By Jon Levy - Staff Writer

March 16, 2010

While no Gateway Tour Alumni managed to place within the top-10 at last week’s CA Championship (alums Sean O’Hair and J.B. Holmes led the pack with T18s), five former Gateway Tour players secured top-10s at the PGA TOUR event opposite the annual TPC Blue Monster at Doral stop: The Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular.

Alum Kris Blanks, who played his rookie season on the PGA TOUR last year after finishing 13th on the 2008 Nationwide Tour money list, led all Gateway Alumni by taking the solo runner-up slot, worth his best-career finish and $378,000. His payday, in fact, already surpasses his season-long earnings last year as the 9/20 cuts he made only netted a modest $370,130. Maybe after being relegated back to q-School in the fall and earning back his PGA TOUR card, Blanks is finally now ready to stay as an up-and-coming staple on TOUR.

Speaking of, with his T3 finish in Puerto Rico, former Gateway Tour player and 2009 Kodak Challenge winner, Kevin Streelman, netted his best finish of the year and a second-career top-3 on the PGA TOUR. Streelman actually held the 54-hole lead before a final-round 73 dashed any hopes of his first PGA TOUR win. But as he’s made over $1 million in each of his first two seasons on TOUR after playing as a member of The Gateway Tour in ’07 -- a year during which he won three times -- that elusive first win probably isn’t too far off.

Likewise, perhaps the same holds true for alumni Steve Wheatcroft and James Nitties, who tied for third with Streelman. Earning $168,000 each, both players seriously jumpstarted their seasons to get back on a track towards success. A track, which, after starting with two-of-five and zero-of-five cuts made heading into the week, respectively, seriously needed the voltage.

That said, Nitties is no stranger to success on the PGA TOUR after having made over $900,000 last year during his rookie season. But as Wheatcroft is living his second bout on TOUR this year via a berth from The 25 last year on the Nationwide Tour, he’s certainly looking to build on the $153,246 performance he put out during his rookie ’07 season. Considering the six top-10 finishes that included a pair of thirds he earned during last year’s season, though, perhaps Wheatcroft just needed a little time to warm up to the big show.

Finally, alum Bill Lunde accounted for the fifth former Gateway Tour player to finish in the top-10 in Puerto Rico. With his T10, worth $91,000 and a third-career top-10 on the PGA TOUR, Lunde looks to extend the momentum from his ’09 rookie season that netted him over $800,000. Taking into account the four-of-seven cuts made and $142,223 the 34-year-old Gateway alum has put in the bank so far this year, that momentum seems to be intact, to say the least.

Stay tuned to see who else can get their momentum going as a large number of former Gateway Tour players tee it up on the PGA TOUR again this week at the Transitions Championship.


Click here for full field results of the Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular, from pgatour.com…