News >> Alumni Update-Watson Wins Travelers Championship
Bubba Watson Wins Travelers, B.J. Staten Falls in Mexican Open Playoff
Longs, SC—There was no shortage of past NGA Hooters Tour players teeing it up on the PGA and Nationwide Tours over the weekend, when nearly 120 past players filled the fields of the Travelers Championship and Mexican Open. And when Sunday afternoon rolled around, there was no shortage of past NGA Hooters Tour Players atop the leaderboard, either.
Bubba Watson, who played on the NGA Hooters Tour in 2003 and 2004, started the day six shots behind third-round leader Justin Rose. However, by the 18th hole, Watson closed to within one shot of the lead. A birdie on the 72nd hole put Watson in a playoff with Scott Verplank and Cory Pavin. Watson finished Pavin off with birdie on the first playoff hole and sank a three-foot putt on the second hole to edge Verplank. The win was Watson’s first on the PGA Tour.
Behind Watson, a horde of former NGA Hooters Tour players finished inside the top 10. Chris Riley, who played on the NGA Hooters Tour in 1997, finished one shot out of the playoff in fourth; Chad Campbell, who has 13 wins on the NGA Hooters Tour, finished in a tie for fifth; Kris Blanks, a former winner on the NGA Hooters Tour, finished in a tie for ninth; and Vaughn Taylor, who played on the NGA Hooters Tour for five seasons, picked up his fourth top-10 of the season with a ninth-place showing in the Travelers Championship.
B.J. Staten, a three-year veteran of the NGA Hooters Tour, nearly completed with the weekend sweep with his stellar performance in the Nationwide Tour’s Mexican Open. Staten also birdied his 72nd hole to force a playoff with Jamie Lovemark. Unfortunately for Staten, Lovemark eagled the first playoff hole, denying Staten his first Nationwide win.
The NGA Hooters Tour is the 3rd largest men’s 72-hole professional golf tour in the country behind the PGA and Nationwide Tours and boasts an impressive list of alumni.
Stewart Cink, the 2009 British Open Champion; Zach Johnson, the 2007 Masters Champion; Shaun Micheel, the 2003 British Open Champion; Ben Curtis, winner of the 2003 British Open; Jim Furyk, winner of the 2003 US Open; Lee Janzen, a two-time US Open winner; John Daly, a British Open and PGA Champion; Tom Lehman, winner of the British Open; David Toms, a past PGA Champion; Chad Campbell, the 2003 Tour Championship winner; Vaughn Taylor, a two-time Reno Tahoe Open winner; and Craig Perks, winner of the TPC, tested their mettle on the NGA Hooters Tour before tasting success on golf’s grandest stage.
All told, the NGA Hooters Tour’s alumni have an incredible 11 “Majors” to their credit. The NGA Hooters Tour has helped hundreds of professionals acquire their PGA, Senior PGA, and Nationwide Tour cards. In fact, 48% of the players that earned their 2010 PGA Tour card and 53% of the players that earned full exempt status on the Nationwide Tour started their careers on the NGA Hooters Tour.
