Nationwide Tour ready for big international schedule

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- The Nationwide Tour's season-long quest to award PGA TOUR cards to its 25 leading money winners begins next week with back-to-back events in New Zealand and Australia.

The Michael Hill New Zealand Open launches the Nationwide Tour's 21st season Jan. 28-31 at The Hills Golf Club in Queenstown, marking the earliest dates the Tour has launched its season "Down Under".

The Tour travels from New Zealand to Fingal, Victoria, Australia for the Moonah Classic at Moonah Links on the Mornington Peninsula, south of Melbourne, Feb. 4-7.

Both events are co-sanctioned in partnership with the PGA Tour of Australasia and feature 156 players -- 78 from both tours.

GOLF CHANNEL will air the Michael Hill New Zealand Open on Jan. 30-31 (7:30-9:30 a.m. ET) and the Moonah Classic on Feb. 6-7 (6:30-8:30 a.m. ET) in the United States.

The New Zealand/Australia stops will be followed by the Tour's seventh consecutive visit to Panama City, Panama for the Panama CLARO Championship Feb. 25-28. A new event, the Pacific Rubiales Bogotá Open presented by Samsung, will be played March 4-7 in Bogotá, Colombia. It will be the Nationwide Tour's first tournament in South America and the first time a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event will be played for official money in South America.

The Nationwide Tour's domestic season commences March 25-28 with the Chitimacha Louisiana Open outside Lafayette, La. The Tour's 21st season will feature 28 events played in 17 states in the U.S. and six countries abroad, its most international stops ever.

Over 200 players who have Nationwide Tour access will compete to secure one of the 25 PGA TOUR cards for 2011 that will be awarded at the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island in Charleston, S.C., on Oct. 28-31.

"One of the very special things about the Nationwide Tour is that with each new year comes great anticipation about which players will emerge and contend for PGA TOUR cards," said Nationwide Tour president Bill Calfee. "Starting in New Zealand next week and then Australia, this year's season-long quest features six countries plus the U.S. and more than 60 international members from 19 countries. We invite golf fans everywhere to follow all 28 Nationwide Tour events as the competition to identify the next Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson, Stewart Cink or Lucas Glover plays out from January through October."

The following are first- or second-year Nationwide Tour players whose talent and resume are worth keeping an eye on this season:

Jonas Blixt Age: 25 Notes: Native of Sweden ... Was first team All-American at Florida State and highest-ranked foreign-born college player in 2008 ... Had three top-five finishes on the Nationwide Tour last year ... Finished 43rd on the money list. Kevin Chappell Age: 23 Notes: Lives in Fresno, Calif. ... Was All-American and Jack Nicklaus Award winner as top male collegiate player for national champion UCLA in 2008 ... Finished 80th on the Nationwide Tour money list last year in only nine starts despite having no status at the beginning of the year ... Finished T6 in the 2009 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on the PGA TOUR after receiving a sponsor's exemption. Bronson La'Cassie Age: 26 Notes: Native of Brisbane, Australia ... Was a three-time All-American at the University of Minnesota ... Won 2006 Western Amateur, defeating Spaniard and former college player of the year Pablo Martin in the match-play finals. Jamie Lovemark Age: 22* Notes: Native of California ... Was a two-time first-team All-American at the University of Southern California ... Won the NCAA individual title as a freshman in 2007 ... Won 2005 Western Amateur ... Played in 2007 Walker Cup ... Lost to Chris Riley in a playoff in a Nationwide Tour event in Rochester, Minn., in 2007 ... Also lost in a PGA TOUR playoff in Las Vegas, Nev., last October. Martin Piller Age: 24 Notes: Native of Dallas, Texas ... Attended Texas A&M University ... Won his first event after turning professional, the 2008 Texas State Open ... Made 18 of 26 cuts on the Nationwide Tour last year, finishing 35th on the money list ... Was runner-up in the Michael Hill New Zealand Open. Kyle Stanley Age: 22 Notes: Native of Washington state ... Was a two-time first-team All-American at Clemson University in South Carolina ... Winner of 2009 Ben Hogan Award as the top collegiate golfer based on his college and amateur record ... Played in 2007 Walker Cup.

* - turns 22 on Jan. 23