Charleston, South Carolina - The PGA TOUR's Nationwide Tour and the Student Transportation of America Education Foundation announced the 2009-2011 Nationwide Tour Championship will be played at the Daniel Island Club. The official name of the tournament will be the "Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island". The 2009 dates are October 22-25.
The Nationwide Tour Championship is the Nationwide Tour's final event. It concludes the season-long competition to identify the 25 players who earn PGA TOUR cards for the following season based on the Tour's final money list. The field is limited to the top-60 money winners through the final full-field event of the season, which in 2009 will be the Miccosukee Championship, played the previous week in Miami, FL.
The Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island will be one of only three events offering a $1 million purse and $180,000 first prize, both of which are the largest on Tour.
The Golf Channel will televise all four rounds live. For more information call the tournament office at 843-856-7900.
"The partnership we have put in place for the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island is a terrific one," said Nationwide Tour president Bill Calfee. "With the 25 PGA TOUR cards on the line, the Nationwide Tour Championship historically has been the most suspenseful week of the year on the Nationwide Tour. A number of players' futures are literally riding on every shot. With the move to Daniel Island and our season now culminating two weeks before the end of the PGA TOUR season, the Championship will be enhanced and the Tour will benefit from the additional focus that will be on "The 25" competition. We look forward to working with the Student Transportation of America, Education Foundation and the Daniel Island Club to achieve these goals and to advance theirs."
The STA Education Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Student Transportation of America, the fourth largest provider of school bus transportation services in North America, is host organization for the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island. "We are extremely pleased to be associated with the PGA TOUR, Daniel Island and the Greater Charleston community," said Denis J. Gallagher, chairman of the STA Education Foundation and Charleston resident. "This high profile event will not only be great for promoting the City of Charleston, it will donate a portion of the proceeds to The First Tee Program of Charleston to further their great work helping kids in ways that extend far beyond golf.
"STA's business is all about kids and our Foundation was created to help fund the higher education opportunities they deserve," Gallagher said. "This partnership with the Nationwide Tour will help us gain national recognition and greatly expand our ability to offer college scholarships to deserving high school students. As a result, for the first time, scholarships will be awarded to outstanding Charleston students who display pride in their community and choose to attend Charleston area colleges and universities. The City has been a big supporter in helping us bring this event to Charleston and, in return, we're pleased to be able to give back to our community's future leaders."
Daniel Island, an award-winning master-planned community in Charleston, S.C., is home to the private Daniel Island Club. The Club's golf offerings include two nationally-ranked courses designed by Rees Jones (Ralston Creek) and Tom Fazio (Beresford Creek). The Nationwide Tour Championship will be played on the Ralston Creek course, a par-72 layout that stretches to 7,446 yards.
"We were privileged to previously host a Nationwide Tour event on Daniel Island, and it was a great experience for the players and the Tour," said Matt Sloan, president of the Daniel Island Club. "We are honored to not only welcome them back, but to bring their most important event to Charleston. Much like the PGA TOUR's TOUR Championship at East Lake in Atlanta, we expect the Nationwide Tour Championship to call Daniel Island its home for many years to come." The Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island will be managed by Charleston Tennis, LLC, which also manages the Family Circle Cup and AVP Charleston Open, with Goal Marketing serving as a consultant.
PGA TOUR winner D.J. Trahan is a longtime resident of the Charleston area and currently resides in Mt. Pleasant. The former Clemson University All-American played one full season on the Nationwide Tour (2004), winning the final full-field event of the season, the Miccosukee Championship, before earning his PGA TOUR card via the National Qualifying Tournament that December.
The Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island is joined by the Nationwide Tour Players Cup in West Virginia and the recently-announced Soboba Classic in San Jacinto, CA in offering $1 million purses. The 2008 Nationwide Tour Championship will be played next week at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, TX (Dallas area).
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