Staff Reports
The Valdosta Daily Times
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The ninth and 10th moments in the Nationwide Tour’s “20 Greatest Moments” program have been unveiled.
The moments feature John Daly becoming the first Nationwide Tour alumnus to capture a major championship at the 1991 PGA Championship and the establishment of a PGA TOUR promotion for three-time winners on the Nationwide Tour.
- John Daly becomes first alumnus to win a major championship in 1991 — Just one year after the birth of the Nationwide Tour, John Daly became the first Tour alumnus to win a major championship.
In his rookie year on the PGA TOUR, the Arkansas Razorback captured a three-shot victory over Bruce Lietzke in the 1991 PGA Championship, delighting the huge crowds at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Indiana.
Daly would go on to be named that year’s Rookie of the Year, win another major in 1995 at the British Open and collect five PGA TOUR titles overall.
-Three-Win PGA TOUR Promotion Established in 1997 — In only its eighth season, the PGA TOUR Policy Board approved the three-win promotion, which grants players immediate access to the PGA TOUR upon winning three times in the same season on the Nationwide Tour.
Chris Smith was the first player to achieve a promotion when it was introduced in 1997.
In subsequent years, seven more players earned promotions, including three who won within two years of joining the PGA TOUR — Chad Campbell, Heath Slocum and Jason Gore.
The 10 remaining “Greatest Moments” will be unveiled during the next five Nationwide Tour telecasts on the Golf Channel airing between June and September, and on PGATOUR.COM. Two new moments will be featured each week.
The No. 1 moment in Nationwide Tour history will be announced on Golf Channel and PGATOUR.COM on the final day of the season (October 25) during the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island, S.C. The greatest moment will be based on a fan vote conducted on PGATOUR.COM that will commence after all 20 moments have been revealed.
The “20 Greatest Moments” is the centerpiece of this year’s 20th-year celebration of the Nationwide Tour. The roster of “Moments” features events and activities that have had significant bearing on the evolution, growth, impact and promotion of the Tour over the last 20 years, both on and off the golf course. “Moments” will involve alumni highlights from the Nationwide Tour and PGA TOUR and will span the late 1980s, ‘90s and current decade.
The following 10 “Moments” have been released (release date in parenthesis):
1989 / Tour is Announced at a Forth Worth, TX Press Conference (4/6/09)
2007 / Zach Johnson Wins the Masters (4/6/09)
1994 / Omar Uresti posts TOUR-record nine straight birdies (4/27/09)
Nationwide Tour Impact on PGA TOUR / 250th Alumni Win Approaches (4/27/09)
2003 / Jack Nicklaus and Sons Compete in TOUR-Sanctioned Event for First Time (5/18/09)
Charitable Impact on Nationwide Tour Communities (5/18/09)
1998 / Notah Begay III Posts First 59 in Nationwide Tour History (6/8/09)
2004 / Daniel Chopra Smashes 72-Hole Scoring Record (6/8/09)
1991 / John Daly Becomes First Alumnus to Win a Major Championship (6/29/09)
1997 / Three-Win PGA TOUR Promotion Established (6/29/09)
Local Sports
Nationwide Tour unveils more ‘Greatest Moments’
- Local Sports
-
-
VSU teams hosting summer camps
The national champion Valdosta State softball team will host two separate summer camps this summer, as well as weekly clinics throughout the summer.
The two summer camps will be held on June 11-13 and July 9-11 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The camps will cost $100 each. -
David Dean Youth Camp begins next week
The David Dean Youth Football Camp is quickly approaching.
The fourth annual camp will be held May 29-June 1 at the Athletic Fieldhouse off Mary Street. -
National champion head coach rewarded with new truck
National champion head coach rewarded with new truck Valdosta State head softball coach Thomas Macera was rewarded with a new Toyota Tacoma from Valdosta Toyota on Wednesday for his team’s 4-1 victory over the University of California-San Diego in the Division II Softball National Championship Game.
-
Valwood’s Savino, Elliott named All-State soccer
Two Valwood boys’ soccer players have been named to the GISA Class AA All-State team.
-
All-American again
Go ahead and add another award to resume of this year’s Valdosta State softball team.
Between conference player of the week awards, a national player of the week award, All-Conference and All-Region honors and four All-American awards, the national champion Blazers had plenty of individuals honored for performances throughout the season, which ultimately led to VSU’s first ever softball national title. -
Local area events coming soon
Several local area runs will take place in the coming weeks.
Monday, May 28, there will be a Memorial Day 5K, which will begin at 8 a.m. from the VECA School located on the corner of Azalea Drive and College Street. -
Tech bound
Donjahae Jones gets it done in the classroom and on the track.
One of the top students in her class, and one of the top track and field competitors in the state, Jones will be taking her talents to the Division I level after she signed a track and field scholarship with Georgia Tech on Tuesday. -
Blazers garner All-Region honors
Two Valdosta State baseball players have been named All-South Region while a third has garnered Academic All-Region, according to announcements made by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and the Collegiate Sports Information Director's of America (CoSIDA) this week.
-
Lowndes' Phelps named tennis Coach of the Year
Lowndes tennis coach Heath Phelps has been named the Region 1-AAAAA girls’ and boys’ tennis Coach of the Year, after he guided both teams to region championships.
-
Wildcats close spring practice
VALDOSTA — The Valdosta Wildcats put their finishing touches on spring practice Saturday night with the playing of their annual spring game at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.
No score was kept in the game, but the Wildcats did play best-on-best, pitting the starting offense against the starting defense. - More Local Sports Headlines
-
VSU teams hosting summer camps
