Nationwide Tour's Int'l Stops Nearly Double Those Of PGA Tour
The Nationwide Tour this season will have "nearly double the number of international stops that are on this year's PGA Tour schedule," according to Garry Smits of the FLORIDA TIMES-UNION. The Nationwide Tour's first four tournaments are in Panama, Mexico, New Zealand and Australia, and later in the season the tour will stop in Canada. Nationwide Tour President Bill Calfee said that the Tour's International Swing "didn't evolve overnight" and was a "combination of co-sanctioning agreements with international tours, filling a void at the top of the schedule and the desire to give the Nationwide Tour exposure outside the U.S." Calfee: "I know it's asking a lot of them to travel that far, especially to New Zealand and Australia. But it's good for them in that they get more experience, it builds a better case for World Golf Ranking points, and it's helped the Nationwide Tour. We go out and talk to sponsors, and we've got five international markets to show them. It also gives us two additional TV opportunities through The Golf Channel (last week and this week)." Nationwide Tour golfer Jeff Klauk of St. Augustine: "I don't know why someone wouldn't play all of these events if they could. I've never been on trips this long. No one said it would be easy. But knowing what to do, getting organized, learning how to compete when you're in a completely different culture ... it's all part of getting ready for the PGA Tour." PGA Tour Exec VP/Communications & Int’l Affairs Ty Votaw said that the international stops will "continue strengthening a tour that has expanded its demographics in recent years," as this year's membership on the tour includes 61 international players representing 18 countries. While travel in the first month of the schedule is "expensive for players who are competing for a total purse of [$2,625M] during that span," the Nationwide Tour has "worked out deals with its corporate sponsors among airlines, rental-car agencies and hotels, and offered discounted rates through its own travel agency" (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 2/19).
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