News >> Hooters Tour Gains Exemption Into 2009 Knoxville Open

Knoxville Open Presented by Food City
Fox Den Country Club
 Knoxville, Tennessee
June 8-14, 2009
$525,000 Purse

N. Myrtle Beach, SC…The National Golf Association’s Hooters Professional Golf Tour, presented by Hooters of America announced today that the Nationwide Tour’s Knoxville Open presented by Food City has granted an exemption into the event to The Hooters Tour leading money winner over the three (3) events in May: St. Louis, MO, Evansville, IN, & Lexington, KY. The Hooters Tour member who accumulates the most money in those three events will earn the exemption into The Knoxville Open Presented by Food City .

“The NGA/Hooters Tour has long been the #1 developmental tour in the country,” said Matt Wright, Tournament Director of the Knoxville Open. “Just like the Nationwide Tour players are trying to move up to the PGA Tour, The NGA/Hooters Tour guys are looking for Nationwide Tour starts. Golf is a game of opportunities. We want to open a door and give an opportunity to one of those players.”

The Knoxville Open presented by Food City has long been a stepping stone for former Hooters Tour players in realizing their dream of playing on the PGA Tour. Past champions include Hooters Tour alumni Vaughn Taylor, Heath Slocum, Robin Freeman, Eric Johnson and Tim Conley.

“The #1 goal of The Hooters Tour has always been, and always will be to help professional golfers achieve their dream of playing on The PGA Tour,” said Robin L. Waters, Hooters Tour President. “Playing in The Knoxville Open will provide invaluable experience to one of our players. We are ecstatic that they have provided us with this opportunity.”

The Knoxville Nationwide Tour stop is one of the oldest and most storied events in the tour’s history. In fact, it is one of the 4 original events on The Nationwide Tour, dating back to 1990.

The NGA Hooters Professional Golf Tour continues to prove year after year to be the #1 developmental tour in the United States for aspiring professionals to begin their careers. The National Golf Association is the 3rd largest men’s 72-hole professional golf tour in the country behind the PGA and Nationwide Tours .

This was never more evident than in the recent final stage of the PGA Tour Qualifying School at PGA West in La Quinta, California . Look at the following statistics from this past Winter’s grueling 108-hole Q-School:  

  • 32% (9 of 28) of those players who earned their 2009 PGA Tour Card played on the NGA Hooters Tour, including 2008 NGA Hooters Tour members James Nitties, Gary Woodland and Matthew Borchert, as well as former members Chris Stroud, James Oh, Kent Jones, Bob Heintz Chris Riley and Will Collins.  
  • 21 of the 51 players (41%) that earned full exempt status on the Nationwide Tour have played on the NGA Hooters Tour in the past, including 2008 NGA Hooters Tour members Brian Stuard, Josh Teater, Major Manning, Joseph Sykora and Brennan Webb, as well as former players Kris Cox, Garrett Willis, Matt Every, Chris Smith, Chris Tidland, Bryan DeCorso, Spencer Levin, Neal Lancaster, Henrik Bjornstad, Michael Bradley, Steve LeBrun, Bubba Dickerson, Jim Herman, Diego Vanegas, Scott Sterling and Josh Broadaway.
  • All told, of the 161 players that competed in the 6 round final stage, an amazing 36% (59 players) have played on the NGA Hooters Tour in the past.

Qualifying school is not the only way former NGA Hooters Tour players gained exempt status on the PGA Tour for 2009. This past season, 11 other former players earned their PGA Tour cards by finishing in the top 25 on the Nationwide Tour’s money list giving the NGA Hooters Tour 19 former players who got their PGA Tour card for 2009.

The NGA/Hooters Tour is the 3rd largest men’s 72-hole professional golf tour in the country behind the PGA and Nationwide Tours, and boasts alumni like 2007 Masters Champion Zach Johnson, 2003 PGA Champion Shaun Micheel, 2003 British Open winner Ben Curtis, 2003 US Open winner Jim Furyk, two time U.S. Open winner Lee Janzen, British Open and PGA Champion John Daly, as well as British Open winner Tom Lehman, PGA Champion David Toms, 2003 Tour Championship Winner Chad Campbell, 2004 & 2005 Reno Tahoe Open winner Vaughn Taylor and TPC winner Craig Perks to name just a few. All told, the NGA/Hooters Tour’s alumni have an incredible 10 “Majors” to their credit. The NGA/Hooters Tour has helped more than 100 professionals acquire their PGA, Champions, and Nationwide Tour cards.

For more information about the NGA/Hooters Tour, please visit our web site, www.HOOTERSTOUR.com.