February 1, 2009

By Jon Levy - Staff Writer

Just four weeks into the 2010 PGA TOUR schedule and, already, the year is shaping up as a successful one from former Gateway Tour players now competing in the top echelons of professional golf.

So, what’s the latest from the past week? Three former players placed in the Top 15 at the Farmers Insurance Open and a former Gateway Tour and Gateway Collegiate Tour member took the Nationwide Tour’s season opener.

Suffice it to say, it wasn’t a bad week for Gateway Tour alumni.

Starting with the PGA TOUR: Leading the pack at the Farmers Insuarance Open at Torrey Pines was Gateway Tour Alum, Brandt Snedeker, who rode the momentum from last week’s T10 at the Bob Hope on to a runner-up finish, worth almost $400,000. After making over $1.4 million on TOUR in 2009, this weekend’s finish ties his best since a runner-up at the John Deere Classic last summer. With over $500,000 of official ’10 TOUR earnings already in the bank now, he could be well on his way to eclipsing the magical ’08 season which netted him over $2.8 million and some well-deserved worldwide recognition.

Next, following Snedeker with matching T15 finishes at the popular San Diego TOUR stop were rookies Matt Every and Troy Merritt, who finished just four strokes off of Ben Crane’s winning mark to earn respectable $87,450 paydays.

Making his first cut on TOUR as a member, Every has rebounded nicely from coming up short at last week’s Bob Hope and -- standing 77th in the FedEx Cup points race from the Farmers finish -- he’s now right in the thick of things with an official decent start to his PGA TOUR rookie campaign.

Likewise, fellow first-year, Merritt, has also had a nice start to his season with the finish at Torrey Pines, but, unlike Every, Merritt has already made two previous cuts, finishing T20 and T63, at the Sony Open and Bob Hope -- including a 1st round co-leading effort in at the Sony -- to not only get into the thick of things himself with a 32nd standing in FedEx Cup points, but perhaps also stamp his name as a player to watch on TOUR in 2010.

Regardless, each player is undoubtedly vying to make an immediate impact on the PGA TOUR after earned their cards in bold, fearless fashions last year; Every via his Nationwide Tour Championship victory in October, and Merritt via his winning q-school performance in December. Not bad, guys.

And, on the subject of “not bad” -- former Gateway Tour and Gateway Collegiate Tour member, Robert Gates, won the Nationwide Tour’s season-opening Michael Hill New Zealand Open this past weekend in his first start as a Nationwide Tour member.

Shooting rounds of 65/67/68/74-274 (14-under par) in variable conditions, Gates’ $108,000 payday came by way of a one-stroke victory over Andrew Dodt, although -- after finishing four-over in his final ten holes of the event -- he surely tested his nerves coming down the stretch as two pars on the 71st and 72nd holes proved vital for the slim edge. Nevertheless, the former Texas A&M University golf team member who played The Gateway Tour Championship just last fall now leads the Nationwide Tour money list, primed for a 2011 PGA TOUR membership.

Stay tuned as both the PGA TOUR and Nationwide Tour seasons continue again this week with The Northern Trust Open in L.A. and the Moonah Classic in Australia…


Click here for full results of the Farmers Insurance Open, and here for full results of the Michael Hill New Zealand Open, from pgatour.com…

Also, click here for the story on Gates’ victory, by Jeff Adams of pgatour.com…