Final Tour stop scheduled at Walnut Creek CC

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on October 10, 2007 1:48 PM

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The Tarheel Professional Golf Tour will make its second and final stop at Walnut Creek Country Club on Oct. 17-19 for the season-ending Tour championship.

The Tour, which was formed in 2002 and has quickly become one of professional golf's top developmental tours, consists of 21 tournaments throughout the 2007 season with events played in the Atlantic Coast states.

David Siegel, the Tour's tournament director, is excited about returning to eastern North Carolina and concluding the year on the challenging WCCC links.

"We are ecstatic about being invited back to Walnut Creek Country Club," said Siegel. "Our players absolutely love the golf course and appreciate the tremendous support for the event from the club. We feel fortunate that the sponsors and the members of Walnut Creek made this happen for the Tarheel Tour and our players.

"We are expecting a field of roughly 144 players feature some of the top names in golf and plethora of players who will soon be on the PGA Tour."

The Tarheel Tour Tournament Championship will be a 54-hole, stroke-play event with a 36-hole cut after the second round. The top 33-percent of the field will make the cut and in turn compete for the $16,000 first-place prize during Friday's final round -- as well as a share of the estimated $105,000 purse.

One player to watch is Tommy "Two Gloves" Gainey. The Bishopville, S.C., native achieved that nickname because he wears two gloves when he plays. He earned national acclaim as a participant on the Golf Channel's "Big Break V" series and recently won the "Big Break VII" reunion series, thus solidifying his spot in several Nationwide Tour events.

Gainey sits in fourth place on the 2007 Tarheel Tour money list with with earnings over $46,000.

All-time Tarheel Tour money leader Matt Cannon goes after his third title of the 2007 season. The North Carolina native sits atop the current Tarheel Tour money list with $68,500, which includes victories at the Warrior Classic and the North Stone Open.

Other players to watch are: former UNC Greensboro star Andy Bare, who tied for 20th at the PGA Tour's Wyndham Championship; Cabarrus Classic champion William McGirt; Jay McLean, who won the Walnut Creek Classic in June; another UNCG standout Andy Crain; and former East Carolina players Frank Adams III and Jonathan Hill.

First-round play is Oct. 17. The tournament is free and open to the public.

The three-day tournament is sponsored by Goldsboro Milling Co.; Toyota/Scion of Goldsboro; Eastern Aluminum Supply; Nunn, Brashear and Co. P.A.; and T.A. Loving Co.