The 2001 NGA/Hooters Tour season is just underway and already promises to be
the biggest ever.More events, new cities and bigger purses highlight the 3rd largest
men's 72-hole professional golf tour in the country behind the PGA & Buy.com Tours.
Not long after Eric Meichtry won the 2000 season ending $200,000 Naturally Fresh
Foods Tour Championship in October, many NGA/Hooters Tour players tried their luck
at PGA Qualifying school. After 3 grueling stages and 14 rounds of pressure-packed
golf the NGA/Hooters Tour proved once again why it is the #1 developmental tour in the
entire country for aspiring young professionals to begin their career.
A full one third (33%) of those players who earned their 2001 PGA Tour card started
their careers on the NGA/Hooters Tour. In fact, 2 of the 36 players that earned their 2001
PGA Tour card, Richard Coughlan and Cliff Kresge, played on the NGA/Hooters Tour in
2000. Speaking of Kresge, the native of Apopka, Florida made his PGA Tour debut by
finishing tied for 5th at the Tucson Open. For his trouble, Cliff took home a check for
more than $105,000. In 2000, Kresge finished 36th on the NGA/Hooters Tour money
list with nearly $18,000 in prize money despite playing in only 9 events.
But the big story in Tucson was Former NGA/Hooters Tour member Garrett Willis.
Willis made PGA Tour history by winning the Touchstone Energy Tucson Open. With
the win, Willis joins Ben Crenshaw and Robert Gamez as the only three players in
history to win their first PGA Tour event entered as a card-carrying PGA Tour member.
The 27 year old from Nashville, Tennessee sank a 6-foot par putt to beat Kevin
Sutherland by one stroke. Willis shot a final round 3-under 69 to finish 15 under for the
tournament taking home a 1st place check for $540,000 and an automatic 2-year
exemption on the PGA Tour. Not bad for a guy who just one month earlier didn't know
where he'd be playing in 2001. "Here I was going to Tour School a month ago, not
knowing where I'd be playing, and now this." Willis Said. "This is a great country!"
Ironically, Willis also won the very first NGA/Hooters Tour event he entered when he
bagged the first place check at the 1996 Decatur Daily Tour Championship in
Decatur, Alabama. All told, in a little more than 3 years on the NGA/Hooters Tour Willis
won 2 events and more than $78,000 in prize money. Meanwhile, a whopping 40% of the
players (20 of 50) that gained full exempt status on the Buy.com Tour also started their
careers on the NGA/Hooters Tour. In fact, 3 of the biggest winners of the 2000 NGA/Hooters
Tour season are playing full time on the Buy.com Tour in 2001.
Chad Campbell, Bobby Elliott and Jamie Rogers all gained full exempt status this
past December in La Quinta, California. Campbell of course is the biggest winner in
NGA/Hooters Tour history. In 2000 alone Campbell won 8 of the 20 events he entered
and nearly $200,000. In fact, in 4 years on the NGA/Hooters Tour Campbell pocketed
13 wins and almost $850,000 in cash. 2000 was also a great year for the Australian Rogers.
The NGA/Hooters Tour rookie of the year finished 4th on the money list with nearly $77,000
thanks to a pair of wins (Augusta & Myrtle Beach) along with 7 top 10 finishes.
Meanwhile Elliott also turned in a solid 2000 campaign on the NGA/Hooters Tour finishing
10th on the money list with almost $38,000 thanks to 6 top 10 finishes.
Keep in mind, Qualifying school is not the only way former NGA/Hooters Tour players gain
exempt status onto the PGA Tour. Last year, 6 former NGA/Hooters Tour players earned their
cards by finishing in the top 15 of the Buy.com Tour money list. Most notably, Spike McCroy
won the Dakota Dunes Open as well as the Buy.com Tour Championship and is now fully
exempt on the PGA Tour.
In all, 35% of the 169 player field at the finals of PGA Tour Qualifying School have competed
on the NGA/Hooters Tour in the past, proving once again the NGA/Hooters Tour is the #1
developmental tour in the United States for aspiring golf professionals.
Meantime, as well as the 2000 NGA/Hooters Tour season went, the 2001 season promises
to be even bigger and better. Featuring 25 events and more than $3.2 million dollars in prize|
money including the $250,000 season ending Naturally Fresh Foods Tour Championship the
NGA/Hooters Tour is by far the next best thing to the PGA & Buy.com Tours.
Soon after the 2000 Naturally Fresh Foods Tour Championship was over, The NGA/Hooters
Tour staff began gearing up for 2001 with the first of four ranking schools.
WhiteWater Country Club outside Atlanta hosted a field of 109 prospective NGA/Hooters Tour
players. The top 15% gained fully exempt status for the 2001 season, including Paul Wackerly
of Canton, Ohio and Ned Michaels from nearby Atlanta both finished 8 under for the week to
lead the field.
Next stop for the NGA/Hooters Tour ranking school was Moreno Valley Ranch in Southern
California where John Ray Leary of Culver City, California fired a final round
total of 7-under 65 to finish 14-under for the week and lead the top 15% to fully exempt status
for the 2001 NGA/Hooters Tour season.
Stop #3 for the NGA/Hooters Tour ranking school was Eustis (Orlando), Florida at Black Bear
Golf Club. Weather shortened play to only 3 rounds, never-the-less, Elliott Gealy of Salisbury,
North Carolina was the medalist with a 3 round total of 13-under.
Finally, at Kingwood C.C. located in Houston, Texas Kris Cox of Dallas finished 4 under after
3 rounds of the weather shortened tournament. Incidentally, Cox was one of
just 3 players to break par at the Island Course at Kingwood. He was one of 21 players to gain
fully exempt status for the 2001 NGA/Hooters Tour season.
New event sites in 2001 include Jacksonville, Gainesville, Inverrary & Lakeland, Florida.
Bessemer City & Greensboro, North Carolina. Monroe, Louisiana; Milwaukee, Wisconsin;
St. Louis, Missouri as well as Greenville, Alabama.
2001 will also feature bigger purses and three "majors". After daylight savings time total
prize money will be $125,000 per event. "Major" #1 will take place at The River Club in North
Augusta, South Carolina March 5-11 for the 2nd Annual Kandy Waters Memorial Classic with
a total purse of $140,000.
Two other "major" events will be played for $150,000 each. The first at Decatur, Alabama for
the Daikin America NGATour Challenge. The second to be played at Lakeland, Florida during
the 1st annual Central Florida Sports Festival August 27 through September 2 at Cleveland
Heights Golf Course.
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