Queenstown, New Zealand – February 1, 2010 – The Nationwide Tour kicked off their 2010 season at The Hills Golf Club with the Michael Hill New Zealand Open, and four eGolf Tour players collected top 10 finishes to begin their season in style. Jamie Lovemark, Casey Wittenberg, Kevin Kisner and Kevin Chappell are each off to a good start as they begin the season-long trek to finish inside the top 25 and ascend up to the ranks of the PGA TOUR.

Lovemark, fresh off a stellar college career at USC and a playoff loss at the PGA TOUR's Frys.com Open last fall, carded Sunday's low final round with a 4-under 68 in sub-par conditions. A bogey-free round and a chance at winning was sabotaged by an untimely bogey at the par-3 16th, where he would drop three shots behind the leaders and eventually two-shots shy of winner Robert Gates.

Wittenberg is one year removed from his rookie season on the PGA TOUR, and is eyeing a trip back with a sixth-place finish in New Zealand. The former amateur sensation and Oklahoma State star carded rounds of 72-69-70-68—279 to notch the fifth top-10 of his Nationwide Tour career.

Longtime eGolf Tour member Kevin Kisner began his first season as a full Nationwide Tour member with a T7 result at The Hills Golf Club. The former University of Georgia golfer opened 2010 with rounds of 69-69-72-70—280 to collect his first career top-10 finish on the Nationwide Tour.

Kisner spent 2006-2009 on the eGolf Professional Tour and collected two wins along the way, in turn solidifying himself as one of the tour's best up-and-coming players. "Kizzle," as he was referred to by tour staff, earned his Nationwide Tour privileges via a T26 finish at PGA TOUR Qualifying School last fall, narrowly missing his TOUR card by a single shot. He was one of 17 eGolf Tour players to earn full Nationwide Tour status for 2010 at Q-School, and joins 18 other former players who earned conditional status for 2010.

For Chappell, the promise of being the 2008 NCAA Champion cast a heavy burden on a can't-miss prospect who has spent the past two years on developmental tours. The former UCLA standout found himself in a tie for fourth through 54 holes of the Michael Hill New Zealand Open before struggling to a final-round 74 and a T9 finish. It was only Chappell's second career start on the Nationwide Tour, going back to a T40 finish at the 2008 Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational. Chappell has made five career starts on the PGA TOUR, with a T6 at last year's AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am being his best finish.

Other eGolf Tour players to make the cut in New Zealand include Rob Oppenheim (T23), Keegan Bradley (T32), Justin Hicks (T37), Darron Stiles (T37), Jin Park (T47), Michael Sims (T47), Ted Brown (T47), Chris Kirk (T54), Jess Daley (T58), Terry Pilkadaris (T61), Scott Stallings (T61) and Nick Flanagan (T61).

For complete results from the Michael Hill New Zealand Open, please visit the results page on pgatour.com.

Matt EveryAt the PGA TOUR's Farmers Insurance Open in La Jolla, CA, Matt Every led all former eGolf Tour players with rounds of 65-70-72-72—279 and a T15 finish. The former Florida Gator and "Big Break" star entered the final round in a tie for fifth, but found himself at 3-over par through five holes on Sunday before righting the ship to finish with a round of even-par 72. The T15 effort was the best of Every's TOUR career, which includes eight starts dating back to the 2005 U.S. Open. David Lutterus and Tom Gillis, both winners on the 2009 eGolf Tour, recorded matching T27 finishes in San Diego with four-round totals of 5-under 283. For Gillis, the week marked his second top-30 finish of a season in which he is three-for-three in cuts made. Gillis is back on TOUR for a third time after winning the Pine Needles Classic and the Savannah Quarters Championship on the eGolf Tour just last year. Other eGolf Tour players with good weeks include Derek Lamely (T42), Blake Adams (T63), Martin Flores (T75) and Blake Trimble (78). For complete results from the Farmers Insurance Open, please visit the results page on pgatour.com.