round is a fairly uncommon occurrence but three eagles over an 18-hole period is even more of an oddity. Over the years, four players have recorded three eagles in the same round at Champions Run. Kevin Johnson (1999), Jeff Freeman (2001), Steve LeBrun (2005) and Fran Quinn (2005) have each tallied a trio of eagles during a round, and all four of them eagled the 539-yard, par-5 17th hole during their round.

NO COUNTRY FOR FIRST-TIMERS: First-time winners in Omaha are a rare occurrence. Rocky Walcher (1996) and Bo Van Pelt (2003) are the only players who made the Cox Classic their first career win on the Nationwide Tour.

GO LOW ON SUNDAY: The 13 champions over the years have posted an average final-round score of 65.5. Ryan Hietala's 2-under-par 69 last year was the highest final-round score by a tournament winner in Omaha.

Weather forecast for the Cox Classic Presented by Lexus of Omaha

THURSDAY, Rd. 1 FRIDAY, Rd. 2 SATURDAY, Rd. 3 SUNDAY, Rd. 4 Sunny Temp: 87 high/66 low Sunny Temp: 88 high/65 low Partly sunny Temp: 78 high/60 low Sunny Temp: 82 high/64 low

DTN/Meteorlogix is the official weather provider of the PGA TOUR. For more information, click here

Nationwide Tour Cox Classic snippets

GIVING BACK TO LOCAL CHARITIES: In 2008, the Cox Classic presented by Lexus raised $150,000 for 12 local charities. Since the tournament's inception in 1996, the Cox Classic has raised over $1.6 million for local charities. NO. 252 It was quite a week for former Nationwide Tour players last week. Stewart Cink claimed the British Open while Bo Van Pelt won the U.S. Bank Championship. Former Nationwide Tour players have won 252 events on the PGA TOUR. NO. 3 With Stewart Cink and Lucas Glover each winning major championships this year, it marks the third time that former Nationwide Tour players have collected two majors in the same season. David Duval and David Toms performed the feat in 2001 and Jim Furyk and Shaun Micheel did it in 2003.