Edstrom and Todd Record Top-10 Finishes at Rex Hospital Open

Raleigh, NC- 2008 Tarheel Tour players Reid Edstrom and Brendon Todd recorded seventh and eighth place finishes respectively last week at the Nationwide Tour’s Rex Hospital Open just outside Raleigh, NC.

For Edstrom, the seventh place showing and $16,750 gave him a much needed boost on the current money list. As a conditionally exempt player, the Auburn, AL resident had only gotten into two events this season, making one cut and lying 197th on the money list. After his seventh place finish in Raleigh, Edstrom jumped 85 spots to 112th on the money list, giving him a more realistic chance of finishing in the top 60 by year’s end and securing full Nationwide Tour status in 2009. Edstrom’s finish will also guarantee tee him several more starts on the Nationwide Tour for the remainder of 2008. In 2007, Edstrom made 18 of 19 cuts on the Tarheel Tour with four top-five finishes including a runner-up finish at the Match Play Championship.

Brendon Todd’s tie for eighth helped him continue his steady climb from 52nd to 42nd on the current money list with $60,336 in earnings. Todd, who is also a conditionally exempt player, has earned full status for the remainder of the season based on his outstanding play so far this year. With half the year left, he has a good chance of moving into the top-25 by year’s end and earning his PGA Tour Card for 2009. The former University of Georgia All-American has played several events on the Tarheel Tour since turning pro last summer, including a victory in his first start at the Musgrove Mill Classic last August.

Former ACC Individual Champion and 2006 Tarheel Tour Money leader Dustin Bray also had a nice week in Raleigh. The former University of North Carolina star Monday qualified into the event, and recorded a tie for 12th earning $8,667. As a result of his top-25 finish, he also earned a spot in the field in two weeks at the Nationwide Tour’s Knoxville Open. The Nationwide Tour is off this week for the U.S. Open, and Bray is back on the Tarheel Tour this week competing in the Warrior Classic.

Notes

Other former and current Tarheel Tour players who had success this week at the Nationwide Tour’s Rex Hospital Open include:

Garth Mulroy- T4 2002 Warrior Classic Champion; fired a final round 4-under-par 67 to finish in a tie for 4th and earn $20,667. He moved up to 51st on the current money list with $51,959.

Jonathan Fricke- T21 2007 Stonebridge Classic Champion; recorded his second top-25 finish of the season and moved up to 103rd on the current money list with $20,640.

Rob Bradley- T36 Bradley made his fourth consecutive cut on the Nationwide Tour this week and moved into 82nd place on the money list with $29,116. Bradley has also made the cut in all three Tarheel Tour events he has played in 2008.

Stephen Poole- T44, Elliot Gealy- T52 Both players are Tarheel Tour regulars and former champions on the Tarheel Tour who successfully Monday qualified for the Rex Hospital Open. After nice showings on the Nationwide Tour, both are back this week at the Tarheel Tour’s Warrior Classic.

Bryant MacKellar- T65, Fernando Mechereffe- T65 Both players are Tarheel Tour regulars who Monday qualified and made the cut last week on the Nationwide Tour. Each has decided to take this week off from competition. Both are scheduled to be back on the Tarheel Tour in a few weeks.

Despite a final round 2-over-par 74, former Tarheel Tour player Andrew MacArthur won the Challenge Tour’s Reale Challenge de Espana in Madrid, Spain by one shot over Alfredo Garcia-Heredia. For the victory, the former Scottish Amateur Champion won E 22,400 (about $33,486) and moved into ninth on the current money list. The Challenge Tour, which is the European Tour’s version of the Nationwide Tour, awards European Tour cards for the following season to the Top 20 on the money list at season’s end. MacArthur was the CVAC athlete of the year in 2002 while at Pfieffer University.