From The Canadian Tour To The World Stage

Year after year as young men play their way up the ladder of success leading to the PGA TOUR and then try to maintain their position among the best in the game more players credit the Canadian Tour for their development as professionals than any other source.

After the Canadian Tour most graduates refine their skills and fatten their bank accounts with a season or two on the NATIONWIDE TOUR.

And now the quest for a PGA TOUR card is underway with today's kick off of the Nationwide Tour's 20th season and the playing of the $600,000 Panama DIGICEL Championship.

By John Berkovich
Media Director,
Canadian Professional Golf Tour

Canadian Tour graduate Scott Dunlap is back to defend his title.

The event will be followed by three consecutive tournaments Down Under beginning the week of Feb. 26 before the North American leg begins in late March.

Dunlap isn't the only Canadian Tour alumnus in the field this week. Canada's Dustin Risdon is making his Nationwide Tour debut as a full-fledged member after advancing to the final stage of Q-School last fall.

Risdon, twice a Canadian Tour winner, made the cut at last summer's RBC Canadian Open in his first PGA TOUR start and has shown rapid improvement the past two seasons.

Other players in the field this week with ties to the Canadian Tour are Chris Anderson, Guy Boros, David Branshaw, Michael Clark II, Kris Cox, Joe Daley, Bryan DeCorso, Steve Friesen, Brad Fritsch, Matt Hansen, David Hearn, Andrew Johnson, Craig Kanada, Ian Leggatt, Jon Mills, John Morse, Paulo Pinto, Fran Quinn, Jim Rutledge, Michael Sim, Sal Spallone, Omar Uresti and Brennan Webb.

Anderson won the Nationwide Tour's 2004 SAS Carolina Classic and was a member of the PGA TOUR in both 2003 and 2005.

Guy Boros won the 1996 Greater Vancouver Open Northview in Surrey, BC and has three Nationwide Tour titles on his resume. A winner of two Canadian Tour events, Boros was the 1991 Order of Merit winner.

Branshaw was a PGA TOUR member in both 2006 and 2007 and spent last season on the Nationwide Tour where he has a pair of victories.

Michael Clark II won the 2000 John Deere Classic to go along with two Nationwide Tour titles.

Kris Cox has played both the Nationwide and PGA TOUR the past four seasons but has struggled with back injuries the past two years. He won the Nationwide Tour's 2005 Permian Basin Open.

Joe Daley is just two years from the Champions Tour and has two Nationwide wins. He was a PGA TOUR member in both 1996 and 1998.

Bryan DeCorso won the Canadian Tour's 1996 Morningstar Classic and earned Rookie of the Year honors that same season.

The Kent State product won the 2008 South Georgia Classic and had three top tens on the Nationwide Tour last season.

Matt Hansen won the Canadian Tour's 2006 Northern California Classic before a hometown crowd and had four top tens last season on the Nationwide circuit last year.

Steve Friesen will be making his 20th Nationwide Tour start this week but his first as a full-fledged member. He advanced to final stage of Q-School last fall and earned a fourth place finish at the Canadian Tour Championship.

Brad Fritsch is entering his third Nationwide Tour campaign with a T-4 at the 2008 Northeast Pennsylvania Classic being his best finish. The Canadian finished 74th on the money list last year and is showing steady improvement.

Canadian David Hearn graduated to the PGA TOUR in 2005 and is hoping to return as he begins his fourth Nationwide Tour season. He won the Canadian Tour's 2004 Times Colonist Open and followed up with the Nationwide Tour's Alberta Classic that same season.

Twice a winner on the Nationwide Tour, Craig Kanada was a PGA TOUR member in 2007 and 2008. He holds the record (six strokes at the 2006 Tour Championship) for the largest come from behind victory in Nationwide Tour history.

Ian Leggatt won the PGA TOUR's 2002 Tucson Open and the 2000 Dayton Open on the Nationwide Tour. Despite a history of injuries, the Canadian continues to battle it out in his quest to return to the big show.

Fellow Canadian Jon Mills lost full status on the PGA TOUR last season, necessitating a return to the Nationwide Tour. He owns two wins on the junior circuit - including a popular win at the 2005 Canadian PGA Championship - and was the Canadian Tour's Order of Merit winner in 2003.

John Morse, the 1995 Hawaiian Open winner, turns 51 later this month but continues to test his game against players half his age when he's not competing on the Champions Tour.

The winner of the 1989 Quebec Open also won the 1990 Australian Open and the 1993 NIKE New England Classic.

Fran Quinn has played the bulk of his career on the Nationwide Tour while Sal Spallone played the circuit in both 2006 and 2007.

Omar Uresti has veteran PGA TOUR status and two victories on the Nationwide Tour. His win at the 1994 Shreveport Open saw him set a still-standing record of nine consecutive birdies. The Texas has a decade of experience on the big tour with several top tens.

Paulo Pinto played the Canadian Tour for several years earlier this decade as did Michael Sim, Brennan Webb and Andrew Johnson.

Esteban Toledo was a PGA TOUR member for several years. He won the Nationwide Tour's Lake Erie Classic and was the subject of the book 'Tin Cup Dreams' by Michael D'Antonio.

Jim Rutledge of Victoria has traveled the globe with his clubs and will turn 50 in August. The Canadian has six wins on his home circuit to go along with the New Zealand PGA Championship he won 2006. That victory helped lift him to the PGA TOUR in 2007 as a 47-year-old rookie.

A group of 11 Canadian Tour members and alumni advanced to Q-School final stage last fall.