News >> NGA Hooters Well Represented At Fort Smith Classic

Wilcox Gets Big Break
 
NGA Hooters Tour Regular hopes to make most of Nationwide exemption
 
Longs, SC—While some people fall asleep at night dreaming of winning the lottery and then living the life of luxury, NGA Hooters Tour member Will Wilcox goes to bed grateful for the $260 that could change his life. (Will Wilcox from earlier this year pictured left)
 
Wilcox, of Birmingham, AL, won the NGA’s “Race for the Fort Smith Exemption” by recording a tie for 33rd at the Crystal Lake Open in Hampton, GA, in late April. The following week, Wilcox collected his first career win at the $250,000 Savannah Lakes Village Classic in McCormick, SC. The former Clayton State golfer tied for 16th in Edwardsville, IL, and then finished tied for 47th in the final event in Georgetown, KY, to earn $44,792 for the month. His money total bested his competitors by $260 and earned him an exemption into this week’s Nationwide Tour Fort Smith Classic at Hardscrabble Country Club in Fort Smith, AR.
 
“Getting a chance to chase my dream is awesome,” Wilcox said after earning his exemption. “It’s going to be a lot of fun playing in my first Nationwide event, and I just want to thank the Hooters Tour and the Fort Smith Classic committee for this opportunity.”
 
Wilcox, 25, will undoubtedly have more opportunities in his golfing career, especially since the NGA Hooters Tour has gained its fifth Nationwide Tour exemption this week, but the exemption comes at a perfect time for Wilcox.
 
“I feel like I’m hitting the ball much better,” said Wilcox, after his 14th-place finish in the Bentonville Open. “I’m comfortable with my game right now.”
 
And it shows.
 
Wilcox has missed only one cut this season and finished inside the top 16 in five of seven events, including his first win. Wilcox’s quick start has him second on the money list with $60,367 in winnings.
 
Though the Fort Smith Classic will be his first foray on the Nationwide Tour, Wilcox will see plenty of familiar faces this week as nearly 72 current and former NGA regulars will be in the Fort Smith Classic field as well. Joining Wilcox will be current players Travis Bertoni, Nick Beach, last week’s champion in Bentonville Michael Lavery, Brent Long and Andrew Parr.
 
The Fort Smith Classic, the only PGA TOUR event in Arkansas, has long been a stepping stone for former Hooters Tour players in realizing their dream of playing on the PGA Tour. Past champions include NGA Hooters Tour alumni Zach Johnson, Franklin Langham, and Jay Williamson.
 
In addition to the Fort Smith Classic, the NGA Hooters Tour has received exemptions for The Fresh Express Classic, played earlier this year, The Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open, The Chattanooga Classic and The News Sentinel Knoxville Open.
 
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 2009 British Open Champion Stewart Cink, 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 11 “Majors” to their credit. The NGA/Hooters Tour has helped more than 100 professionals acquire their PGA, Senior PGA, and Nationwide Tour cards. In fact, 48% of the players that earned their 2010 PGA Tour card, and 53% of the players that earned full exempt status on the Nationwide Tour started their careers on the NGA/Hooters Tour.
 
For more information about the NGA/Hooters Tour, please visit our web site, www.NGAHOOTERSTOUR.com.
 
Current and former NGA regulars in the field:
 
Brad Adamonis
Joe Affrunti
Mark Anderson
Nick Beach (current player)
Camilo Benedetti
Travis Bertoni (Current player)
Matthew Borchert
George Bradford
Keegan Bradley
D.J Brigman
Josh Broadway
Scott Brown
Ted Brown
Gary Christian
Michael Clark II
Paul Claxton
Wil Collins
John Daly
Matt Davidson
Glen Day
Bryan DeCorso
Brent DelaHoussaye
Bubba Dickerson
Ken Duke
Matt Every
Nick Flanagan
Tommy Gainey
Robert Gamez
Kelly Grunewald
Scott Gutschewski
Ty Harris
Justin Hicks
Jesse Hutchins
J.J. Killeen
John Kimbell
Chris Kirk
Kevin Kisner
Cliff Kresge
Bronson La Cassie
Michael Lavery (Current player)
Luke List
Brent Long (Current Player)
Bobby MacWhinnie
Major Manning
David Mathis
Alan McFerran
William McGirt
Adam Meyer
David Morland IV
 Bryan Novoa
Rob Oppenheim
Andrew Parr (Current player)
Justin Peters
Stephen Poole
Kyle Reifers
Tag Ridings
Dave Schultz
Michael Sims
Sonny Skinner
Justin Smith
Nathan Smith
Sal Spallone
Scott Stallings
B.J. Staten
Scott Sterling
Darron Stiles
Andrew Svoboda
Kyle Thompson
Brian Vranesh
Ron Whitaker
Will Wilcox (Current player)
Casey Wittenberg