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):