SIMS RIDES A T9 FINISH INTO THIS WEEK'S NATIONWIDE TOUR EVENT

Broussard, LA – March 30, 2009 – eGolf Tarheel Tour member and 2008 Spring Creek Classic champion Michael Sims used a share of the first-round lead in the Nationwide Tour's Chitimacha Louisiana Open to finish T9 over the weekend and secure a spot in this week's Stonebrae Classic. Sims' conditional status on the 2009 Nationwide Tour means that he will likely have to rely on limited starts to stay out there, but a top-25 finish will always propel a player into the following week's event. Sims, who hails from Bermuda, opened with a 7-under 64 to grab a share of the 18-hole lead with Fran Quinn and had a chance to sit atop the 36-hole leaderboard before finishing his second round with a double-bogey at the last. Weekend rounds of 71-69 moved the former University of Rhode Island star into the top 10 and aboard a plane to San Francisco for another week on the Nationwide Tour.

• Other players with eGolf Tarheel Tour ties who played well in Louisiana include 2008 Nationwide Tour money list champion Matt Bettencourt (T3), South African Garth Mulroy (T9) and Kris Blanks (T9). Bettencourt, who is a full member of the PGA Tour this year, did not earn a spot in the limited field Arnold Palmer Invitational, and therefore played the Nationwide Tour last week. The native of Modesto, CA torched the front nine in Sunday's final round with a 5-under 31, but fell one shot shy of the Bubba Dickerson/Brian Vranesh playoff with a bogey at the 72nd hole.

• At the PGA Tour's Arnold Palmer Invitational, former eGolf Tarheel Tour player James Nitties carded a final-round 68 (the fifth lowest final-round score) to move from T36 to T22 and notch his fourth top-25 effort in his ninth start of the year. 2002 eGolf Tarheel Tour Championship winner Steve Marino continued his steady play with a T36 finish thanks in part to birdies on three of his last five holes on Sunday.