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CHAMPIONS - National Qualifying Tournament Preview
From The Sports Network
| DATES: Tuesday, November 13th through Friday, November 16th |
| SITE: TPC Eagle Trace, Coral Springs, Florida |
| COURSE ARCHITECT: Arthur Hills (1983) |
| Hole-By-Hole: | 1 - Par 4 396 Yds | 0 - Par 5 526 Yds | |
| 2 - Par 4 442 Yds | 1 - Par 3 214 Yds | |
| 3 - Par 3 189 Yds | 2 - Par 4 391 Yds | |
| 4 - Par 4 367 Yds | 3 - Par 4 452 Yds | |
| 5 - Par 5 521 Yds | 4 - Par 4 376 Yds | |
| 6 - Par 4 369 Yds | 5 - Par 5 540 Yds | |
| 7 - Par 3 193 Yds | 6 - Par 4 406 Yds | |
| 8 - Par 5 548 Yds | 7 - Par 3 180 Yds | |
| 9 - Par 4 460 Yds | 8 - Par 4 470 Yds | |
| ------------- | ------------- | |
| 36 3,485 Yds | 36 3,555 Yds | |
| Annual: | 28th |
| Television: | None |
| Defending Champion: | Jeff Freeman |
| Runner-Up: | Gary Hallberg, Jim Rutledge |
| Tournament Record (72 Holes): | 264 (Jeff Freeman, 2011) |
| Tournament Record (108 Holes): | 407 (Mark Johnson, 2004) |
| 90-Hole Record: | 341 (Don Reese, Hajime Meshiai, 2004) |
| 54-Hole Record: | 196 (Steve Haskins, 2009) |
| 18-Hole Record: | 62 (DeWitt Weaver, 1990 - Westin Mission Hills; |
| | Bill Holstead, 2000 - Bonnet Creek Golf Club; |
| | Jim Rutledge, 2011 - TPC Scottsdale Champions) |
| Total Purse: | $200,000 |
| Shares: | 1st Place - $30,000; 2nd Place - $21,000; 3rd Place - $15,000 |
| 2011 Finish |
| Player | Score | Player | Score |
| Jeff Freeman | 264 | Jim Carter | 271 |
| Gary Hallberg | 268 | Bobby Clampett | 271 |
| Jim Rutledge | 268 | Sonny Skinner | 271 |
| Jeff Hart | 269 | Robin Freeman | 272 |
| P.H. Horgan III | 270 | Mark Mouland | 272 |
| Past National Qualifying Tournament Winners |
| Year | Winner (Score) -- Runners-Up |
| 2011 | Jeff Freeman (264) -- Gary Hallberg, Jim Rutledge |
| 2010 | Keith Clearwater (272) -- Lee Rinker, Phil Blackmar, Frankie Minoza |
| 2009 | Peter Senior (267) -- Ronnie Black, Steve Haskins, Joe Ozaki |
| 2008 | Robert Thompson (281) -- John Morse |
| 2007 | Rick Rhoden/Gene Jones (279) -- Mitch Adcock, Rick Karbowski |
| 2006 | Boonchu Ruangkit (277) -- Ray Stewart |
| 2005 | Massy Kuramoto (429) -- Kirk Hanefeld |
| 2004 | Mark Johnson (407) -- Tom McKnight |
| 2003 | Mark McNulty (275) -- Mark James |
| 2002 | Des Smyth (275) -- Seiji Ebihara |
| 2001 | Howard Twitty (276) -- Larry Ziegler |
| 2000 | Bob Gilder (269) -- Bill Holstead, Terry Mauney |
| 1999 | Mark Hayes (277) -- Howard Twitty, Stewart Ginn |
| 1998 | Allen Doyle (275) -- Bruce Fleisher |
| 1997 | David Lundstrom (276) -- Jose Maria Canizares |
| 1996 | Bob Dickson (278) -- Will Sowles |
| 1995 | Masaru Amano (279) -- John Jacobs, Bobby Stroble |
| 1994 | Tommy Aycock (278) -- Walter Morgan |
| 1993 | Bill Hall (284) |
| 1992 | Larry Gilbert (276) -- Harry Toscano, Doug Dalziel, Bob Wynn |
| 1991 | Dick Goetz/Tommy Aycock (292) -- J.C. Goosie, John Paul Cain |
| 1990 | Simon Hobday (271) -- Jack Kiefer |
| 1989 | Rocky Thompson (281) |
| 1988 | Al Chandler (280) |
| 1987 | Doug Dalziel (285) |
| 1986 | Jim King (284) |
| 1985 | Buck Adams (427) |
| Top Players in the Field |
| Ronnie Black | 2 PGA Tour victories |
| Tom Byrum | Won 1989 Kemper Open on PGA Tour |
| Bobby Clampett | Won 1982 Southern Open on PGA Tour |
| Trevor Dodds | Won 1998 Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic on PGA Tour |
| Joel Edwards | Won 2001 Air Canada Championship on PGA Tour |
| Anders Forsbrand | 6 European Tour victories |
| Peter Fowler | Won 1993 BMW International Open on European Tour |
| Jeff Freeman | Won 2011 Champions Tour Q-School |
| Mark Johnson | Won 2005 Toshiba Senior Classic and 2004 Q-School |
| Steve Jones | Won 1996 U.S. Open, 8 PGA Tour victories |
| Neal Lancaster | Won 1994 Byron Nelson Golf Classic on PGA Tour |
| Barry Lane | 5 European Tour victories |
| James Mason | Won 2002 NFL Golf Classic |
| Blaine McCallister | 5 PGA Tour victories |
| Eduardo Romero | 5 Champions Tour wins, Won 2008 U.S. Senior Open |
| Jim Rutledge | 6 Canadian Tour victories, 1 Nationwide Tour win |
| Rod Spittle | Won 2010 AT&T Championship on Champions Tour |
| Robert Thompson | Won 2008 Champions Tour Q-School |
| Bruce Vaughan | Won 2008 Senior British Open |
| Sports Network Selections |
| Pick to Win - Joel Edwards |
| Darkhorse - Mark Mouland |
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| Last Week's Pick to Win (John Cook) - Finished 1st |
| Last Week's Darkhorse (Corey Pavin) - Finished tied for 10th |
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| NOTES: |
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The Champions Tour National Qualifying Tournament returns to Florida for the
20th time, as TPC Eagle Trace plays host to 78 players seeking entrance to the
over-50 circuit. This is the sixth time that TPC Eagle Trace has hosted this
event. Keith Clearwater won the last time it was held here in 2010. Other
states besides Florida to host this event are California (5) and Arizona (3).
The top-five finishers of this tournament will receive full exemptions in 2013
on the Champions Tour. The next seven finishers, Nos. 6-12, get conditional
status next year. The top-30 finishers and ties are eligible to compete for
spots in open qualifiers at all cosponsored events. The top-30 and ties will
also receive a portion of the $200,000 prize money.
Last year, Jeff Freeman shot four rounds of 5-under 66 to win by four strokes
over Gary Hallberg and Jim Rutledge. Freeman finished 72 holes at 20-under
264, a tournament record, to earn full exempt status on the 2012 Champions
Tour circuit. Freeman will be on hand to defend his title this week, as he
finished 61st on the money list this year.
In 2008, Robert Thompson carded a pair of late birdies in the final round to
shoot 2-under 70 and take medalist honors. Thompson finished at 7-under-par
281. Thompson also was co-medalist at the 1981 PGA Tour Q-School. Thompson
joined Allen Doyle and Massy Kuramoto as the only players to earn medalist
honors at the PGA Tour and Champions Tour Q-Schools.
Former major league pitcher Rick Rhoden shared medalist honors in 2007 with
Gene Jones. Rhoden, who held at least a share of the lead after all four days,
closed with a three-under 69 in the final round. Rhoden shot par or better in
all four rounds. He pitched 16 seasons in the major leagues with four
different teams.
In 2006, Thailand's Boonchu Ruangkit fired rounds of 65-72-66-74 to come away
with medalist honors. Ruangkit went wire-to-wire to finish at 11-under-par 277
for a 2-shot win over Ray Stewart. Ruangkit was a 5-time winner on the Asian
Tour.
11/12 14:53:23 ET
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As of November 12, 2012, at 02:53 PM ET
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