BLAKE ADAMS CONTINUES HIS GOOD PLAY - Blake Adams, who participated in the first three South Georgia Classics and is a past Sponsor’s Exemption, has continued his solid start. Adams finished second at the HP Bryon Nelson Classic and followed that up with a Top 30 finish at the Crowne Plaza Inviational at Colonial.  Adams is currently in the Top 50 on the PGA TOUR Money List.

VICTORIOUS TOMMY GAINEY JUMPS 16 SPOTS TO NO. 2 ON MONEY LIST – Tommy Gainey’s first Nationwide Tour win on Sunday all but sealed his return to the PGA TOUR in 2011.  The Bishopville, S.C. native collected a check for $108,000 in the Melwood Prince George’s County Open presented by Under Armour to move from 18th on the money list to No. 2, about $6,300 behind leader Kevin Chappell.  “This is one step in getting back to the PGA TOUR but this is also to say that these guys out here on the Nationwide Tour are really great players,” Gainey said.  “There are no slouches.”  In 11 starts, “Two Gloves” as he is known, has a win, a T2 (BMW) and a 3rd (Panama).  He is the sixth first-time winner on Tour this year.  After securing PGA TOUR status via the 2007 Qualifying Tournament, Gainey competed in 24 TOUR events in 2008 and 15 last year, mixing in 20 Nationwide Tour starts during this period.  He has been full time on the Nationwide Tour in 2010.  

U.S. OPEN QUALIFYING – Fifty-seven players who were in last week’s Melwood Prince George’s County (Md.) Open presented by Under Armour competed at various U.S. Open Sectional Qualifiers on Monday.  Thirty-nine played at Woodmont Country Club in nearby Rockville, Md. where there were seven spots for 78 players.  Jason Gore (72-64) shared medalist honors with fellow Nationwide Tour member Kent Jones (66-70). Current members Daniel Summerhays and Craig Barlow also earned spots.  The other four went to former Nationwide Tour members, Ty Tryon, Arjun Atwal and Steven Wheatcroft.  In Summit, N.J. where 62 players went after four spots, Nationwide Tour rookie Blaine Peffley was the medalist.  Two-time New Jersey Assistants Championship winner (2006-07) and 2010 Moonah Classic (Australia) winner Jim Herman finished third.  Eric Axley, a 2005 Nationwide Tour grad, ran away with medalist honors at Brookside Golf & Country Club in Columbus, Ohio by seven shots after shooting 64-63-127.  In all, 32 of the 58 spots available yesterday were secured by Nationwide Tour alumni.  

KYLE STANLEY / COMING ON – Two-time Clemson University All-American and 2009 Ben Hogan Award winner Kyle Stanley is clearly headed in the right direction.  A rookie on the Nationwide Tour, the 22-year-old has finished T9 (BMW Charity Pro-Am) and T4 (Melwood) in his last two starts.  He also has two T9s and only missed two cuts in 10 starts.  Stanley has moved 20 spots up the money list to No. 23 in his last two tournaments.  Two weeks ago, the Gig Harbor, Wash. native played in the PGA TOUR’s Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial as a sponsor exemption and recorded a T27 finish.    

COLLEGE ALL-AMERICANS INVITED TO PLAY NATIONWIDE COLUMBUS EVENT – For the fourth year in a row, the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational will feature some of the top collegiate talent at the July 22-25 event.  Invitations are extended to the Jack Nicklaus Award winner (Golf Coaches Association of America Division I Player of the Year) and Division I First-Team All-Americans.  The recipients were announced over the weekend at the NCAA Division I Championship in Chattanooga, Tenn.  Eugene Wong of the University of Oregon captured the Nicklaus Award and a berth on the All-American squad.  He is joined by ten other First-Team All-Americans:

John Chin / UC-Irvine,                                      Andrea Pavan / Texas A&M

Nils Floren / Texas Tech                       Jonathan Randolph / Mississippi

Dustin Garza / Wichita State                 Nick Taylor / Washington

Russell Henley / Georgia                       Peter Uihlein / Oklahoma State

Scott Langley / Illinois                                       Diego Velasquez / Oregon State

Rounding out the list of amateur invitees is the reigning U.S. Amateur champion Byeong-Hun An.  Invitees remain eligible even if they turn professional.  The Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational will be played at the Ohio State University Scarlet Course in Nationwide’s hometown of Columbus, Ohio.

SAM SAUNDERS RECEIVES SPONSOR INVITES TO CHIQUITA AND MYLAN EVENTS – Sam Saunders has been invited to compete in two Nationwide Tour events this summer, the Chiquita Classic (July 15-18, TPC River’s Bend outside Cincinnati) and the Mylan Classic presented by CONSOLE Energy (Sept 2-5, Southpointe Golf Club near Pittsburgh).  Saunder’s grandfather, Arnold Palmer, is the honorary chairman of the Mylan Classic.  Both are first-year events.  Saunders made his national professional debut on the Nationwide Tour last September at the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft.  

NEXT WEEK – With the Knoxville Open moved from June 10-13 to August 26-29, the Nationwide Tour will be off next week before heading to Fort Smith (June 17-20) where John Daly will make his first Nationwide Tour start since 1991 and then Mexico (June 24-27).

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