By Jon Levy - Staff Writer

May 19, 2010

Looking strictly at the numbers, last week on the PGA & Nationwide tours was a pretty darn good one for former Gateway Tour players. With four former players finishing within the top-10 at the Valero Texas Open and alum, Justin Hicks, winning the BMW Charity Pro-Am on the Nationwide Tour -- and with three others taking spots in the top-6 in South Carolina -- last week was, in fact, a great one for Gateway Tour alumni.

Starting with the popular San Antonio, Tex. TOUR stop in the Valero Texas Open, Jimmy Walker (T3), Garth Mulroy (T6), Tom Gillis (T9) and Spencer Levin (T9) each chimed in with solid tournaments to keep a great year of alumni play going strong.

Of the four, Gillis perhaps has the most consistent year working, as his finish in the heart of Texas comes as his second top-10 of the season (along with a T8 at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in February) and 10th cut-made in 12 starts. Gillis now stands at $639,320 this year, which, after finishing fifth on the 2009 Nationwide Tour money list since playing The Gateway Tour earlier during that year, solidifies the Michigan native’s place on Tour next year and perhaps opens up an even better second half to the season this year. Not bad for a 41-year-old journeyman pro who is playing the PGA TOUR for the first time since 2005.

As for the 31-year-old, Walker, who is in his fourth year on the PGA TOUR, last week’s finish -- a 12-under performance that netted him $317,200 -- provided a serious jolt to a season that was in need of one after making just seven of his first 14 cuts, with a T16 at the Transitions Championship coming as his only finish within the top-20. How quickly a year can change on the PGA TOUR, as his $595,802 in earnings have pushed him 71st on the money list and to over $1.8 million in career TOUR earnings, with an equally impressive vault to 62nd in FedEx Cup points.

Likewise, for Mulroy, a TOUR rookie who earned his card last year via a berth from THE 25 on the Nationwide Tour (finishing 14th), his $211,975-T6 performance came as just his second cut made in nine starts this season. Mulroy had, in fact, missed his first seven cuts straight until placing T69 at the Quail Hollow Championship in the beginning of the month. He stands at 147th on the money list now and is at least somewhat on the radar to make a much needed move up the money standings enough to keep his card in 2011.

Finally, for Levin, the T9 finish also came as his first top-10 of the season; but unlike Mulroy and Walker, the 25-year-old California native has been a model of consistency this year, as his 11/13 cuts made have netted $524,111 in earnings and a 51st place standing in FedEx Cup points. With the finish, Levin cracked the $1 million in career PGA TOUR earnings and solidifies himself as yet another former Gateway Tour player to realize a fine career on the PGA TOUR.

The same can certainly be said for Hicks on the Nationwide Tour, who, with his two-stroke victory last week at the BMW Charity Pro-Am, claimed his second-career title on the PGA TOUR’s younger sibling. The former Beach Series member earned $108,000 for the win, which, after a modest start to the year (five of eight cuts made and a T5 at the Fresh Express Classic coming as his only finish within the top-30), vaults him all the way from 47th on the money list to 7th. Hicks has never played the PGA TOUR, but -- with victory No. 2 -- seems primed as ever to make 2011 his debut year.

Continuing down the leaderboard of the BMW, one doesn’t have to look far to find other former Gateway Tour players occupying the top spots. Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey and Kevin Chappell finished just two shots off of Hicks’ winning mark to grab a share of second, earning $39,600 paydays, while Fabian Gomez finished in solo sixth to earn a healthy $21,600 payday himself.

As we quite often say in regard to our former players’ weeks on the PGA and Nationwide Tours, their success has made The Gateway Tour proud. With a win and eight total top-10s on both circuits last week alone, our latest update certainly has us singing the same praise. Keep it going, guys.


Click here for full field results of the Valero Texas Open and here for full field results of the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation, and stay tuned as numerous former Gateway Tour players tee it up again this week at the HP Byron Nelson Championship on the PGA TOUR and Rex Hospital Open on the Nationwide Tour…