The Nationwide Tour’s BMW Charity Pro-Am took on a decidedly local flavor with Wednesday’s announcement of five exemptions.
Boiling Springs resident and Wofford product William McGirt, Spartanburg and Clemson product Stephen Poole, Riverside and Clemson product Brent Delahoussaye, Greenville resident and Clemson product Matt Hendrix and Greer’s Jay Haas Jr. have been invited to join the field. The tournament will be played May 14-17 at The Carolina Country Club, Thornblade Club in Greer and Bright’s Creek Golf Club in Mill Spring, N.C. The winner receives $126,000 and a new BMW. “To finally get a chance to make a start on the Nationwide Tour is a huge opportunity and I’m really looking forward to it,” said McGirt, who has an honorary membership at Thornblade while The Carolina CC was his home collegiate course. “I’ve been so close in (PGA Qualifying) School the last couple of years that I feel like I kind of belong out there.” McGirt will be making his Nationwide Tour debut, although he did Monday qualify for the 2007 PGA Tour Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C., where he missed the cut by two strokes with a 73-68—141. He’s currently a regular on the eGolf Professional (formerly Tarheel) Tour. Poole, an eGolf Professional Tour regular, Monday qualified for last year’s Wyndham and finished tied for 36th with a 9-under 66-71-69-65—271. Hendrix, who played on the PGA Tour during the 2007 season, tied for 24th last year at the BMW.
Delahoussaye was a Nationwide Tour regular who finished tied for 46th at the BMW while Haas is the son of well-known golf pro Jay Haas.