Moscow, PA – September 1, 2009 – Former eGolf Professional Tour player Gary Christian used weekend rounds of 63-64 to claim his first Nationwide Tour title at the Northeast Pennsylvania Classic last weekend. After making the cut by three shots with opening rounds of 68-70, the Englishman went on a bogey-free tear over the weekend, with 13 birdies and 23 pars to his name. His 15-under total was good enough to force a playoff with Mathias Gronberg, which he won on ninth playoff hole with a par. The nine-hole playoff tied a Nationwide Tour record for total number of playoff holes used.

"Everything has to end eventually," Christian later joked with Tour officials. "I needed to get into the record book somehow. To be honest, I lost count."

With his win, Christian moved from No. 89 to No. 23 on the money list and inside the coveted top 25. At season’s end, the top 25 players on the Nationwide Tour money list will earn their 2010 PGA TOUR cards.

Two-time eGolf Tour winner Tom Gillis continued his stellar season with a T5 finish in Pennsylvania. The finish marked his fourth consecutive top-10 effort on Tour, as well as his fourth top-5 result of the 2009 season. Gillis, who won the eGolf Tour’s Pine Needles Classic and Savannah Quarters Championship earlier this year, is currently No. 3 on the Nationwide Tour money list, having leaped over fellow eGolf Tour member Blake Adams in the process. Both Gillis and Adams have mathematically locked up their TOUR cards for next season.

Current eGolf Tour player Kevin Chappell finished T5 on the week, in turn marking his best Nationwide Tour finish of the season. The 2008 NCAA Individual Champion also has a T6 finish at this year’s AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on his 2009 resume.

Former Clemson University star Matt Hendrix of Aiken, SC continued his steady roll of late with a T13 finish at the Northeast Pennsylvania Classic. Hendrix used a final-round 64 to move from T42 to T13, in turn sliding inside the top 25 and earning a spot in this week’s Mexico Open.

Hendrix has three starts on the 2009 Nationwide Tour. He received a sponsor’s exemption into the BMW Charity Pro-Am and finished T50. After successfully Monday qualifying, he finished T23 at the Christmas In October Classic, in turn earning his spot in the Northeast Pennsylvania Classic. In three starts, Hendrix has accumulated 12 rounds played and has a scoring average of 68.50. Hendrix is currently No. 9 on the eGolf Tour money list with $69,730 in earnings this year.

Other past and present eGolf Tour players with good weeks in Pennsylvania include Jin Park (T27), 2006 leading money winner Dustin Bray (T31), Derek Lamely (T31), Michael Sims (T46), Garth Mulroy (T51), Brad Fritsch (T51), Luke List (T61), and Tommy "Two Gloves" Gainey (T69).

• The PGA TOUR kicked off its annual Playoffs for the FedExCup in Jersey City, NJ over the weekend at The Barclays. A field of 124 players descended on Liberty National Golf Club in hopes of claiming the FedExCup’s $10,000,000 winner’s prize. Through 54 holes, it looked as though two-time eGolf Professional Tour winner Steve Marino might have the inside track on his first TOUR title and a shot to fly up the FedExCup points standings. The former UVA standout, who claimed the tour’s initial Tour Championship in 2002, carded rounds of 65-71-68 and found himself tied for the lead with Paul Goydos with just 18 holes left to play. Through nine holes in the final round, Marino had one bogey and eight pars to his name, but was still in contention at 8-under for the tournament. A 5-over 40 on his closing nine eventually did him in. Birdies at 13 and 16 were severely offset by bogeys at Nos. 10, 12, 17 and 18, while a triple-bogey at the par-4 15th put the proverbial nail in the coffin. A final-round 77 dropped Marino into a tie for 15th, but he was still able to accrue valuable points and move up from No. 30 to No. 23 on the points list. Former tour player John Mallinger gradually improved each day with rounds of 74-72-70-71 to finish T46. Mallinger fell from No. 43 to No. 49 on the points list after The Barclays. Longtime eGolf Tour player Matt Bettencourt missed the cut after rounds of 77-71 and fell from No. 97 to No. 106 on the points list, in turn eliminating himself from the last three Playoff events. The top 100 players move to Norton, MA for this week’s Deutsche Bank Championship.