News >> Current and Former Members Earn PGA Tour Cards
Past, Present Players Pickup PGA Tour Cards
By Paul Warner
Myrtle Beach, SC – Monday, November 01, 2010– Every aspiring golfer hopes to one day tee it up with the best in the business. And, while the road to the PGA Tour is a long, arduous journey with many obstacles, the NGA/Hooters Tour has proven to be the best route for potential PGA prospects to realize their dreams, sending 100s of former players to golf’s highest level over the past 20 years.
And the tradition continued at the Nationwide Tour Championship in Daniel Island, where 11 current and former NGA/Hooters Tour players picked up their PGA Tour cards for the 2011 season.
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While each card recipient had to battle for their promotion, current NGA/Hooters Tour member Joe Affrunti probably had the most to overcome in the season-finale. Sitting 34th on the money list, the 2009 NGA/Hooters Tour Most Improved Player needed a top-five effort or better to move inside the top 25. And he produced.
Affrunti finished at 279 and solo third, earned $68,000, jumped to 22nd on the money list and earned his PGA Tour card. But Affrunti wasn’t the only one to have to sweat it out on the final day.
Justin Hicks, who played on the NGA/Hooters Tour in 1995, finished 27th in the Nationwide Tour Championship and narrowly edged Scott Gardiner by $2,010 to claim the final PGA Tour card.
For former NGA/Hooters Tour players Chris Kirk and Tommy Gainey, the final event of the season was a mere formality. Both players had already picked up two wins this season on the Nationwide Tour. Kirk, who played in 2009 on the NGA/Hooters Tour, finished second on the money list, while Gainey, who won the Bentonville Open in 2007, finished fourth.
Tag Ridings, who played on the NGA/Hooters Tour in 1997 and 1998, will make his way back to the PGA Tour after a consistent season. Ridings finished the year with nine top-10s, 17 top-25s and 10th on the money list.
Former NGA/Hooters Tour member Kevin Kisner used a late-season rally to secure his status. Kisner picked up a win and a runner-up finish in his last eight starts to move inside the top 25. Kisner, who won the 2008 Savannah Lakes Resort Classic, finished T11 in the Nationwide Tour Championship to secure his status on the PGA Tour.
David Mathis, a 1999 NGA/Hooters Tour player, grabbed a late-season win, one of 12 by former NGA/Hooters Tour players on the Nationwide Tour this season, and will be moving back to the PGA Tour for the second time in three years after finishing 13th on the money list.
A year removed from the NGA/Hooters Tour, Keegan Bradley made the most of his rookie season on the Nationwide Tour. Bradley, whose Hall of Fame aunt, Pat Bradley,
once caddied for him on the NGA/Hooters Tour, used four top-five finishes down the stretch to move to No. 14 on the money list.
NGA/Hooters Tourveteran D.J. Brigman will be heading back to the PGA Tour after finishing 18th on the money list. Brigman, who won in 2001 on the NGA/Hooters Tour, had four top-10s this season, including a win at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational.
Jim Herman, who played on the NGA/Hooters Tour in 2001, picked up one win on the Nationwide Tour this season and finished 19th on the money list. Scott Gutschewski, who finished 52nd on the NGA/Hooters Tour money list in 2001, posted two runner-up and seven top-10 finishes this season on the Nationwide Tour en route to finishing 20th on the money list.
While the aforementioned players have their PGA Tour cards in hand, five former NGA/Hooters Tour players will have a chance to grab their cards in the final stage of Q-School due to their performance on the Nationwide Tour this season. Nate Smith (27), B.J. Staten (28), Brandt Jobe (30), William McGirt (34) and John Riegger (39) all finished inside the top 40 on the money list and will advance to the final round of Q-School.
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; Lucas Glover, the 2009 US Open Champion; Zach Johnson, the 2007 Masters Champion; Shaun Micheel, the 2003 PGA 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 12 “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.
For more information, visit www.NGAHootersTour.com.
By Paul Warner
Myrtle Beach, SC – Monday, November 01, 2010– Every aspiring golfer hopes to one day tee it up with the best in the business. And, while the road to the PGA Tour is a long, arduous journey with many obstacles, the NGA/Hooters Tour has proven to be the best route for potential PGA prospects to realize their dreams, sending 100s of former players to golf’s highest level over the past 20 years.
And the tradition continued at the Nationwide Tour Championship in Daniel Island, where 11 current and former NGA/Hooters Tour players picked up their PGA Tour cards for the 2011 season.
While each card recipient had to battle for their promotion, current NGA/Hooters Tour member Joe Affrunti probably had the most to overcome in the season-finale. Sitting 34th on the money list, the 2009 NGA/Hooters Tour Most Improved Player needed a top-five effort or better to move inside the top 25. And he produced.Affrunti finished at 279 and solo third, earned $68,000, jumped to 22nd on the money list and earned his PGA Tour card. But Affrunti wasn’t the only one to have to sweat it out on the final day.
Justin Hicks, who played on the NGA/Hooters Tour in 1995, finished 27th in the Nationwide Tour Championship and narrowly edged Scott Gardiner by $2,010 to claim the final PGA Tour card.
For former NGA/Hooters Tour players Chris Kirk and Tommy Gainey, the final event of the season was a mere formality. Both players had already picked up two wins this season on the Nationwide Tour. Kirk, who played in 2009 on the NGA/Hooters Tour, finished second on the money list, while Gainey, who won the Bentonville Open in 2007, finished fourth.
Tag Ridings, who played on the NGA/Hooters Tour in 1997 and 1998, will make his way back to the PGA Tour after a consistent season. Ridings finished the year with nine top-10s, 17 top-25s and 10th on the money list.
Former NGA/Hooters Tour member Kevin Kisner used a late-season rally to secure his status. Kisner picked up a win and a runner-up finish in his last eight starts to move inside the top 25. Kisner, who won the 2008 Savannah Lakes Resort Classic, finished T11 in the Nationwide Tour Championship to secure his status on the PGA Tour.
David Mathis, a 1999 NGA/Hooters Tour player, grabbed a late-season win, one of 12 by former NGA/Hooters Tour players on the Nationwide Tour this season, and will be moving back to the PGA Tour for the second time in three years after finishing 13th on the money list.
A year removed from the NGA/Hooters Tour, Keegan Bradley made the most of his rookie season on the Nationwide Tour. Bradley, whose Hall of Fame aunt, Pat Bradley,
once caddied for him on the NGA/Hooters Tour, used four top-five finishes down the stretch to move to No. 14 on the money list.NGA/Hooters Tourveteran D.J. Brigman will be heading back to the PGA Tour after finishing 18th on the money list. Brigman, who won in 2001 on the NGA/Hooters Tour, had four top-10s this season, including a win at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational.
Jim Herman, who played on the NGA/Hooters Tour in 2001, picked up one win on the Nationwide Tour this season and finished 19th on the money list. Scott Gutschewski, who finished 52nd on the NGA/Hooters Tour money list in 2001, posted two runner-up and seven top-10 finishes this season on the Nationwide Tour en route to finishing 20th on the money list.
While the aforementioned players have their PGA Tour cards in hand, five former NGA/Hooters Tour players will have a chance to grab their cards in the final stage of Q-School due to their performance on the Nationwide Tour this season. Nate Smith (27), B.J. Staten (28), Brandt Jobe (30), William McGirt (34) and John Riegger (39) all finished inside the top 40 on the money list and will advance to the final round of Q-School.
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; Lucas Glover, the 2009 US Open Champion; Zach Johnson, the 2007 Masters Champion; Shaun Micheel, the 2003 PGA 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 12 “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.
For more information, visit www.NGAHootersTour.com.
