Nationwide Tour: These Guys Are Really Good

Golf writer Andy Reistetter is on site at The TOUR Championship Presented by Coca-Cola at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, GA. Next week he is heading to the inaugural Saboda Classic in San Jacinto, CA to catch some of the action on the Nationwide Tour. With only five events remaining in the 29 event Nationwide schedule the race to be a "Top 25 Gold" graduate and earn the prize of a 2010 PGA TOUR card is as hot as can be.

How closely have you followed the Nationwide Tour this year?

If you were at THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida where the PGA TOUR is headquartered you saw the tractor trailer (see article picture) celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Nationwide Tour.

If you have been tuned into the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedEx Cup you know how well the 2008 graduating class of the Nationwide Tour has done on the PGA TOUR this year.

Marc Leishman was supposed to be in Midland, Texas this week defending his title in the WNB Golf Classic. Instead the 25-year old Aussie who finished 19th on the Nationwide Tour last year is playing in the TOUR Championship at East Lake as one of the 30 best golfers this year on the PGA TOUR.

Talk about an impressive rookie season.

He started getting noticed with good play back in May in Texas with solid back-to-back performances at the Valero Texas Open and the HP Byron Nelson Championship finishing T5 and T8 respectively.

But it wasn't until the playoffs that he really got hot.

He entered as No. 93 on the FedEx Cup points list and shot a second round 62 in The Deutsche Bank Championship, the second playoff event at TPC Boston. Then he eagled the last hole on Sunday to finish T15 and make the field for the BMW Championship.

At Cog Hill's Dubsdread course Leishman had his best career event ever. On a golf course which was recently upgraded by Rees Jones in hopes of landing a U.S. Open or even possibly becoming the venue for 2016 summer Olympics if Chicago is the chosen city he shot four rounds in the 60s and finished T2 with Jim Furyk eight strokes behind Tiger Woods.

In the first round of the Playoff Finale the rising star was admittedly a little nervous.

"A few nerves early, got off to a bit of a shaky start, but then fought back all right."

Then he started hitting fairways and making birdies to get it back to even par for the day on a day when the world's hottest golfers could manage a low round of only 4-under par.

"(It) would have been even better to shoot a 1-under, but that bogey on the last got me back to even. But I feel it's a pretty good day all up."

His even par round of 70 has him in a T9 position for the tournament and a projected 17th finish in the FedExCup race.

Who knows what Leishman will do today, tomorrow or come Sunday afternoon.

"I need to hit more fairways and hole for putts, and hopefully shoot myself a low number in the next couple days."

Leishman isn't the only 2008 Nationwide Tour graduate to make the playoffs. Also in the 125 golfer field for The Barclays were Matt Bettencourt (No. 1 on the Nationwide Money List last year), fellow rookies Jeff Klauk (No. 3) and Bill Lunde (No. 5), Greg Chalmers (No. 8), Scott Piercy (No. 9), Greg Owen (No. 10), rookie David Mathias (No. 14), D.A. Points (No. 16), and Bryce Molder (No. 23).

Klauk, Chalmers, Piercy, and Points made the 100 golfer field at the Deutsche Bank while Molder made it to the BMW.

Don't forget about the last guy to earn his tour card as No. 25 on the Nationwide Tour money list last year.

Ricky Barnes, 2002 U.S. Amateur Champion and rookie on the 2009 PGATOUR after three hard working seasons on the Nationwide finished T2 with Phil Mickelson and David Duval at the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black, two strokes behind Champion Lucas Glover.

Looking back it has been an exciting year on the PGA TOUR for the golden graduates.

Looking back at the "official proving grounds" of the PGA TOUR this year one can look forward to some outstanding golf on the 2010 PGA TOUR.

Michael Sim, a 24-year old Aussie born in Aberdeen, Scotland won his third Nationwide Tour event a month ago. Though he automatically qualified for the PGATOUR with a "battlefield promotion" he will not play as a member of the PGA TOUR until next week in the Turning Stone Resort Championship, the first event of the Fall Series.

With a T18 finish in the U.S. Open and a T51 finish at the PGA Championship at Hazeltine, Sim is already No. 64 in the official world golf rankings.

So enjoy the Playoff Finale and keep an eye on the Nationwide Tour as you will definitely be watching the champions of tomorrow on the PGA TOUR.

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR volunteering and working part time for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel.

He resides in Jacksonville Beach, FL near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte VedraBeach. He enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his web site www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him to [e-mail]